I poked fun at the folks suing Fast Food for getting fat. But another article along the same lines makes a somewhat persuasive case that the real culprit isn’t Colonel Sanders, but Uncle Sam, whose USDA-approved Food Pyramid may be both bad science and bad diet.
Even a cursory look at the USDA recommendations suggests chicanery. “USDA?” Why is the federal department responsible for the promotion of U.S. agriculture making dietary recommendations? Might there be conflicts of interests, there?
Indeed there have been. The Times piece points out that, despite evidence emerging as early as the late 1970’s that starches are quickly absorbed into the blood and converted to sugar, public health officials chose not only to ignore the findings, but to negate them by downplaying sugar’s effects on metabolism.
By ignoring the starch-to-sugar science, the USDA could continue recommending that Americans eat lots of grain. That kept the corn and wheat farmers happy. By downplaying sugar’s effect on metabolism, Americans would continue their low-fat obsession, consuming snacks and soft drinks largely sweetened with corn syrup. That kept the sugar farmers happy, and the corn farmers even happier. And all of this allowed NIH scientists to avoid admitting that their long-held low-fat prejudice might have been wrong. That kept the bureaucrats happy.
Of course, ultimately, it’s still the responsibility of the individual consumer (the literal term, in this case) to “eat right” and, ahem, exercise. But, still, one has to wonder …