Is Pizza a Vegetable?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45306416/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/pizza-vegetable-congress-says-yes/#.T5rGuqtYupA

This article, written by Mary Clare Jalonick of the Associated Press, talks about how the USDA wanted to change current regulations for school lunches. Essentially, they wanted to limit the amount of fries and pizza children were eating at school. How it was, and still is now, is schools are allowed to serve an eight of a cup of tomato paste and count it as a serving of vegetables. Through lobbying, food companies prevented the new bill from passing in order to produce food at a lower cost.  This will allow low budget schools to afford the food they need.  

People have accepted this bill as saying pizza is a vegetable, despite the small amount of tomato paste on the pizza.  On top of that, there are debates claiming that the nutrients found in potatoes, and starchy vegetables are being overlooked.  However, there is a specific group of activists who go as far as calling this whole ordeal a matter of "national security" based upon the facts that obesity is the leading cause of medical issues.  One specific woman, Amy Dawson Taggart addressed  Congress in a letter stating, "It doesn't take an advanced degree in nutrition to call this national disgrace." 

The idea of tomato paste being considered a vegetable is outrageous. It is almost a form of a loop hole, where putting something healthy in something unhealthy, now becomes a healthy option for the students to eat.  The assumption that pizza becomes a vegetable is a possible idea, if drawn out the right way.  For instance, using the right ingredients, like a whole wheat or multi-grain crust and a low fat cheese, can make for a healthy meal. However, promoting the healthiness of tomato paste as it is now is not helping students make better choices in their eating habits. Tomato paste might be just one of many revisions needed in school lunches. 

What is your opinion of tomato paste being considered a vegetable?  Can pizza be considered a vegetable if tomato paste is on it?  Does this idea seem like deception or a revolutionary idea meaning that unhealthy foods can be perceived as healthy with a change of ingredients?

Goodbye Pyramid, Hello MyPlate

Here are the sources we looked at!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/usda-replaces-food-pyramid-with-myplate-in-hopes-to-promote-healthier-eating/2011/06/02/AGRE16HH_story.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/food-pyramid-food-plate/story?id=13743137#.T5Se747nyKw

For almost 20 years now, Americans have based their eating habits on a food pyramid, which consisted of six different food groups: dairy, sweets/fats, grain, meat, vegetables, and fruits. With each category of the pyramid, there are serving portions listed to show people how much of each food group they should be eating. This is done to enforce a healthy eating lifestyle, yet according to USDA officials the food pyramid seemed too complex and did not portray a clear idea of meals in relation to a good balance. Later, a new food pyramid was created and a person is shown walking up the side of it to relay this message of exercise. Just last year, the USDA introduced the new food pyramid, named "MyPlate".

MyPlate is designed as an actual plate divided into fourths with categories like grain, protein, fruits, and vegetables. There is also a cup on the side which stands for dairy. Essentially, this new model made it easier for people to actually visualize how much of each food group you should be consuming based on the plate. Also, half of the plate is devoted to fruits and vegetables, considering they are the healthiest foods one can eat. The "fats" group was completely eliminated simply because fatty foods should never be encouraged in a diet; they will never be considered healthy. 

An interesting visual implication made by MyPlate is that a healthy diet includes drinking milk. While this is certainly inline with the removal of the fats and sugars group in that it discourages the drinking of soda and other sugary drinks, it may cause some confusion over what is healthy to drink besides milk and what other dairy products are healthy to eat. For example, is drinking water and eating eggs instead of drinking milk necessarily unhealthy? Many health specialists would argue no.

With the new MyPlate, the USDA is trying to cut down on the rising obesity rate.  Because now fatty foods have been completely eliminated, people are encouraged to stay away from sugary and fatty foods that contribute to obesity. Also, the plate now doesn't specifically show meat in one of the sections and has been switched to protein, which could include beans or soy products to limit the fat content that comes from meat. With the help of the new MyPlate, America can take one more step to being healthier and less obese.

The reason for this change is because USDA officials claimed that the old Pyramid was too complicated and did not give people a clear way to adjust their diets to the diet recommended by the Pyramid. The new MyPlate was designed to be more artistic and attractive to consumers, in addition to be easier to understand. The old pyramid used to tell people how many servings of food types people should be eating every day. However, the new MyPlate contains none of that information so it is much simpler to read and comprehend. 

A food diagram is obviously important to have for people to refer to, but so many things have changed on it, which can really have people questioning it and its healthfulness. How do Americans really view the food pyramid or the new and improved "MyPlate" and is it actually beneficial? Is MyPlate actually easier to understand and does removing the desserts group help you to refrain from eating sugary and fatty foods? How misleading is listing the dairy section in the shape and position of a drinking glass? Does the new MyPlate effect your current diet?

Hi everyone...Sorry we didn't make this clear enough, but if you go to the red links on our blog (located in the second paragraph) titled "American nutritional facts" and "Australian nutritional facts"- those are our primary sources. Please be sure to read/look at the primary sources, read our post, then comment..Thanks guys and sorry again for not being clearer earlier.

Why is Fast Food Healthier in Other Countries?

Why is fast food healthier in other countries? Fast food chain such as McDonalds exist in many other countries with very similar menus items all featuring all the same ingredients, the only difference is that most countries' meals contain much less calories for a nearly identical meal. Compared to the United States even the most common menu items such as the Big Mac have drastic changes in nutritional value with the American version of the burger containing 540 calories while the Australian equivalent only weighs in at 493 calories. Where do the extra 47 calories in the American version of the burger come from?

While typically in America food proportions are larger than most countries this may provide a simple solution to why there are more calories in a meal, but fast food chains tend not to vary there portion much if at all. The likely cause of an increased calorie count per item in most likely from the way the food is prepared or the additives that go into the perishable products to keep them fresh longer or to help retain flavor. Burger patties cooked in American McDonalds are cooked in presses to increase efficiency which doesn't allow any fats to escape opposed to other countries where the patties are prepared on open grills making the final product different in taste and nutrition. The differences can be found by looking over the American nutritional facts and comparing them to the Australian nutritional facts.

There are many other possible reasons that could explain the poor nutritional value of McDonald's in America. In the US, fast food restaurants are extremely common and can be found anywhere. This causes a high amount of competition between different restaurant chains that lead to one place trying to undercut the other. The companies then, settle for low quality food supplies to increase their profits. However, in other countries, fast food places aren't nearly as common. This makes competition between the companies in other countries less of an issue which allows the restaurant to purchase higher quality meat products without as much added hormone.

The McDonald's menu caters to the cuisine of their locations, thus making individual culture and standards a factor in the discrepancy between McDonald's in the U.S. and McDonald's in other countries around the world. For example, a few years back you could order a pizza at McDonald's in Canada, or even purchase a beer with your meal in Germany. McDonald's in China and Japan use a variety of different meats in their food; there are less beef options available while chicken, fish and sushi are more readily served. The cuisine eaten by other countries definitely has a huge influence on what is served at McDonald's around the world to make it more appealing to their consumers.

McDonalds has adjusted their meals to suit the American market but at the cost of nutritional value despite the fact that they still try to advertise healthy meal choices. What do you think is the cause of this substantial calorie difference? Does this change in nutritional value bother you, how about the average American? Is it McDonald's fault or the consumers fault for demanding rapidly prepared food at low prices? Does this change your opinion on McDonalds knowing that you can eat the same food but with lower calories but are simply not given the choice?