symbol as an easy-to-understand visual cue to help consumers adopt
healthy eating habits consistent with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for
Americans. MyPyramid will remain available to interested health professionals and nutrition educators in a special section of the new Web site.
ChooseMyPlate.gov provides practical information to individuals, health
professionals, nutrition educators and the food industry to help consumers
build healthier diets with resources and tools for dietary assessment,
nutrition education, and other user-friendly nutrition information. As
Americans are experiencing epidemic rates of overweight and obesity,
the online resources and tools can empower people to make healthier
food choices for themselves, their families and their children.
Later this year, the USDA will unveil an exciting “go-to” online tool that
consumers can use to personalize and manage their dietary and physical
activity choices.
Over the next several years, the USDA will work with First Lady Michelle
Obama’s Let’sMove! initiative, and public and private partners to promote
MyPlate and ChooseMyPlate.gov as well as the supporting nutrition
messages and “how-to” resources.
the
Industry Says Goodbye to Cheese Pioneer
In
First Lady Serves up MyPlate
Gone is the federal food pyramid we’ve all known for decades.
The federal government’s new food icon, MyPlate, was announced this
month to help consumers make healthier food choices. MyPlate is a
new-generation icon with the intent to prompt consumers to think about
building a healthy plate at mealtimes. The new MyPlate icon emphasizes
the fruit, vegetable, grains, protein and dairy food groups.
“This is a quick, simple reminder for all of us to be more mindful of the
foods that we’re eating, and as a mom, I can already tell how much this
is going to help parents
across the country,”
said First Lady Michelle
Obama. “When mom or
dad comes home from a
long day of work, we’re
already asked to be a
chef, a referee, a clean-
ing crew. So it’s tough
to be a nutritionist, too.
But we do have time to
take a look at our kids’
plates. As long as they’re
half full of fruits and
vegetables, and paired
with lean proteins, whole
grains and low-fat dairy,
we’re golden. That’s how
easy it is.”
“With so many food options available to consumers, it is often difficult to
determine the best foods to put on our plates when building a healthy
meal,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “MyPlate is an uncom-
plicated symbol to help remind people to think about their food choices
in order to lead healthier lifestyles. This effort is about more than just
giving information, it is a matter of making people understand there are
options and practical ways to apply them to their daily lives.”
Originally identified in the Child Obesity Task Force report, which noted
that simple, actionable advice for consumers is needed, MyPlate will
replace the MyPyramid image as the government’s primary food group
Sonoma, Calif.-based cheesemaker Ignazio “Ig” Vella, 82, died at his
home in Sonoma June 9, 2011.
Vella helped create the California artisan cheese movement. He grew
up in the dairy industry, riding along delivery routes with his father,
Gaetano “Tom” Vella, in their Model A truck. In the early 1980’s Vella
took over the family business, which included Sonoma’s Vella Cheese
Co. and Oregon’s Rogue Creamery. He went on to produce some of
the nation’s most acclaimed dry Monterey Jack cheese, and in 2006
was the first recipient of the American Cheese Society’s Lifetime
Achievement Award.
Mr. Vella is survived by his wife, Sally; daughters Ditty and Chickie;
son Thomas; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Another
daughter, Sara, died in 1992.
