The Food Pyramid and Nutritional Racism

US -- There are more than 1,000 citizens' committees advising the government on the drafting of US law. Some 30,000 citizens serve on these committees. In 1972, Congress passed the Federal Advisory Committee Act to assure that these panels would not be stacked by industry lobbyists.

Two years ago, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) chose an advisory committee to determine new nutritional standards. The committee's deliberations will influence the way the bricks are stacked in the USDA's "Food Pyramid" and guide the flow of millions of dollars in purchases for federal food assistance programs ranging from the Women, Infants, and Children Supplemental Feeding Program to school lunches, food stamps and federal prisons.

According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine [PCRM, 5100 Wisconsin Ave., No. 404, Washington, DC 20016, (202) 686-2210], at least six of the 11 panelists chosen by the USDA have "significant ties to the meat, dairy and egg industries." Committee chair Cutberto Garza was formerly affiliated with the National Dairy Council, while other members have ties to the National Live Stock and Meat Board, American Meat Institute, American Egg Board, National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and the SlimFast Nutrition Institute.

On December 15, 1999 PCRM asked the US District Court in Washington to order the USDA to reconstitute the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee to replace the food-industry representatives with people "representing the interests of racial and ethnic minorities and federal food aid program recipients."

On January 28, US District Court Judge James Robertson denied a PCRM challenge to publication of the USDA's revised Food Pyramid. The PCRM had charged that the nutritional guidelines in the Food Pyramid were "racially biased" because they ignored the "special health needs of minority Americans."

The PCRM pointed out that about 90 percent of Asian-Americans, 70 percent of African-Americans and Native Americans and 15 percent of whites have difficulty digesting the lactose in milk and milk products.

The US dietary and nutritional guidelines, which are widely used to teach children good eating habits, have not been updated since 1980.

The influence of the industry's panelists was apparent in a draft version of the new guidelines obtained by Reuters. Despite PCRM's objections, dairy products were still listed as the best source of calcium (tofu and soy drinks were mentioned as a second source). According to Reuters, the draft recommended eating "a diet moderate in overall fat." Leafy green vegetables were listed last on the USDA's new list.