6-17 IAN Potato

 Substituting the food pyramid with the food plate.  According to a recent edition of the Idaho Statesman: There's a new U.S. symbol for healthful eating: The Agriculture Department recently unveiled "My Plate", abandoning the food pyramid that had guided many Americans but merely confused others.

The new guide is divided into four slightly different-sized quadrants, with fruits and vegetables taking up half the space and grains and protein making up the other half. The vegetables and grains portions are the largest of the four. Potatoes are an issue so I talked with president of the Idaho potato commission, Frank Muir: “my first reaction and seeing the new food plate replacing the pyramid is that’s exactly what my mother taught me for years, half the plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables, so it really is a more simple way of trying to help people figure out how to eat. The important thing to us is that potatoes clearly fill an important part of that plate. Vegetables should be a huge part of the plate and one of the most nutritious and economical returns on your quarter is a good Idaho potato. One of the things they are trying to encourage people to do is get more potassium, more healthy protein, and minimize the fat. The Idaho potato has no fat, has no cholesterol, is filled with protein has 45% of your daily needs of vitamin C, loaded with other vitamins and nutrients and really fits well into the plate.”