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| From a 1917 U.S. Deptartment of Agriculture Leaflet (via 22 Words) |
Thanks to my sis-in-law Stephanie for calling my attention to these timeless words of wisdom! Apparently, the U.S. government wasn’t nearly as politically correct in 1917 as it is today; you just wouldn’t see such admirable, er, straightforwardness in a modern public health campaign. For example, the only similarly moving advice I could find on the USDA’s MyPyramid.gov vegetable page was
“Dietary fiber from vegetables, as part of an overall healthy diet, helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease. Fiber is important for proper bowel function. It helps reduce constipation and diverticulosis. Fiber-containing foods such as vegetables help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories.”
Somehow, it just doesn’t have quite the same…impact. I’m also guessing that data on vegetable deficiency and constipation-associated headaches and stupidity is lacking, which is a crying shame—imagine driving past this public service announcement on your way to work:
I don’t know about you, but I feel motivated already. Would somebody pass the peas, please?
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I'm Lee, an RD thriving on a healthy plant based diet.
This is absolutely hilarious! You're right, their advice is so watered down now from lobby groups that it's basically useless. I am reading the leaflet from 1913 that you linked to and I love how the USDA lists sugar as one of the 5 food groups and says to be sure to have some everyday!