Handling A Pyramid Of Food

Annmarie Throckmorton, M.A.

2 days ago

"The concept of a food pyramid originated in the 1960s as a response to increasing rates of heart disease and other diet-related health issues...By the 1960s, the number of food groups had been reduced to 4: milk, vegetables and fruit, meat, and breads and cereal." — random internet source

I was born in 1949 so if there was benefit in the concept of a food pyramid then I benefited as I followed those guidelines, consuming a metaphorical pyramid of food in my lifetime.

"The USDA is updating its dietary guidelines for 2025, and the new guidelines will be based on a health equity lens. The guidelines will consider factors like race, ethnicity, culture, and socioeconomic status. The guidelines will also use food pattern modeling to illustrate how changes to food and beverage choices might affect nutrient needs." Oh brother! These dummies are just making this stuff up. The factors are too complex and convoluted for early 21st century science.

Before I got sidetracked into a retrospective on food pyramids, I was considering how often I handle each item of food that I consume, considering that I buy close to the ground. Close to the ground means that, for example, I buy potatoes instead of french fries, whole fruits and nuts as harvested from trees instead of in pies or breads, and fresh meat/fish to be nicely cooked by moi according to my own simple recipes instead of coated in weird factory breading or sauces.

My basic food handling procedure is:

Buy basic food in the grocery store as cheaply and healthily as possible, pick up and examine each piece. (I know that this starts off a little fussy but I do tend to avoid the rot.) Place food items carefully in cart.
Transfer food items from cart to conveyor shelf at store. In the 1960s the grocery store clerks used to do this for each customer but now I must work for the grocery store for free and I empty my own cart, reaching up from the low electric cart that I have ridden around the narrow aisles of the huge warehouse of a grocery store under flickering neon lights that hurt my eyes. This is all exhausting and hurts my back.
Help cashier pack food items into grubby plastic bags that I have repeatedly brought back to the store, as the government has taken away the free, clean, convenient plastic bags we had for the past 50+ years (since 1970s.)
Request "help" to go out of the store, as I am afraid of being mugged again, and I direct the store clerk to put the bags of food into the little bins I have set up in the hatch of my car. So technically I am not handling the food at this point but rather supervising it. It is still work.
Drive food home then transfer food from car to my own cart to wheel it into my apartment, through my awkward, sharp-edged front door that has springs that try to snap it shut on me. The dirty cart wheels track onto my floor that I am too old and achy to clean as it should be cleaned.
Empty the cartload of food onto my entrance way floor, take off my shoes so as not to spoil my living room carpet, and carry all the bags of food into my tiny kitchen where I place them wherever I can, mostly on the floor as I have very little counter space.
Examine the food again as I put it away in cupboards and refrigerator, and clean anything that needs cleaning. Wrap damp paper towels loosely around any fresh fruits or vegetables that are perishable, e.g., carrots, lettuce, cabbage, etc. (Maybe this is a dozen or more discrete food handling steps?)
To cook a meal, I assemble the food items on the counter, using stove top and in sink if I need more room.
Handle the food as needed to get it ready to put it in the microwave, toaster oven, or on the stove top. (I no longer bake very much as it hurts my back and feet to stand and mix all the ingredients for it. The effort makes me dizzy too. I used to love baking, and I miss it.)
When my food is ready I arrange it on my nice blue plastic lap tray. I have a lovely wooden breakfast-in-bed tray but it is too heavy for my old, aching hands. I should really give it away as I will never use it again, but I have not yet come to a firm decision on that.
As I eat I typically I watch a channel on YouTube. I am interested in daily world events, and I enjoy channels on the mystery of the ancient megalithic monuments to be found all around the world.

I have handled my food portions in such a way that I rarely waste food and rarely eat too much. I am pleased. Then I have dessert or a late evening snack and I am less than pleased with the overring on calories. (Dessert and/or snacks would add another half dozen food handling steps.)

When my meal is complete I put a little bit of it that I have held back for Achilles into his little treat dish. But he very rarely eats it. Well, at least he knows that he is included in my meal.
I scrape any scraps in the bin and either rinse the dishes to wash later or wash them on the spot. I wish I have a dish washer or at least a garbage disposal. I get tired after a meal and fall asleep while I try to enjoy a YouTube channel.

So that is at thirteen times, give or take, that I handle items of food. Seems like a lot. No wonder I have difficulty doing the dishes after each meal; and I am tending to buy more unhealthy, heat-and-serve single portion meals. They taste awful or at best they are overly spiced.

I wish I could just go outside and grab a handful of leaves and grass for lunch. Like a gorilla!

Pyramids Of Food In My Lifetime