When the Recommended Food Is Killing Us, Choosing Real Food Starts Here
Ultra-processed food accounts for nearly 60% of the calories American adults eat. For kids, it's closer to 70%. Poor diet is now the leading cause of mortality in the U.S. We spend $1.1 trillion per year treating chronic, diet-related diseases. That's roughly equal to what Americans spend on all food combined.
What we're eating is killing us. And this week, the government acknowledged it.
The USDA just released new dietary guidelines, the biggest shakeup in federal nutrition policy in decades. The big move? They explicitly call out highly processed foods as a driver of chronic disease.
This one hits close to home for me.
When I was a kid, our family depended on food stamps. And a big chunk of that went to highly processed junk food. It was cheap. It was easy. And honestly? It was addictive. I don't blame my mom. She was doing her best with what she had and what she knew, raising us on her own. But looking back, I can see how the deck was stacked against us. The cheapest, most convenient options were the ones doing the most damage.
That's part of why I farm the way I do now.
Some perspective: the USDA has been publishing food guides since 1916. The "Basic Seven" in the 1940s focused on "protective foods" and nutrient adequacy. The "Basic Four" in the 1950s simplified things but said nothing about limiting fats or sugars.
The 1992 Food Pyramid put grains at the base and fats at the tiny tip. Eat more bread, less butter. MyPlate in 2011 ditched the pyramid entirely for a dinner plate split into equal portions.
Each version has been a mixed bag. Some good science, some blind spots, and probably more corporate fingerprints than any of us would like to admit.
Is the new pyramid perfect? Heck no! A chicken raised on pasture at a regenerative farm and a bird from a factory operation both just count as "protein." It doesn't address the chemicals in our food supply. And I'm sure the industry lobbyists are already figuring out how to game the new rules.
But I'm the kind of person who looks for silver linings. And the silver lining here? Previous guidelines nudged people away from processed food. This one puts it front and center as a problem. That's something. That's a crack in the wall we can push on.
My hope is that these guidelines help people stop eating food from factories, the junk food that's making us sick. And my dream? That it also starts to shift us away from factory farms and toward a food system that's better for our health, our land, and the people who grow what we eat.
We're not there yet. But I believe we're getting closer. And every time you choose real food from a real farm, you're part of that change.
Your Farmer,
Cody