I may have asked this before...

[telophase]

Which category of the food pyramid/plate/whatever it was that was active when you were at school were you taught that eggs were in?

You see, I've run into at least two people in my live--married one of them, in fact--whose schools claimed that eggs were dairy, for whatever reason I don't know, and I want to know how widespread that idea is.

edit: I have asked this before. Thanks, trobadora!

Comments

spork of fooding

[yhlee]

BTW, fascinating book about the history of food pyramids/etc. in the USA: Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health by Marion Nestle [Amazon.com]. I read the original edition when a friend of mine who works for the FDA gave it to me. It includes fascinating hijinks like the sugar industry whining about not getting included on the food pyramid (!).

[torachan]

Are you sure they're accurately remembering the food pyramid and not just getting it confused with the fact that eggs are often stocked in the dairy section at the grocery store?

[telophase]

The first time I ran into it was a fellow 12-year-old that I played with when visiting my grandparents. She had a poster she'd made with the four food groups on it, featuring eggs prominently in the Dairy group, and we got in a fight about it when I pointed that out.

And there's enough discussion over on Facebook (I think I made that public, so people without FB accounts should be able to see it) that I think it's definitely taught that way in some schools.

Re: spork of fooding

[telophase]

Cool, thanks! I've heard that the reason grains are so prominent in the pyramid I grew up with is that the corn and other grain industries whined about it, so I'm not surprised about sugar!

[qem_chibati]

http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/healthy-eating-pyramid/brief-history-pyramid

This is showing a history of how the food pyramid's worked in Australia - eggs and milk are in the same category a few time - but when they're also linked with Fish and Chicken. *g*

I think this is more or less the version I was taught: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_csw7XuVHd3Q/SXXcvnrMO-I/AAAAAAAAAi8/WjZpY9WirgY/s320/Food-Pyramid.jpg

[telophase]

This is what I grew up with: http://i.imgur.com/22RrF87.jpg

At some point, it transitioned to this: http://i.imgur.com/bQzeUz2.gif

Ooh, I found one that puts eggs in Dairy! http://i.imgur.com/aQVODKq.gif

[snarp]

I remember seeing them grouped in with dairy in the pyramid at one grade-school but not the other.

There was never any real discussion of nutrition at either school, we just colored pictures of the pyramid. At least one kid would inevitably make the eggs and milk blue, because:

* It's coloring!

* You can't just leave a whole big section un-colored!

* The blue crayon's not getting used anywhere else!

* You can't color and not use the blue crayon!

The reason I remember the eggs were grouped as dairy is that I personally solved this conundrum by turning them into Easter eggs. Much more scientifically accurate.

[telophase]

An excellent response!

[auguris]

I was taught that eggs are dairy, and I didn't realize until my late 20's that eggs are, you know, meat. I went to grade school in Dracut, MA.

[telophase]

It's just so weird how common this misconception is!

[trobadora]

You did ask this before! (Why do I remember things like that?!)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Well, naturally, you hang on every word I say.

(Thanks!)

[lrodell.livejournal.com]

Hello, hello--yes, we were told in grade school that eggs were with dairy? Presumably because they both come from farms?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Weeeeird. :) We had the four food groups which were, I think:

Meat (i.e. stuff that supplied protein)
Dairy (stuff that supplied calcium)
Grains (I don't remember what these supplied)
Fruit and vegetables (stuff that supplied vitamins)

Not that what they supply is particularly accurate, but it was the late 70s/early 80s at the time.

[thornsilver]

I was taught it was diary. Which, come to think of, pretty weird.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I always vaguely thought it was because they're both associated with breakfast, but bacon isn't associated with dairy at all. :)

[golden-bastet.livejournal.com]

Eggs = dairy, at least in my school.

(It's pretty consistent with milk = diary, though. Except for that little itty bit of - well, you know.)

Edit: I have answered this before, LOL.