Item 104322 - U.S. Government Department of Agriculture food chart, 1943

Item 104322 - U.S. Government Department of Agriculture food chart, 1943
Contributed by Maine Historical Society
Item 104322
U.S. Government Department of Agriculture food chart, 1943
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A poster from the U.S. Department of Agriculture promoted the seven food groups for a healthy diet. Established in 1862, the Department of Agriculture provides leadership and information on agriculture, natural resources, and nutrition, like with this poster.

When the U.S. Department of Agriculture created this food chart with seven food groups, they had one demographic in mind—White settler colonialists like those shown in the center of the chart.

Only 35 percent of the global population—mostly people with European ancestry—can digest lactose from cow's milk today. Between 75-100 percent of Indigenous and Black people are lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance is also common in people of East Asian, Middle Eastern, Greek, and Italian descent.

Nutritional guidelines like this chart inform governmental policies but are detrimental to the health of non-Whites.

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