Used with permission of CBS Broadcasting, Inc.

Used with permission of CBS Broadcasting, Inc.

 
Food politics hit “The Good Wife” on Sunday in the episode "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" when Eli Gold (played by Alan Cumming, below) advocates for a new version of the USDA MyPlate food icon. Eli, who in the television drama represents the cheese industry during a crisis, suggests an easy-to-read diagram that includes a larger portion of dairy – and everything else. His diagram? MyBody (referred to as TGW Food Pyramid at CBS),
shown above. Note the ear of corn where the heart would be -- and that sweets have as much status as any other type of food.
At one point, Eli says at a hearing, “What food has most sway over Congress? Corn. Always considered to be a vegetable, it could be called a grain.” His diagram shows corn surrounded by a variety of grains.
The episode pits the fruit lobby against the vegetable, dairy and grain lobbies. And the winner? Well, not the consumer. Kind of like real life. Couldn’t have been more timely with Congress calling pizza a vegetable last week.