The following Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Lehman.

A brief history of U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Prior to 1980, how in the world did anyone know how to eat?

When you think of all the centuries, the millennia of human existence,

how did the species manage to survive bumbling their way

through day after day of undirected eating patterns?

I'm guessing those of you who know me

expected a few irreverent remarks when you read the title of today's post. Still, I'll try to

keep myself on a short leash today. It is a legitimate and even in some regards, culturally and

probably politically significant question. Why were government dietary

guidelines ever put in place? And what was the backstory of their uses and modifications

over time? Finally, what perspective can bring it to our understanding of embracing a niche dietary

model like the primimal Blueprint.

While the first official set of nutritional guidelines were published in 1980 as a joint effort

of the USDA, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and HHS, Department of Health and Human Services,

earlier government issued reports had initiated the series and stoked federal involvement in nutritional policy.

You could trace a long history of discussion and publication leading up to these developments,

but I'll stick with the more recent events for my purpose today.

The Origins of Government Recommendations

In the late 1960s, a public push for addressing hunger in poorer pockets of the country

spurred the creation of a bipartisan Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs

that existed from 1968 to 1977.

Chaired by Senator George McGovern, the committee's initial proposed aim would eradicate

...