Look Who's Shilling for the First Lady--GE Pairs Federal Nutrition Push with New Microwaves

From the Courier-Journal (KY). Great--that's all we need...ANOTHER microwave! Do we have a STUPID IDEA OF THE MILLENNIUM award? I'd like to give it to GE.

"A new General Electric microwave designed in Louisville is the first in the appliance industry tailored to the MyPlate guidelines, the federal government’s new nutritional model.

Pressing a button on the over-the-range microwave activates controls that are preset with cooking times for foods the federal government is encouraging people to eat. MyPlate, a program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, advises consumers to fill half their plate with fruits and vegetables, focus on lean protein for less than one fourth of the plate and switch to whole grain choices.

A push of the MyPlate button reveals a dial that consumers can scroll to cook grains, vegetables or lean protein. Grain choices include oatmeal, rice or macaroni. Vegetable cooking time presets include asparagus, broccoli, carrots, corn or peas. Chicken preset cooking times include bone-in, and boneless filets.

Market research showed consumers want this information at their fingertips, GE microwave product manager Susan Gregory said.

About “72 percent of people thought that companies should make features for them to do the right thing... to eat healthier,” Gregory said.

Battling obesity with a button seemed like a place to start, she added.

“Obesity rates are staggering,” she said. “This helps people get better energy instead of junk food.”

GE “has really been trailblazing. We are so excited to hear how it does,” USDA spokeswoman Shelley Maniscalco said of GE’s push to incorporate MyPlate into its microwaves. “It is very innovative, what they are doing, using the MyPlate logo as a cue to folks to think about eating healthy and making half of their plate fruits and vegetables. Louisville is very progressive.”

Based at GE’s Appliances & Lighting division headquartered at Appliance Park, the microwave group will also send a healthy eating newsletter to new microwave purchasers. The 30-inch over-the-range microwaves equipped with the MyPlate feature range from $349 to $649, Gregory said.

“Providing value that people are willing to pay for is clearly a part of our strategy,” company spokeswoman Julie Wood said.

Over-the-range microwaves, pioneered by Appliance Park engineers in the 1970s, have grown to comprise 50 to 60 percent of the market, Gregory said. Of that, GE microwaves now capture about 30 percent of sales, she said. Trials with counter-top microwaves equipped with MyPlate features are underway, she added. Expansion to other GE appliances, including ranges, is being considered, she said.

“You try to innovate in 30 inches,” Gregory said of the standard microwave size. “Sometimes it’s a little difficult to come up with new ideas. We did a lot of research.”

IT'S NOT THE MACHINE YOU USE, BUT WHAT YOU PUT INSIDE IT THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE! Can someone say "obviously GE needs more money from the taxpayers?"

And while we're at it, I'd like to know who down at GE made macaroni a whole grain, and who thinks we're going to nuke fruit and salads.

Desperation, folks--this is sheer desperation.