[flatline]

Dairy is completely unnecessary, for one. Its prominence on the plate makes everything else immediately suspect. There are probably some axes along which a glass of milk or cup of (unsweetened) yogurt is one reasonable option but that's not what is being promoted here.

[giantg2]

I see it as more of a limit than a requirement. After all, you can technically satisfy your dietary needs with vegetables and eliminate fruits. But we aren't talking about technicalities and edge cases, rather what a balanced diet might consist of. For many people that does include dairy and fruits, even if neither are completely necessary.

[flatline]

I would gently suggest that you may be blinded by a cultural bias here, which has partly been formed by the dairy lobby over the course of every living American’s lifetime. While it is true that we are not the only culture that drinks cow’s milk, it is predominantly a Northern European and later American phenomenon, and the number of people who are intolerant to dairy on some level is very high. I’m not saying a balanced diet cannot consist of dairy, but implying it should, as the plate diagram does, is highly misleading and outright paid for.

[giantg2]

"I’m not saying a balanced diet cannot consist of dairy, but implying it should, as the plate diagram does, is highly misleading and outright paid for."

And to exclude it would imply that it cannot be part of a balanced diet. That would be misleading based on the predominate culture.

"I would gently suggest that you may be blinded by a cultural bias here,"

I would suggest that you are not aware of the cultural background. The US was colonized by Europeans. Many cultures who immigrated also used milk, cheese, or other dairy products. It makes sense that the guidelines be based on the cultural background of the foods eaten in that country.

Also many Asian countries have nutrition guidelines that include dairy products, not to mention historical cultural foods that do include dairy.