Bidding farewell to the U.S. Food Pyramid

[Estelle Menz]

After millions of dollars to develop and promote the Food Pyramid, it is going the way of the plate. The Food Pyramid will be replaced by a dinner plate divided into sections that we hope conveys information more clearly.  The Pyramid was very unpopular and suffered assaults from nutritionists and dieticians as Egypt's pyramids did from the French invaders. The good people at your Harvard Univesity were not impressed.  A quote from the article Good Bye Pyramid, Hello Dinner Plate by William Neuman of the New York Times illustrates what some might call hostility. 

"It’s going to be hard not to do better than the current pyramid, which basically conveys no useful information,” said Walter C. Willett, chairman of the nutrition department at Harvard University. 

The dinner plate will be presented to the American public on 2 June 2011.

[Beatrice Yearwood]

Thank you for drawing attention to the new graphic for better eating choices.  The plate has its critics, but pyramid was very confusing.  What we need in America is a nutrition curriculum that begins in 1st grade.  This is not difficult because nutrition information can be infused in reading and math basics. The major challenge is making healthier food easily available in our poor/working class neighborhoods.  Children develop a taste for certain foods early and if not introduced at an early age to better nutrition, it becomes a battle with taste buds conditioned to high fat, salt, & sugar content.

For more information go ChooseMyPlate.gov