Have you taken a look at our USDA food pyramid recently? It’s gone through a few incarnations since the “carbs on the bottom, fats on top” cartoon version most of us remember. And it’s gotten a lot more confusing. Earlier in October, GOOD magazine issued a challenge: redesign our food pyramid.
We have some sympathy for the USDA. It’s not easy to create an infographic that can be comprehended at a glance, but that still relays information on food groups, how much of them to eat, and what they mean by a serving size. Plus they’re trying to incorporate the need for exercise, moderation, and individuality. That can start to be a lot.
And then there’s the whole question about whether these dietary guidelines are the right ones to be teaching in the first place. As Michael Pollan and others have pointed out, nutrition information is often conflicting on such key points as which foods constitute a healthy diet and portion size. GOOD also wonders if including information on the carbon footprint of food might also be important.
GOOD won’t be announcing the winner of their Design a Better Food Pyramid project until later this month. Until then, what do you think our food pyramid should look like? What information should it show?
• USDA Food Pyramid at MyPyramid.gov
• Project: Design a Better Food Pyramid from GOOD Magazine
Related: Organic or Local: Which is More Important to You?
(Image: MyPyramid.gov)
Soda Recipe: Homemade Ginger Ale
Recipe: Spring Fruit and Nut Tabouli
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
TW Salt Mill by Wil...
The Ultimate Used Furniture Cleaning Kit
Ana Creates a Community at Home
I think adding the carbon footprint is probably muddying the issue for the time being. Yes, it's a good thing to be conscious of, but it's definitely a separate issue from NUTRITION, which is what the food pyramid is supposed to convey.
Portion size, though, is something else again. We are all so far off when it comes to understanding what constitutes a "portion" of anything that we've all tricked ourselves into being overeaters. The pyramid tells us that we need five "servings" of vegetables a day -- but the average person, when they do put veggies on their plate, puts about two or three servings' worth on there. Or we help ourselves to a big steak, saying "ah, we need a serving of meat per day!" -- all the while unawares that the big-ass steak we've picked out is more like FIVE servings' worth.
Maybe THAT'S the idea -- rather than a food PYRAMID, maybe a pie chart. Or a plate, with PICTURES of food on it, which make up the pie chart -- a picture of a plate with a chicken leg on it, approximating the size of a "portion" of meat, then a pile of peas or something that approximates the size of how much fruits and vegetables we need, and then a big roll that approximates the size of how much grain we need. Then, next to it, a single apple and a single piece of cheese or a single glass of milk, themselves also in proportion to how much of each we need.
Nutritionists often use a fist or hand to convey portion sizes. Maybe they could incorporate something similar. Say for example a serving of veggies is the size of a cupped hand, then show 5 cupped hands with veggies in them. Or one open hand with a small poriton of meat covering the palm. This could have great visual impact and help push the message of needed servings and their size.
No, it is NOT a good idea to include information on the "carbon footprint" of food. What a joke. If it's supposed to be a FOOD pyramid, then let us concentrate on the FOOD. Same issue with the exercise bit - it's a FOOD pyramid. I understand the importance of exercise but it's mixing issues. I personally think the whole notion of a food pyramid is assinine - it changes every few years (though not significantly), depending on who's running the show. There's too much in the way of politics incorporated into what we're supposed and not supposed to consume (farm subsidies, tariffs, etc.).
Now, how many more % is the red stripe bigger than the yellow stripe? Agh I'm so confused.
I don't eat red meat, chicken, or pork so...more beans and grains and veggies and fruits please!
I LOVE the food plate/pie chart Idea! It would be helpful in terms of actually visualizing how much space the meat/ dairy should take up on your plate in comparison with the veggies.
I think that the food pyramid needs to get away from what the food producers want on it and more what *should* be on it.
Human's don't NEED to drink cow's milk, and there's an awful lot of dairy on there for a totally optional food group. I'd personally like to see less grains/carbs on the pyramid and more vegetables too. I think that our culture is way too carb-heavy. (no pun intended)
How about considering the fact that grains (ALL grains, not just "simple" carbs) have been linked to increased cancer rates and obesity! The more we find out about how our bodies work, the more important it is to stop educating our children with archaic and corporate-influenced nutritional standards. Grass-fed, pastured meats should be a staple, not an after thought, and we should emphasize limiting our grain intake, using them only to give us energy for intense exercise or to help meet dietary restrictions (vegetarians should rely on quinoa and legumes like lentils for protein, not processed tofu and bread!). This pyramid only serves to increase the health issues of the masses by feeding obesity, cancer, hypertension, and other health issues which have only reached epidemic proportions through modern food technology.
More veggies, beans, alternative sources of protein, two levels of grains, fruit, less dairy, same fat and NO MEAT OR FISH!
Uh, having NO meat or fish on the food pyramid would be ridiculous because millions of people include those as a healthy part of their diet.
For Americans, especially, ahem, men of gravity such as myself, I'd advocate the following:
Tier 1: Leafy greens, mushrooms, green beans, eggplant, zucchini, non-starchy non-processed vegetables
Tier 2: Extra-virgin olive oil, active culture yogurt, grass-fed dairy, avocados, walnuts, almonds, sources of Omega-3 fats
Tier 3: Wild salmon, free-range chicken, Grass-fed beef, lean pork loin, meats not raised on single feed (like corn)
Tier 4: Berries, fruits, whole potatoes, whole grains, the rest of the produce section
Tier Never If You Can Help It: Chips, little debbies, cheap fatty meats like bacon or Sam's Club chuck, cheap white bread, most processed food
CONTROVERSY! CONFUSION!
@lopsotronic: That is a great take on it! I could never understand why "dairy" was a group unto itself when there were other methods of getting your calcium out there. We should put tinned salmon/sardines in that section as well, maybe.
I'm with empresscallipygos. Change the graph to a pie chart.
Keep it simple and to the point. This isn't rocket science.
what's the thin yellow stripe on that pyramid for?
I like the pie chart idea, too. But I also think that non-starchy vegetables should be the biggest portion. Beans, whole grains, and starchy veg should all go together, in my opinion. Then fruits. Dairy and nuts and eggs and fish together for good fats. Then meat, poultry, cheese, oils, sugar, and refined starches (like white bread) at the top. Garnishes, my friends, garnishes! :)
The new pyramid is pretty stupid and incomprehensible. The old one wasn't perfect nutritionally, but at least it was easy to understand.
@philippat - if you look very closely, you can see a teeny bottle of corn oil at the bottom of the yellow stripe. I assume that's the "fats" category.
There's not much reason to stick with a pyramid shape when the food groups are made vertical - the horizontal band, at least, easily and quickly conveyed "eat more of this, less of that."
A pie chart would make more sense than this.
The best pyramid alternative I've ever seen has been from Walter Willett, chair of the nutrition department at Harvard School of Public Health:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid-full-story/index.html
Way too many carbs IMO, and I would not put milk on there, unless for children.
Get rid of the junk and only have 3 components in equal proportions: vegetables, animals, fat. Grains are bad news.
And why are meats and beans in the same category? Because they both contain protein?? Puhleeze.
If you're interested in the story of the food pyramid, I highly recommend Marion Nestle's book, Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. Her basic argument--and she has lots of really good evidence to back it up--is that the food pyramid is a POLITICAL document, not a health or nutrition guideline. Basically, all of the recommendations, along with the form of the pyramid, are completely determined by the influence and power of the various food industry groups. It's a fascinating read.