28th Jul 2009

Backsliding on the Pyramid

This is the food pyramid.

Real Pyramid

This is not.

Fake Pyramid

Seriously, the food pyramid was developed to emphasize that different types of food were appropriate in different amounts. The “classic” Four Food Groups placed grains, fruits and vegetables, dairy, and meat on essentially equal footing, which was ridiculous. In fact, the last of the four can be dispensed with entirely. (OK, by the 1980s, beans were half-heartedly acknowledged as belonging in the “meat/protein” group, but they didn’t get much mention in my elementary school health classes—and none in my parents’.)

The food pyramid fixed that, with the foods we should be eating more of filling out its broad base. Foods we ought to eat less are situated higher up. However, as I discovered on a recent visit to Ed Venture, the current pyramid has slid back to being nothing more than the slightly more nuanced version of 1956’s Four Groups that I head about as a kid. Sure, the “Meat & Beans” wedge is narrower, but that’s a lot less effective than relegating it to the upper tiers. No doubt the Beef Board is very happy.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 2:33 pm and is filed under civics, food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Backsliding on the Pyramid”

  1. July 29th, 2009 at 9:04 am Sea-of-Green Says:

    Aren’t there now, like, TEN different food pyramids, or something like that? I thought there were now separate pyramids for specific dietary requirements, such as for people who are lactose intolerant, people who are allergic to nuts, people who follow certain traditional cultural diets, etc., etc. …? It’s all SO confusing.

  2. July 29th, 2009 at 10:06 pm cleanser Says:

    Are there? :D If you’ve got allergies, I’d hope you wouldn’t look at the standard pyramid and think, “Hey, all this time I thought I’d die of anaphylactic shock if I ate peanuts, but the Food Pyramid says I should be chowing down…” [choke, die] I guess it can help nutritionists who need to teach somebody with gluten or lactose intolerance what their new balanced diet should look like, though.

    I certainly agree about “confusing”…

  3. July 29th, 2009 at 11:02 pm jen* Says:

    i think the ‘new’ pyramid looks stupid – besides being harder to read and make sense of. It seems that they were just trying to add a graphic that emphasizes exercise and minimizes the actual food part – which makes sense for just about any graphic *other* than a “food pyramid”. Eh. Guess they can’t all be winners.

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