Plates Are The New Food Pyramids

Pyramids are soooo 1992. Plates are the new Pyramids.

The famous USDA Food Guide Pyramid has been replaced with the new MyPlate.

Good, because I remember standing in the elementary school cafeteria and looking at a poster of the food pyramid and thinking, “That’s a lot of F*cking bread.”

First Lady, Michelle Obama, USDA Secretary and the Surgeon General developed the new MyPlate.

The MyPlate diagram is intended as a teaching tool for children and shows a plate cut into four sections, red for fruit, green for vegetables, orange for grains and purple for protein, with a separate cup representing dairy.

The MyPlate suggests, “Make half your plate fruits and vegetables,” and the grains/breads section has been reduced since the pyramid.

The MyPlate is easier to interpret than the food pyramid. Arranging food on a plate makes more sense that breaking your daily caloric intake into sections of a pyramid? Dammit I just ate the top portion of the pyramid and a couple of layering bricks worth of chocolate cake.

Apparently the USDA spent $2 million to “develop and promote the logo, including conducting research and focus groups and creating a website.”

Cool. $2 million to draw a pie chart that we’re going to forget about until they change the shape again in 2031.