The Rise, Fall, and Potential Return of the Food Pyramid

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a man on a mission: “Make America Healthy Again“, made no secret of his plan to change what he said was laced with poison food culture. And he may soon bring back a relic from the past to help make that happen.

Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration is considering rebuilding the food pyramid when HHS and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) jointly update US dietary guidelines next month.

“We are going to publish dietary guidelines that will change the food culture in this country,” Kennedy. told reporters earlier this month. HHS and USDA update recommendations every five years.

An HHS spokesperson told Bloomberg on Thursday that “Kennedy is committed to new dietary guidelines based on rigorous science” and that “the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans will be an important part of the Trump administration's commitment to making America healthy again.” A USDA spokesperson said the updated recommendations “will address the chronic disease epidemic plaguing our nation by prioritizing whole, healthy and nutritious foods.”

TIME reached out to both agencies about the potential return of the food pyramid. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg that the visual is expected to focus on protein and whole foods, something Kennedy has long supported as he seeks to steer the public away from ultra-processed foods.

Here's what you need to know about the rise of the food pyramid as a guide to the American diet, how it fell out of fashion, and why it might be making a comeback.

The emergence of the food pyramid

The USDA's dietary guidelines started out as a warning. Wilbur O. Atwater, a chemist and renowned nutritionist, wrote in the 1894 Farmers' Bulletin: “If care is not taken in the selection of foodstuffs, the diet may be one-sided or ill-balanced, that is, a diet in which either protein or fuel ingredients (carbohydrates and fats…) are supplied in excess. The harm of overeating may not be immediately felt, but sooner or later it is sure to appear.”

Over the years, U.S. authorities have tried to provide guidance on what Americans should eat, as well as create visuals so the public can easily understand dietary recommendations.

In 1943, during World War II, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued dietary guidelines in the form of the “Basic Seven,” which took into account potential food ration shortages, according to chapter by Carol Davis and Etta Saltos in a 1999 book American Eating Habits: Changes and Implications. Three of the seven categories were devoted to fruits and vegetables, and one slot each to milk and dairy products; meat, poultry, fish and eggs; bread, flour and cereals; and butter or enriched margarine. But he didn't recommend serving sizes for each food group.

In 1956, the “Core Seven” was simplified to the “Core Four”, organized into the groups: milk, meat, vegetables and fruits and cereals. Approximate recommendations for the daily diet for each group were also given: four servings of vegetables, fruits and cereals, two servings of meat and “a little” milk and dairy products.

In the 1970s, the Dietary Guidelines of the United States as Americans know it today began to take shape as diseases have become increasingly associated with unhealthy diets. Dietary fats came under increasing scrutiny, and in 1977, a Senate committee led by Senator George McGovern (D, SD) published the Dietary Goals for the United States, which recommended consuming less sugar, sodium, and fat, as well as more complex carbohydrates and “naturally occurring” sugars.

Then, in 1980, the USDA and HHS released Seven-Point Dietary Guidelines for Americansas excessive intake of sugar, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium has gradually gained recognition as risk factors for chronic disease. To illustrate what a healthier diet would have looked like at the time, the USDA, in collaboration with the American National Red Cross, introduced the “Food Wheel: A Model for Everyday Food Choices” to consumers in 1984.

Four years later, the food guide was released in pyramid format. The width of the level of the pyramid roughly indicated the proportion of portions of food: at its base were bread, rice, cereals and cereals, which should account for the largest portions; and at the top were fats and sweets that should be consumed in moderation.

Fall of the food pyramid

But even the pyramid has drawn criticism because it remains broad and vague. For example, Americans were recommended to eat between 6 and 11 servings of grains, but details such as serving sizes and which specific foods in each category were healthier (such as brown rice versus white rice) remained unclear. Critics also highlighted that it does not take into account individual differences in dietary needs, such as those based on age and health conditions.

To solve these problems, work started in 2003 update the pyramid, and two years later a new version was released called MyPyramid. It was equipped with a staircase designed to remind Americans to exercise, and its food sections were flipped to the side and separated by different colored stripes to represent different food groups: orange for grains, green for vegetables, red for fruits, yellow for oils, blue for milk and purple for beans and meats.

In 2011 the USA abandoned the food pyramid in favor of something called MyPlate, which used a plate depicting what the average person should eat according to the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Tom Vilsack, then Secretary of Agriculture, described MyPlate as “a simple, visual, research-based icon that communicates serving size clearly and unmistakably.”

MyPlate's guidelines are easy to follow: Half your plate should contain fruits and vegetables, and about a quarter should contain grains and protein. The smaller plate on the side was for dairy products. Target, as presented by then-First Lady Michelle Obamawas supposed to make the US license plate look like the one shown in the MyPlate picture.

Potential return of the food pyramid

Details about what the new visual nutrition guidelines will look like are still being discussed, Bloomberg reports.

Kennedy, who oversees nutrition standards as HHS secretary, openly opposed ultra-processed foodswhich he says are “poisoning” Americans, blaming such products for chronic disease and the country's high obesity rates.

But Kennedy also spread misinformation about food. He spoke out against seed oils like canola and soybeans, although experts advertised their health benefitsand approved beef fat as a replacement. He also has hugged raw milkalthough food safety experts warn of the high risk of contracting foodborne illnesses from consuming them.

Given Kennedy's beliefs, the upcoming recommendations have caused concern among nutritionists. At a July event in Colorado, Kennedy said the guidelines “willemphasize the need to consume saturated fats“, which associated with health risks. That same month Kennedy also advanced full-fat dairy products, criticizing what he called “an attack on whole milk, cheese and yogurt” when he announced a revision of the national dietary guidelines.