The USDA rolled out the original Food Guide Pyramid in 1992. The graphic was designed to tell people, at a glance, how much they should be eating of various types of food. Gone were the days of butter as a basic; the pyramid placed fats, oils, and sweets at its tiny tip, without any alluring illustrations.
Many experts took issue with the pyramid. Among other problems, it encouraged people to eat too many carbs—particularly as portion sizes grew—and portrayed all fat as bad, rather than making room for healthy dietary fats. Plus, who knew what a serving size was? Most people weren’t carefully comparing their steak to a deck of cards.