| One thing to remember is that the original food policy guidelines were decidedly not what the industrial food procedures wanted. The policies you’re referring started with a mistake made by a Nixon-era task force responding to what was then seen as an obesity crisis, even though it was notably lower than now. Here are some period news stories: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1977/01/20/... https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1977/08/18/... There’s an especially interesting quote from one of the doctors involved: > "What are the risks associated with eating less meat, less fat, less saturated fat, less cholesterol, less sugar, less salt and more fruits, vegetables, unsaturated fat - and cereal products - especially whole-grain cereals? There are none that can be identified and important benefits can be expected." They were wrong on the salt for most people & cholesterol, but in general that’s not especially bad advice. The problem was that they didn’t think about how well people would follow any of this – taking away most of what makes food taste good, especially in the era before white Americans used spices - and especially how the manufactured food industry would take this as a massive growth opportunity and key qualifiers like switching to a higher ratio of complex carbohydrates were largely forgotten. |
The food pyramid has its origins not in recommendations for a balanced diet but in food shortages. The USDA released the Basic 7 food guide in 1943 to help U.S. citizens cope with food rationing during World War II.
https://www.britannica.com/science/food-pyramid