The Lacuna Project

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Exhibit 538

A Brief History of USDA Food Guides

Exhibit 538 ยท Agency fact sheet

A Brief History of USDA Food Guides

Developed using consumer research, to bring awareness to the new food patterns

Two-page USDA chronology from 1916 to MyPlate. The 1992 entry describes the Food Guide Pyramid as developed using consumer research. The sheet does not mention the April 1991 withdrawal.

Source
USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
Date
June 2011
Quoted from
1992 entry, p. 2
Grade
Primary record
Document
https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120913074206id_/http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/downloads/MyPlate/ABriefHistoryOfUSDAFoodGuides.pdf
Accessed
2026-11-09
Cited by
Findings citing this exhibit
Note
Wayback/UNT web-archive copy; the choosemyplate.gov original is no longer served.

Cited by

Finding AGR-4.3
Peer-reviewed In April 1991 USDA postponed the Food Guide Pyramid after the National Cattlemen's Association and other producer groups protested, and released a revised design one year and one day later. Nestle's account describes the Secretary's stated reason as "widely disbelieved." USDA's own 2011 chronology does not mention the postponement.