A Look Into the Evolution of the U.S. Food Pyramid | Episode 151

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine are back from their quick holiday break and are ready to tackle the brand-new 2026 food pyramid.

With their special brand of humor, they walk through each of the four iterations of the visual American dietary guidelines over the years and what they mean for Americans

In this episode:

💩 [01:09] Holiday break update and misplaced keys

💩 [11:07] The 1992-2005 food pyramid and its impacts

💩 [17:21] The confusing 2005-2011 MyPyramid

💩 [19:37] The 2011-2026 MyPlate (not actually a pyramid)

💩 [23:28] The 2026 upside-down food pyramid

💩 [28:58] How the new pyramid could be improved

💩 [34:32] Will this change how people eat?

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode

Catch up with Episode 146 | Seriously, Don’t Kill Your Loved Ones During the Holidays, where Matt talked about his dread over traveling with his entire family over the holidays.

Check out Frank Yiannas’ LinkedIn post with the evolution of the food pyramid over time.

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“ I do not disagree with this new pyramid. It’s basically my diet. What I do disagree with is [that] it doesn’t make it easy for someone to look at this and go, ‘Oh, this is how I am supposed to eat.’ There’s nothing really easy about it.” – Matt Regusci

“’0 5 to ’11 looks like they just took the colors of the rainbow, tossed them together in a mountainous type setting, and threw a bunch of food at the bottom of it.” – Francine L Shaw

Connect with Francine, Matt, and the “Don’t Eat Poop!” show on LinkedIn! 

Check out Francine’s book Who Watches the Kitchen? on Amazon!