Without hopefully opening the can of worms that I know this to be…the inclusion of red meat, butter, cheese, poultry skin, etc at the top and the almost complete ignoring of legumes boggles the mind from a evidence-based heart health perspective.
Gotta keep propping up American cattle and dairy farmers. 
Welcome to the Paleo-fication of the American food system.
Like with all things, it’s rarely black and white.
This food pyramid gets some things right (less processed foods, less refined sugar, more protein) but, as you say, also gets some things wrong (fats, less emphasis on farty foods, etc.)
As with all things like this, trying to satisfy everyone is the fastest way to satisfy no one.
Unfortunately those errors will have a direct impact on the national school lunch program, military canteens, etc.
Just caught this.
My thoughts exactly. They do show a photo of some rice and beans and kinda-sorta mention “plant-based proteins” … but that’s it. No lentils?? No chickpeas? Shameful.
That said, my other thought is, who cares? Other than public schools, does anyone actually pay attention to these sorts of guidelines? Not that I want public school kids to eat unhealthy stuff, but I don’t think their meals can get any worse anyway, and besides which, most kids I’ve met don’t want to eat a bunch of lentils.
I think they do. The last article linked touches on some places where impact will be felt. I know that at the very least the signage about healthy eating in our pediatrician’s office will need to be revised. Currently they post the old MyPlate.
It’s so striking that the US is moving in this direction when the UK has recently launched a full-fledged “chuck in a tin of beans” campaign with celebrity hype-men like Jamie Oliver.
ETA: The new guidelines likely will also drive government funding priorities. Who knows what will change.
I’ll ignore them — just like I’ve been ignoring the previous ones, and dO mY oWn ReSeArCh 
I think they do. As @ChristinaM has already mentioned, these dietary guidelines drive policy and fiscal decisions in more ways than you can probably imagine.
As just some basic examples:
- School meals (lunch, breakfast and summer food services programs)
- SNAP (or WIC) must align with these guidelines
- Manufacturers will tailor food labeling and “nutrition” claims to align with these guidelines
- Military, prisons and hospitals will abide by these guidelines (as long as they receive federal funding)
- Agricultural and farm spending will abide by these guidelines (as long as they receive federal funding)
- Research and funding priorities (CDC, NIH, USDA)
So, yeah, they affect all of us in the US either directly or indirectly. Fortunately or unfortunately.
At least there will be less farting. 
I doubt it, not if everyone ups their meat intake.
that realfood.gov website’s UI sucks, sucks, sucks!
seems designed for folks who scroll, scroll, scroll.
Is anyone surprised? I mean…really.
For me, cabbage and eggs make me gaseous like Old Faithful.
Especially when I eat both.
Thanks for the background info. I guess I’m more concerned than I was earlier, but I think these new guidelines are somewhat better than the prior thing in a lot of ways, so … minor silver lining?
TMI! is short for TOO MUCH INFORMATION!
These guidelines, whatever they are, when they are published are always never fully accurate as the state of science or evidence is ever in flux.
In the 1980s, fat was demonized, and no distinction was between saturated or healthful fats like polyunsaturated.
Back in the 1990s, the guidelines emphasized carbs (without differentiating simple, complex or refined), or even whole versus refined grains.
During this same time period, the guidelines vilified cholesterol and recommended people avoid dietary cholesterol based on the mistaken assumption that dietary cholesterol has a direct 1:1 effect on blood cholesterol (it doesn’t).
Then during the 2010-2020, the guidelines still emphasized a carb heavy diet, even though some evidence suggests that a carb-leaning diet is not optimal for many people.
Those are just some examples.
TL:DR relax, sit back and enjoy the shtishow, as the next iteration will no doubt change (both for the worse and the better).
You are so 2024
I swear to God I thought that was cottage cheese with fruit on it or something
What a compliment! 
Some of it makes sense…otherwise quack, quack, quack….said the ring tone!
