Home
>
Nutrition
>
Whatever Happened to the Basic Four Food Groups?

Whatever Happened to the Basic Four Food Groups?

What Ever Happened to the Basic Four

The USDA was originally given the conflicting task of educating the public on agricultural matters while simultaneously working with food producers to provide a reliable and consistent food supply. This has, over the course of time, led to our ever evolving dietary guidelines, and yet is the purpose of these guidelines for our health or to sell more food?

Would You Believe There Were Once 12 Food Groups?

The food guides during the 1930's were heavily influenced by The Great Depression and at that time included 12 separate groups!

In 1956 the USDA produced the "Basic Four" food guide. The Dairy Industry was so enthusiastic they heavily promoted the plan, and why not; since milk, eggs and butter were suggested as a separate food group, it only made sense that the Dairy Industry would be quite pleased.

In grade school in the 1960s we were taught three square meals a day were what was best, and any other eating was considered a "snack." What is a snack? Is it extra food when you're not hungry? Is it something to do when your bored? Is it a social activity (standing around a table laden with food at a party)?

And just what was a square meal? It was based on the "Basic Four Food Groups" as they were defined at that time:

1. Milk
2. Meat
3. Fruit & Vegetables
4. Grains

Four groups, four sides, four square! Neat. Easy. People could "get" this, and that was the point. Make it easy enough for the average person to understand.

In the 1970's research began making a case that the over consumption of certain foods such as fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, increased chances for heart disease and diabetes and thereby caused the USDA to attempt to further modify their guidelines.

This was met with scorn, ridicule and very heavy resistance from the meat and dairy industries. They fought tooth-and-nail to keep the guidelines as they were, but to no avail. Eventually we ended up with the Food Pyramid.

Big Foods Wins Again

In 1988 and 1989, the USDA produced the Eating Right Pyramid, emphasizing grains and other plant foods, and de-emphasizing animal products. It was set for approval in 1991. Just prior to it's scheduled release the meat, dairy, and egg lobbyists finally took notice and heavily attacked the plan due for it's misrepresentation on their products.

Complaints were made to the Secretary of Agriculture, Edward R. Madigan, that this pyramid would hurt the sales of beef. The National Milk Producers Association joined in the fight, and within weeks the new Eating Right Pyramid was withdrawn. Big food wins again! Secretary Madigan gave as his reason for the withdrawal that the plan was, "confusing to children."

Next came the protests from the American Cancer Society, the American Medical Association and other health and medical organizations over the withdrawal of the pyramid. In July 1991 a private firm was hired, and charged with the task of testing the pyramid on a select group of children and those with minimal education. The resulting $855,000 study determined the plan was indeed sound, and it was again scheduled for release.

In April 1992 the Eating Right Pyramid was released, one year late due to the 33 changes demanded by the meat and dairy industries, nearly all of which were incorporated into the design.

Keep in mind that the dietary guidelines are a product of the food manufacturers greater needs (selling more product) with a rough balance of the health industry's attempt to influence public opinion.

The Eating Right Pyramid Attacked by Atkins Diet and Other Low Carb Diets

Today, in the early 2000s, we are again revising the USDA's recommendations. Formerly heavily leaning toward the consumption of breads and cereals (it never made a point of being specific about grains, but it make sense. The food industry is interested in selling processed grains, not whole grains), it appears we'll soon move back to the plan of the early 1930s which emphases meat and dairy, or maybe not. Only time will tell who will win the fight this time around. And the cycle continues. What's up next for our dietary guidelines is anyone's guess, which is why I suggest the common sense diet.

Eat good food and more of it. End of story.

~~ Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, EFT counselor, author of the free e-book: Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss, and owner of onemorebite-weightloss.com

Get onemorebite-weightloss.com: Inspirational Mini Lessons Using EFT and NLP for Ending the Struggle with Weight Loss.

best cleaning company Highland Park ..

In The News:

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Whatever Happened to the Basic Four Food Groups?