The  Pyramid 

The FOOD  Pyramid was a recognizable nutrition tool that was introduced by the USDA in 1992. It was shaped like a pyramid to suggest that a person should eat more foods from the bottom of the pyramid and fewer foods and beverages from the top of the pyramid.

The Food Guide Pyramid displayed proportionality and variety in each of five groups of foods and beverages, which ascended in horizontal layers starting from the base and moving upward toward the tip: breads, cereals, pasta and rice; fruits and vegetables; dairy products; eggs, fish, legumes, meat and poultry; plus alcohol, fats and sugars. The 1992 USDA Food Guide Pyramid is shown in Figure 1-1.