PR Firm Tapped to Market New Food Pyramid

The United States Department of Agriculture is paying public relations and marketing firm Porter Collins $2.5 million to remodel the food pyramid icon and put together a campaign.

Porter Collins has received $59 million worth of federal contracts since 1997.

Porter Collins also represents or has represented in the past, some of the largest food corporations in the world, such as McDonald's, The Campbell Soup Company, The Dole Food Company, and The Snack Food Association.

The new Food Pyramid will be unveiled sometime in April.

Courtesy of Kim Severson of the New York Times 4/10/2005

Steve - Shocked? No. Angry? Maybe. Disillusioned? Definitely. There is good reason why 80% of Americans know what the Food Pyramid is, but few follow it. We are skeptical that the government does not have our best interests in mind. This is another of the ever-growing list of reasons why we are correct in thinking this way. The government has such an opportunity to grasp the moment when our country needs it the most (obesity rates at an all-time high), but from what we've seen with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines and the anticipated revised Food Pyramid, at least in the Nutritional Concepts' camp, momentum has coming to a screeching halt. Business as usual!