The food pyramid that represented a healthy diet for almost 20 years now gives way to a food plate, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today. First lady Michelle Obama, Surgeon General ...

Arriving in the midst of an obesity epidemic, a new at-a-glance government guide to healthful eating is meant to remind consumers to limit heavy foods and beef up on the greens.

While no one is blaming the food pyramid for the rise in obesity rates, it has taken some criticism over the years. The pyramid, unveiled in 1992, showed a hierarchy of foods.

The federal government unveiled its new food icon, MyPlate, to serve as a reminder to help consumers make healthier food choices on June 2, 2011.

The nearly 20-year-old food pyramid will soon give way to a new symbol. ... Speculation is that dinner plate will take over for decades-old pyramid. By ABC News. May 31, 2011, 3:16 PM.

Step aside, pyramid. Make way for the plate. The USDA is unveiling its new and improved nutrition guidelines graphic. Its designed to help consumers better visualize what it means to eat healthier.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Remember the food pyramid? Well, it's history. Welcome "the plate." The First Lady, Surgeon General and the Agriculture Secretary unveiled the government's new tool to help ...

The federal government unveiled its new food icon, MyPlate, to serve as a reminder to help consumers make healthier food choices on June 2, 2011.

My issue with the plate chart is that it does not offer a prescribed eating regimen. It merely has four nearly equal allocations of food groups on a colorful plate and dairy cast off to the side.

PICTURES - Bye-bye pyramid, hello plate: Timeline of food guidelines. The food pyramid has been around since 1992, but nutrition experts don't seem to be mourning its demise.

Eating the MyPlate way means filling half your plate with vegetables and fruits, adding slightly more veggies than fruits. Go for a colorful mix. You'll get plenty of nutrients that way.