The original food pyramid created by the USDA (US Dept. of Agriculture) was created during a period when there was a surplus of grains being grown in the US. It's basic economics and law of supply and demand. The overage in grain makes it so the prices were very, VERY low and farmers were failing because of it. The food pyramid is not the solution to the problem; however, it was defiantly influenced by the situation. So what situation do we have now? Our nation is obese and we have to find a way to deal with it. Hence, all the research and the new food pyramid.