To save this word, you'll need to log in.
Definition of food pyramid
1 : an ecological hierarchy of food relationships in which a chief predator is at the top, each level preys on the next lower level, and usually green plants are at the bottom
2 : a pyramid-shaped depiction of recommended daily servings for different food groups (such as vegetables, grains, dairy products, and meats)
Examples of food pyramid in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Oceans are absorbing about 90 percent of the additional heat generated by climate change, which will likely have a substantial negative effect on phytoplankton and zooplankton—the base of the aquatic food pyramid.
—
Melody Schreiber, The New Republic, "The Bittersweet Joy of Fat Bear Week," 8 Oct. 2019 The concept is centered around Weil’s anti-inflammatory food pyramid and uses healthy, seasonal, sustainable and organic ingredients to create a diverse menu that includes vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free selections.
—
Claire Perez, sun-sentinel.com, "True Food Kitchen’s Squash pie a seasonal treat (plus it’s vegan and gluten-free)," 4 Oct. 2019 The guidelines, their CliffsNotes version once known as the food pyramid, are the road map to how the government administers school lunches as well as food assistance programs.
—
Laura Reiley, Washington Post, "How the Trump administration limited the scope of the USDA’s 2020 dietary guidelines," 30 Aug. 2019 The program boxed him into the Department of Agriculture food pyramid in return for subsidies the wealthy district didn’t need.
—
Sarah Schweitzer, The Atlantic, "The Lunch Ladies of New Canaan," 15 Aug. 2019 According to the food pyramid of our elementary school days, protein is red, brown, and beige: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, and nuts.
—
Sara Angle, Outside Online, "Pea Protein Is the Best Protein," 19 June 2018 In the reality of feeding a struggling family, the food pyramid is irrelevant.
—
Michelle Weber, Longreads, "Feeding Our Kids, In Fatness and in Health," 21 May 2018 The notion of nuance is perhaps at the top of my food pyramid of fiction interests—this is so different from the hot take of the moment and the headlines.
—
Thomas Gebremedhin, WSJ, "Q&A with Meg Wolitzer: The Author of ‘The Female Persuasion’," 4 Apr. 2018 Beef jerky, dried apricots, granola and fig bars, apples, sunflower seeds and peanut butter sandwiches are the pillars of my fishing food pyramid.
—
Jordan Rodriguez, idahostatesman, "5 ways to take your fishing trip to the next level | Idaho Statesman," 19 Mar. 2018
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'food pyramid.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on food pyramid
What made you want to look up food pyramid? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Obscure Shapes
- Something that is ooid is shaped like:
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Share food pyramid
Time Traveler for food pyramid
The first known use of food pyramid was in 1932
See more words from the same year