Three weeks ago, the USDA unveiled its replacement for the much-
pilloried food pyramid, inciting a spate of mixed reviews. Most
nutritionists seemed pleased that green veggies now dominate the
color-coded dinner plate. Others felt that the Big Dairy scored
the biggest win, with a fat glass of milk stamped onto the main
course. Politically minded writers commented that the new icon
will be little more than that — iconic — without major reforms
to government policies that currently make a cup of Froot Loops
cheaper than a cup of fruit. Still, most everyone agreed that
design-wise, ChooseMyPlate.gov is a vast improvement over its
predecessor. A simple dinner plate carved up into quadrants
according to nutritional categories replaces the jumbled
smorgasbord of food dumped at the base of an oddly Everest-like
pyramid. There is still vast room for improvement, though, and
we think Lonely Datum does the USDA one better with Visualizing
Nutrients in Bite Size, an interactive graphic that allows
viewers to explore 150