Riddle of the Sphinx

"The pyramid has crumbled," said a food industry consultant. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion hired the Porter Novelli PR firm to redesign the Food Pyramid, or, as one PR pro called it, the "Food Guidance System, so it's not prejudiced that it's going to be a pyramid." Food is a $500 billion industry, so "everybody and their dog" is interested, said the Wheat Foods Council president. Concerned groups include the U.S. Potato Board, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Atkins Nutritionals and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. The USDA will pay Porter Novelli at least $1.6 million over the next year, for the redesign, slogan, Internet work and educational materials, reports Adweek.