The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled a new food pyramid for the United States, and people online said there was something strangely familiar about it.
The White House called it the “most significant reset of federal nutrition policy.” However, the internet quickly focused on the visuals. Namely, that the guidance graphic was an upside-down pyramid, which immediately reminded people of an old South Park joke.
RFK’s new Food Pyramid revealed
The new design prioritized protein, healthy fats, and whole foods. At the same time, it pushed whole grains, ultra-processed food, and sugar to the bottom. The old food pyramid, which dated back to the 1990s, had grains and cereals on the bottom, fruits and vegetables in the middle, and dairy and meat products near the top, with fats and sugars.
The administration presented the guidance as a dramatic shift in how Americans should eat. Instead of centering grains, the upside-down pyramid places proteins, vegetables, fruits, dairy, and healthy fats at the top. Meanwhile, sugar and ultra-processed foods sat at the narrow base.
Officials framed the update as a reset of health in the U.S. Still, critics and fans alike focused on how familiar it looked to a South Park joke in the episode titled “Gluten Free Ebola.” In that episode, the USDA flipped the food pyramid to fix public health overnight.
South Park did it first
Online reactions were varying stages of disbelief and amusement. Immediately, some shared screenshots and videos of a 2014 South Park episode in which a team of scientists offers a solution to the food pyramid, essentially flipping it. Alongside RFK’s demand to stop vilifying healthy fats, it was pretty accurate.
“HAHA there’s an old South Park episode where they flipped the food pyramid upside down to ‘stabilize nutrition’ and save America,” @ConsciousSTRG tweeted. They added, “RFK Jr. just posted a satire clip of that episode with himself in it for his new food guidelines 🤣”
Others leaned into the joke, like @ATLSloan who wrote, “As prophesied by @SouthPark over a decade ago.. We finally flipped the food pyramid!!”
Similarly, @JeremyCheehan posted, “They just did the South Park episode. #MAHA ‘The food pyramid. It’s upside down.’”
Social media thought it was bizarrely hilarious
It wasn’t just the South Park episode that people latched on to. Senator Jacky Rosen (@SenJackyRosen) quote retweeted a post from the New York Post about Dr. Oz telling people not to drink alcohol for breakfast. She said, “Has he flagged this for @PeteHegseth?”
Meanwhile, @Acyn shared a Fox News exchange revisiting Michelle Obama’s “food deserts” comments. “We take it all back. She is right,” Laura Ingraham said during the clip.
Other users questioned the presentation itself. @_kentw posted screenshots of realfood.gov, asking, “You’re telling me this is a government website?”
One long thread from @anudestination tied it all together. She recalled Cartman’s dream about Aunt Jemima flipping the pyramid and wrote, “Well… today, RFK Jr. just announced the new official US dietary guidelines and it’s literally an upside-down food pyramid.” She then added, “South Park made predicted this 12 years ago!!! Trey and Matt are prophets. 😂”
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