Minor nitpick: The food pyramid wasn't a product of the FDA, it was a product of the USDA. Also the classic food pyramid was "overturned" a couple times, now it is a plate. You are right though, money and outside influence are involved, sometimes exclusively. Honestly, I don't think the USDA should be telling us what to eat in that way because we know that humans can survive and even thrive on a very large variety of diets.
Story time. Growing up I used to see the food pyramid posted on the walls everywhere - school, after school programs, etc. I became concerned that I wasn't eating enough bread due to looking at it all the time. One day I went home and tried to eat something like 12 slices of (white) bread. This is of course a really silly thing to do.
Denise Minger's book on the topic, Death by Food Pyramid: How Shoddy Science, Sketchy Politics and Shady Special Interests Have Ruined Our Health, is better than I expected...
Story time. Growing up I used to see the food pyramid posted on the walls everywhere - school, after school programs, etc. I became concerned that I wasn't eating enough bread due to looking at it all the time. One day I went home and tried to eat something like 12 slices of (white) bread. This is of course a really silly thing to do.