The food pyramid is a graphical convention widely used to represent what should be a balanced diet. It indicates different levels for the food groups, according to the quantities that should be consumed in an everyday diet. Starting from the bottom, you can find the foods that must constitute the major element of the diet, with those to be consumed in moderation at the top.
For many years, there has also been another model: the Double Health and Climate Pyramid.
Developed by the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition Foundation, it combines the nutritional model of the Mediterranean Diet with a classification of foods according to their environmental impact. The Double Pyramid highlights how much less impact foods at the base of the Mediterranean Diet pyramid – such as fruit, vegetables, pulses and cereals like pasta – have on the environment compared to the foods at the top.