Good information, bad information design
I’m seeing this nearly five-year-old(!) infographic making the rounds on Facebook. Without addressing the accuracy of the raw data, the graphic itself is deeply flawed. The designers have used the height of each pyramid section to indicate percentages/servings. A bar graph using relative heights would be fine, but by using pyramids, the lower layers of the pyramids are wider/deeper than the upper layers.
This drastically overemphasizes the relative amounts of the food groups the lower down the pyramids you go. By suggested volume, the meat/dairy category in the left pyramid is probably in the high 90s percent-wise. The relative values in the right pyramid are similarly distorted.
These are basic information design rules – to break them like this ultimately undermines whatever point is being made.
Link to graphic as originally posted by PCRM: http://www.pcrm.org/good-medicine/2007/autumn/health-vs-pork-congress-debates-the-farm-bill
Link to some alternative presentations of the same data: http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2010/03/why-does-a-salad-cost-more-than-a-big-mac/
