If you answer yes to any of these questions below, you have been touched by Oldways’ work around the world!

  • Do you cook with olive oil? Oldways helped popularize olive oil, an essential ingredient of the Mediterranean Diet. Only 20 years ago olive oil was an ethnic product, far from the mainstream product it is today. Oldways helped change public policy and perception about fats – moving from a fear of fats to a focus on healthy fats, and influencing the government to change its guidance from low-fat to moderate fat.
  • Have you picked up Greek yogurt, olives or hummus at the supermarket lately? Oldways is perhaps best known for introducing the Mediterranean Diet and the Med Diet Pyramid to the U.S. back in the 1990s. Mediterranean food is becoming increasingly popular, with 6 in 10 consumers recently surveyed by Technomic indicating they would likely order a menu item featuring flavors and ingredients typically associated with Mediterranean cuisine. Additionally, sales of Mediterranean foods such as Greek-style yogurt and hummus packed with good nutrition have sky-rocketed.
  • Have you looked for the Whole Grain Stamp on your favorite foods? Oldways and its Whole Grains Council have made whole grains the new norm. As of 2016, the Whole Grain Stamp was being used on more than 10,800 products in 55 countries; each year consumers see the Stamp on grocery shelves on untold billions of packages. The biggest impact? Dietary guidelines in the US and in many countries now call for consumers to “Make at least half your grains whole grains.”
  • Have you ever referenced a food pyramid? Using cultural models to inspire healthy eating, Oldways created and introduced five healthy eating pyramids (Mediterranean, Asian, Latin American, Vegetarian and African Heritage), along with health/education outreach programs. The African Heritage Pyramid is the newest food pyramid — introduced in November 2011. These Pyramids have been used by millions of people and are seen in homes, doctors’ offices, supermarkets, RD offices and more throughout the world.
  • Visited a farmer’s market recently? Oldways founded the Chefs’ Collaborative in 1993, to encourage local, sustainable foods. Farmers’ markets and local foods are now mainstream and improve the health of individuals, families, communities and the planet – all-important offshoots of the program Oldways founded.
  • Love pasta? You have Oldways to thank. Through our Healthy Pasta Meal program and work with Whole Grains, Oldways helped stop the unbalanced low-carb craze so that today pasta is seen as a delicious, healthful, convenient, affordable – and extremely popular – food.
  • Tantalized by ethnic cuisine? Oldways’ focus on traditional diets as cultural models for healthy eating has paved the way for the current wave of healthy international foods and restaurants.