Two months ago, Oldways created its 3 Point Pledge to rally people interested in improving our food supply. We got some great responses from across the country. We'd like to share a sampling with you today, so you can see how passionate people are about good food – and maybe inspire you to take our Pledge, too!

What happens next? We've invited everyone who took the Pledge to help us out, by assisting us in creating the Better Food Forum, a web page designed to spotlight companies' pledges to deliver better foods to our tables. Whether packaged foods are a small part of your diet or a larger part, improvements in these foods are all to the good. We welcome your help, too.

And now -- for those samples we promised from our 3 Point Pledge project:

"I am an individual, recently diagnosed with diabetes. Your organization sounds wonderful. For years, I have been trying to cook in a healthier fashion. Other than condiments, and occasionally canned beans, I rarely purchase processed foods. My family supports our local farmers and ranchers to the best of our ability, and we have begun our own small garden." 
Carolyn S., California

"I’m interested in getting on-board with this concept.  I’m speaking as an individual who has long struggled to be released from the old mentality of overeating/dieting cycle; but I’m also a certified diabetes educator and teach people daily about healthy nutrition and lifestyle changes."
Heather C., R.N., C.D.E., Colorado

"I'm interested in the three point pledge because I believe it is important to build awareness about healthy eating. I used to be very overweight. Now through diet and exercise I control my weight. I have a family history of diabetes and I myself am a hypoglycemic. I also think that foods are better for you the less they are processed."
Jenny L., Texas

"I am interested because I am passionate about helping people to discover a better way for them to create wellness in their bodies and their lives. ... We have gotten away from a natural way of eating and we are eating so mindlessly and so processed. One of the ways to begin to affect change is to get the industry on board. They need to use their vast power over the American culture for the good, not detriment of our overall health."
Yvonne S., New Jersey

"I am a student with a love of cooking who seeks  to live healthily.  I will also be living in a sustainability-themed communal residence and am hoping I may receive relevant and useful materials/information while on your mailing list."
Adam V., Iowa

"I am 72 years old and I have recently had several strokes. I am in a diet-exercise program that puts emphasis on more Mediterranean styles of eating. Since I have started changing my eating habits just 4 weeks ago my blood pressure has dropped dramatically and I feel a LOT better. I hope to learn more."
Penny H., Virginia

"I’ve long-believed that the food industry can be a strong ally in improving the health & nutritional habits of Americans. As a supermarket dietitian, I’ve obtained an insiders point of view – using business strategies to make important public health changes in the environment. By changing the food landscape in grocery stores, restaurants, magazine recipes & food promotions…we (dietitians) can make a difference in all diet-moderated chronic disease (the big 3) – (1) heart disease, (2) diabetes, and (3) cancer."
Barb R., R.D., Arizona

"I am a Registered Dietitian in private practice. I have supported "the three point pledge" for over 26 years! Wherever I work with clients, individually and in groups, these three important principles are showcased. ...I am happy to join with you in this endeavor to help change the way America eats."
Robin P., R.D., New Jersey

"Being Japanese in ancestry, having been raised by the first generation to the US from Japan..., I have been fortunate to be able to remember the simple, delicious and nutritious  meals that were every day fare for me in the 1950's.  ...  But over the decades, I watched the revolution in American eating habits wreak havoc on friends and relatives alike...the weight problems my friends experienced, the cancers that threatened many of them, as well as the diabetes...and it is because I'm thrilled to see a movement back toward honoring and highlighting the healthful and tasty benefits of home cooking, whole fresh foods versus processed or fast foods, that I would like to be a part of this revolution in healthy eating!"
Sharon C., R.N., California

"I am a Culinary Institute of America graduate/trained chef with years in the industry before realizing my passion is prevention and heart health. I have been a registered dieititian for over 10 years and have encouraged a Mediterranean diet all this time, after travels to Europe. I live, breathe and am passionate about the Med lifestyle and prevention of heart disease.  I am fully committed to the improving the lives of all people through an integrative approach."
Nancy T., R.D., L.D.N., Maryland

"As a long-time Registered Dietitian, new organic farmer, and very concerned citizen for the future of our nation and the world, I embrace and have been advocating for these same urgently needed changes in how people eat for years."
Diana D., Michigan

"I am in the process of slowly losing weight by changing the way I eat by being more mindful of what I choose, making a point to discover new foods to love, cooking instead of eating out so often, and approaching each meal and snack as if it were a work of life's art to be appreciated on every sensory level. Oldways spoke to me on so many levels. Bought and am currently reading the essays in the lovely book. Am not quite clear as to what this email leads to with Oldways, mailing list or invitations to activities. If it simply gets me on an email list so that I can receive reminders of this wonderful way of thinking and living well, then it will be worth the time of committing to the three points."
Janice D., Texas