Since its founding in 1990, Oldways has endorsed the three key principles listed below. We're pleased that the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans finally endorsed Oldways' long-held beliefs.

1) Healthy Eating Can Be Delicious
For too long, eating healthy has been equated with deprivation and scolding. With its call to “empower individuals and families with improved ... cooking skills” and “enjoy your food, but eat less” the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Report laid the groundwork for a new attitude and approach that Oldways has for many years fondly called “the Pleasures of the Table.”

2) Working with Industry is Essential
“Change is needed in the food environment,” said the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Report on which the new Guidelines are based. “The food industry will need to act to help Americans achieve these goals.”   Oldways has a long history, through programs like its Whole Grains Council and Mediterranean Foods Alliance, of organizing creative initiatives that motivate industry to introduce healthier products, and plans to build on this successful model in support of the new Guidelines. Visit our Better Food Forum page to learn more about some companies' commitments to healthier food.

3) Total Diet is Important
In the early 90s, Oldways created the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid to popularize a proven approach to healthy, delicious eating - a total approach to diet, comprised of a wide variety of healthy foods and drinks. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines  added a key chapter on Total Diet, and added the Med Diet specifically (to previous recommendations for DASH and its own USDA Eating Pattern) to its core recommendations, citing the Med Diet as one of the most scientifically-established ways to live a long and healthy life.  Oldways’ expertise in healthy traditional foodways around the world sets the standard for cultural diversity in healthy eating.

Click here to read Oldways' Summary of Key Points from the June 2010 DGAC Report.

Take the Three Point Pledge! Sign Up Today

Changing the way people eat, by supporting these three principles, will take a concerted effort – one that will be more effective if we find ways to work together.

Oldways invites everyone who believes in these three basic tenets to step forward and make yourself known.  Sign up today and we’ll make sure you're kept up to date on Oldways' programs. Be part of a revolution in healthy eating!

Email Cynthia Harriman  (use subject line Three Point Pledge) with the following information:

1. Which of the following best describes you?
a. An individual
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c. A non-profit organization
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2. Contact information
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3. What else do you want to tell us? (optional)
Just sending us your contact information above is enough to get the ball rolling. But if you’d like to tell us why you’re interested, we’d love to hear.