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UPCOMING EVENTS

What's New

Week of August 18th, 2008
Thought-provoking Roster of Expert Speakers Confirmed

Early-bird discount ends September 1st, for our Med Diet Conference being held November 16-18, 2008 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Over the last decade and a half, Oldways has spearheaded a successful effort to educate health professionals, government policy-makers, marketing executives, food technologists, and journalists that the Med Diet is the gold standard for healthy eating. Now it's time to ratchet our efforts up to the next level, to push this message out to more consumers.

If your work involves obesity, food behavior, foodservice or any other related field, Oldways' 15th Anniversary Mediterranean Diet conference will inspire you with speakers that will update the solid science behind the Med Diet and offer concrete examples of successful public health and foodservice approaches you can use to help consumers realize how healthy and affordable eating "the Med way" can be.

Top experts will explain how to raise an omnivorous child... why nutritional reductionism doesn't work... how to reduce asthma risk in kids... why the Med Diet helps with weight control... which foods and drinks best represent the Med Diet... how olive oil is similar to ibuprofen... why Alzheimer's disease is less likely in Med Diet eaters... how supermarkets can promote the Med Diet as an affordable option for everyone... and so much more.

You can see a full program, view a star-studded list of confirmed speakers, and register for the conference here. Register by September 1st to get our early bird discount!

Week of August 4th, 2008
Whole Grains Store Kit Launched

Now's a good time to start thinking about Whole Grains Month, coming up in September. The Whole Grains Council wants to help open grocery customers' eyes to the health benefits of whole grains, while making them more aware of the many whole grain choices available up and down the aisles. The WGC's free "Whole Grains Store Tour" kit includes everything you need to plan a special event for Whole Grains Month - or any other time. The kit includes instore signage, signup sheets, handouts, an aisle-by-aisle shopping list, ideas for sampling whole grains, a recipe pack, and even a PowerPoint presentation.

The free Whole Grains Store Tour can be downloaded from the RESOURCES section at WholeGrainsCouncil.org on the WGC website, where you can also find many other great ideas for celebrating Whole Grains Month.

Week of July 28th, 2008
Oldways Culinaria to Morocco with Ana Sortun and Paula Wolfert



We're excited to announce the addition of Paula Wolfert, renowned cookbook author and expert on Moroccan cuisine to our upcoming Moroccan Culinaria, scheduled from December 1-10, 2008.

Wolfert, the James Beard Award Winning-author of the classic cookbook Couscous and Other Good Food From Morocco will join Ana Sortun, James Beard Award Winning-chef and owner of Oleana and author of Spice, to guide Oldways staff and participants on a culinary exploration of the exotic cities of Marrakech and Fez. Highlights of the culinaria include guided trips through the food markets and souks, traditional meals at an array of cafes and restaurants, a day trip to a Berber village outside of Marrakech, cooking demonstrations led by Wolfert and Sortun, and much more. To view the entire agenda and trip costs, please click here, or feel free to contact Erica Calegari at 617-421-4850 with any questions. We hope that you will join us!

Week of July 21st, 2008
Oldways Announces Latino Nutrition Coalition Conference
February 23-25, 2009, Las Vegas, Nevada

At LNC Headquarters in Boston, many hours are spent analyzing the role culture plays in the Latino community's approach to health, disease management, and food/lifestyle choices. We, along with experts from many fields, will share our findings at the 2009 LNC Conference Roots and Reality of Latino Diabetes: Finding Answers in Traditions and Science to be held in Las Vegas at the Westin Casuarina from February 23-25, 2009.

Join us in Las Vegas as experts focus on the roots and the realities of Latinos living with diabetes today. Culture will be the center of attention as we explore its role in the Latino community’s attitudes, perceptions and traditional remedies towards diabetes. We will find answers in both the science behind disease prevention, exercise, and the pleasures of the Latin table. Connect with Oldways and the Latino Nutrition Coalition as marketers, policymakers, R&D leaders, scientists and chefs meet in Las Vegas to exchange ideas and find answers.

We will post conference details online soon. In the meantime, please contact Kezia Frayjo, Latino Nutrition Coalition Program Manager with any questions: kfrayjo@oldwayspt.org.

Week of June 30th, 2008
Oldways On The Radio
K. Dun Gifford discusess the pleasure and health of the Mediterranean diet, Sicilian cuisine, health benefits of olive oil, and the 15th Annivesary of the Mediterranean Diet Food Pyramid with Carole Kotkin and Simone Diamant of South Florida Gourmet's Food and Wine Talk. Click here to listen to the entire interview.

Week of June 23rd, 2008
Oldways Exchange Spring 2008 Newsletter

Some of our latest news is below, but please click here to see the full newsletter.

You’ll find information about the Mediterranean Foods Alliance (MFA), the new face of Med Mark. The Alliance is a natural next step for the Med Mark and works with closely with health professionals, media, and scientists to bring the Med Diet to more homes, supermarkets,
restaurants—everywhere Americans eat.

Other news includes:

Whole Grain Stamp Goes International
Oldways and the Whole Grains Council (WGC) are sharpening their Spanish and French translation skills as the Whole Grain Stamp bursts the borders of the United States and travels to other countries. A bilingual French/English version of the Stamp, announced in our last newsletter, started appearing on Canadian shelves in March, with ACE Bakery breads and Ryza brown rice milk two of the first stamped products to hit the market. Almost simultaneously, British Bakels, an English supplier of ingredients and mixes, launched the Whole Grain Stamp in the U.K.

Latino Nutrition Coalition Has a New Website
Oldways created the Latino Nutrition Coalition (LNC) three years ago. The LNC is an educational program inspiring Latinos to improve and maintain their health through traditional foods and active lifestyles. The LNC creates practical, culturally-aware materials in English and Spanish that help Latinos match the best of their healthy food traditions with the realities of modern American life. The LNC's most recent endeavor is its launch of a new LNC website.

Sweetness Conferences in Washington, DC and Beijing, China
In April Oldways organized two Sweetness conferences, one in Washington, DC and the other in Beijing, China. More than 130 health professionals, journalists, government officials, and industry members joined Oldways and 10 speakers in Washington for a day-long Understanding Sweetness Conference at the National Press Club. Click here to access the speakers' presentations.

Week of June 16th, 2008
Oldways "From Your Cart to Your Kitchen" Campaign Launches
at More than 50 Grocery Stores Across the United States

Shaw’s, Hannaford, Albertsons, Big Y and dozens of other supermarkets across the country have begun to offer the in-store customer program, "Bringing Home the Mediterranean Diet: From your grocery cart to your kitchen," to help shoppers take advantage of the health, flavors, and taste that have made the Mediterranean Diet famous.

This new free program was created by Oldways’ Mediterranean Foods Alliance (MFA), a coalition of grocery outlets, food producers, health professionals and culinary experts, to help stores help consumers find Mediterranean foods.

The Oldways’ free program includes tools for each store such as:

• Cooking demos and food samplings featuring tasty Mediterranean dishes
  
• Mediterranean Diet shopping lists, facts sheets, and recipe cards
  
• Guided store tours on how to stock the ultimate Mediterranean Diet pantry
  
• In-store events including olive oil explorations and cheese tastings

"This kit is the perfect way to reach consumers where they buy food and directly influence what they put into their carts. We want to help them learn more about the health-promoting Mediterranean Diet," said Nicki Heverling, MS, RD, Program Manager of the MFA, "and how to choose healthy Mediterranean foods and drinks."

Research continues to show that the Mediterranean Diet is just what the doctor ordered when it comes to helping people live longer, healthier lives. This fad-free approach to healthy eating—which focuses on fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts and olive oil—promotes weight loss and heart health, helps prevent certain cancers and diabetes, and it even enhances memory and brain function.

The MFA helps shoppers easily find healthy Mediterranean foods and drinks with the Med Mark, a boldly designed packaging symbol found on healthy foods and drinks traditional to the Mediterranean Diet pyramid. To learn more, please visit www.mediterraneanmark.org.

To access past news for Oldways, please visit our news archives here.