Blog

del.icio.us

When there's Big News in the Whole Grains Council, we send out a press release and post it in the press release section of this website. But every day, the momentum of whole grains moves forward in many smaller ways, which you can read about here. Come back often, and see what's new, or subscribe with our RSS feed.

Feed - Subscribe to updates on the Whole Grains Council Blog

Got comments on any of our WGC Blog items? We'd love to hear from you.

Expo West Wrap-Up, Part Two

March 24, 2011

In which we focus on all the many ways WGC Members are rockin’ the world of whole grains.

In my post yesterday, I asked if you’ve ever wondered what donuts, baby food, and on-the-go granola have in common. By now we know all three are opportunities to increase whole grain consumption, and we know how that delightful donut fits into things. If you’re wondering about the baby food and the granola, well, let’s start our exploration, shall we?

Expo West Wrap-Up, Part One

March 23, 2011

In which we focus on the Healthy Baking Seminar, as seen through the center of a donut.

Ever wondered what donuts, baby food, and on-the-go granola have in common? If you guessed all three are opportunities to increase whole grain consumption, you'd be correct - and you probably joined me in Anaheim, CA earlier this month. In addition to serving as a round-robin moderator during the Health Baking Seminar, I once again represented Oldways and the WGC while walking the floor of Natural Products Expo West, one of the food world's biggest events.

Industry Gears Up for School Lunch Changes

March 16, 2011

Last week I attended a meeting of the School Food Industry Roundtable in Washington, DC, where I presented information on changes in whole grain requirements being proposed for the U.S. National School Lunch Program. I spoke briefly, I listened for three hours – and I went away with three conclusions: (1) It’s a monumental task to write federal regulations; (2) It’s an equally daunting task for companies to reformulate products; and (3) We’ve got to do this for the kids.

“What Is She Eating?” Wednesday

March 9, 2011

I know, it’s been ages since I shared my last food adventure with you, but this one is definitely worth sharing! You might be wondering where this blog series went, whether I stopped eating whole grains or *gasp* stopped eating all together. No no, nothing like that, but I definitely wasn’t eating anything exciting. In fact, I’d fallen into yet another food rut, resorting to the same simple weekday lunches, day after day. And I’m not even going to tell you what I’ve been eating – believe me, it’s just too boring to tell.

So what’s shook me up and broke me out of my food blah? Well, I don’t recommend this for the average person, but it certainly worked for me…

Whole Grains: Eating is Believing

March 2, 2011

Here at Oldways and the Whole Grains Council, food is central to everything we do, and nowhere is that more evident than at conferences.

We know that we can talk about how healthy food can be delicious – and how delicious food can be healthy – until we're blue in the face, but the light bulbs only go off when people actually taste healthy food, lovingly prepared. Then, they say, "Well, sure. Who wouldn't want to eat like this?

So part of our formula for a successful conference is:

Conference Materials Now on WGC Website

February 25, 2011

In our three previous blogs I shared some of the highlights of our recent Whole Grains: the New Norm conference (February 10 and February 6) and Kara detailed how some of our conference topics tied in to other current events (February 18). In our final post-conference blog, we’d like to tell you about some of the great conference materials available here on the WGC website.

Echoes of our “New Norm” Conference

February 18, 2011

Maybe you can blame it on a little lingering vertigo, courtesy of a post-conference virus that laid me out for the whole week post-Portland, but I keep seeing echoes of Whole Grains: the New Norm everywhere I turn. Or maybe, it’s more accurate to say that our fifth whole grains conference made such a splash, even the littlest ripple seems to be washing knowledge, insight, and progress ashore.

It’s not just ego making me feel this way, although I can’t say that the entire office isn’t still humming with pride after pulling what may very well be the most successful Oldways/WGC conference to date. And it’s not just the media buzz that our friends have been sharing around the internet (but of course, that never fails to thrill). No, what I’m finding most impressive is how many seemingly unrelated articles and news bits all point back to our conference. I mean, it’s been what, two weeks since we brought the world’s attention to our celebration of whole grains as the norm? And yet, this blog will be fairly lengthy, thanks to all the nods and kudos I’m seeing in the food world.

Here, let me show you what’s surfaced just this week:

Grupo Bimbo Wins WGC Global Award

February 10, 2011

Mexico City-based Grupo Bimbo, the largest bakery company in the Americas, garnered the Whole Grains Council’s top award at our recent Whole Grains: The New Norm conference in Portland, Oregon.

The 2011 Global Award was presented to Grupo Bimbo’s Alejandra Inclan Ortiz, Corporate R&D Manager, for the company’s pioneering work in bringing more whole grains to Central and South America – and now to China.

Over the past three years, Bimbo has worked with WGC staff to translate the Whole Grain Stamp graphic into Spanish, Portuguese (for Brazil), and Mandarin (for China). Country by country, Bimbo’s team, led by Patricia Villalobos Oliver, has met with regulators and health authorities from Guatemala to Argentina to explain the importance of whole grain, and to tailor their products to local tastes and regulations.

Conference Highlights: China, Guidelines, McDonald’s

February 6, 2011

For three days last week, The Nines Hotel in Portland, Oregon, rocked as 150 chefs, marketing experts, product developers, and health professionals attended the WGC’s latest whole grains conference. After all the months of planning, it's nice to know we made it happen, and to get emails like these: "The conference was truly spectacular..." "I got a lot out of it. And although we use whole grains every day, it definitely got me newly energized about them..." "Fantastic job at the conference! You run a top-notch organization."

With nineteen information-packed sessions featuring 27 speakers, it’s hard to know where to begin to share the highlights of this event – but here are a few that we think carry big impacts:

Dietary Guidelines Endorse WGC 8g Definition

January 31, 2011

Every five years the U.S. government is required by federal law to update its Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and today was the big day when the latest update was released. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans* call for us to “whenever possible, replace refined grains with whole grains.”

The overall recommendation for whole grain consumption remains the same: Make at least half your grains whole. That’s the same guidance as in 2005, when the Dietary Guidelines were last updated. But there’s a twist this time. The new Guidelines put a big emphasis on switching to healthier eating, by expliciting calling on people to reduce their consumption of refined grains, to make room in their diets for more whole grains.

newsroom