Dear friends, colleagues, and whole grain lovers everywhere,
It is with great sadness that we let you know that Oldways founder and president K. Dun Gifford passed away May 9, 2010, after his return from a two-week trip to France and Australia. Even in this time of sorrow, we are comforted to know that his last days were filled with all he loved — foreign lands, delicious food, local wines, and of course, good friends and family.
A lot has transpired since 1990 when Dun started Oldways to combat the rising prevalence of “pseudo foods” on the market and the threat of chronic diseases propelled in part by our poor eating habits. Time and again, Oldways has transformed a passion for sustained well-being into positive and practical solutions for our daily lives…Dun has truly made a difference.
The Whole Grains Council is one of Dun’s lasting legacies. Dun always started the day with a bowl of hot whole grain cereal, and transformed his personal passion for whole grains into a worldwide movement when he inspired the founding of the Whole Grains Council at an Oldways Whole Grains Summit in 2002. In the 2004 photo here, Mike Orlando of Sunnyland Mills – also among the WGC’s founders – has just crowned Dun the King of Grains, in recognition of his contributions. (It’s hard to tell from the photo, but the crown is studded with wheatberries, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, bulgur and other whole grains.)
All of us at Oldways and the Whole Grains Council remain more committed than ever to fulfilling Dun’s vision of changing the way people eat through focusing on the “old ways” of celebrating the healthful pleasures of the table. With great creativity and gusto, Dun has demonstrated how food traditions from around the world can be adapted to bring the best of good eating to contemporary life, and we look forward to working with you to continue this important mission.
We hope you will join us in raising a glass to Dun as we say, “Well done.”
Sincerely,
Oldways and the Whole Grains Council