In This Issue
Get Conference Proceedings Now
More Free Benefits of WGC Membership
Myth Busting
Update Your Contacts
New Oldways Video
Quick Links



An Oldways Family Program

Oldways is a nonprofit food and nutrition education organization, inspiring good health 
through cultural food traditions and lifestyles.
November 2014

Dear Whole Grains Council members,

Here in the U.S., we're about to celebrate our Thanksgiving holiday -- a warm family gathering with lots of delicious food. If you're wondering what to serve your family for Thanksgiving this year, keep in mind that the WGC website includes lots of inspiring and tasty whole grain recipes.  And, for the 13% of our members who are based outside of the U.S. -- remember whole grains at your own holiday dinners. We'd love to hear about some favorite local whole grain dishes in your part of the world.

Conference Proceedings Available -- A Great Event!

 

It was wonderful to see representatives of 46 WGC member companies among the 200 attendees at our Whole Grains: Breaking Barriers conference in Boston November 9-11. We're already getting great press coverage, as the 30 journalists at the conference help us spread the word. All of our members - including those who couldn't join us in Boston -- benefit when these stories bust prevailing myths about whole grains and champion their benefits.

 

We've been getting rave reviews from all those who did attend. Here's just a sample:
 

"You all really did a stellar job with the conference. In ten years of reporting, I don't think I've ever left a conference with so many stories! I also really appreciate the binder of extra materials you all provided."
(One of the 30 journalists attending)


"Very well done...[we] came away with a lot of ideas. As we sat down in the airport we came up with a dozen actionable items, that's more than we have dealt with post any conference! It will keep us busy well into 2016." (A WGC member, who attended with a colleague)

"You guys have it down to a science! It was my first meeting and I hope it won't be the last, it was so motivating and exciting to hear cutting edge, evidence-based presentations from world-renowned speakers."
(A registered dietitan from Atlanta)

 

If your schedule prevented you from attending the conference, we have good news: you can catch up on what you missed at the following links on the Oldways and WGC websites:
* Blogs on the WGC site and on the Oldways site
* PDFs of speakers' PowerPoint presentations
* PDFs of the wealth of support materials in our conference Program Book

* Links to news articles from the conference

By early December we'll be adding video clips of our speakers on our conference program page -- so that you can enjoy the extra information not evident in their PowerPoints.

A final hearty thank you to our sponsors who made an event of this magnitude and impact possible. Project Sponsor: Ardent Mills. Event Sponsors: Bob's Red Mill, Grupo Bimbo (Arnold/Brownberry/Oroweat), King Arthur Flour. Benefactor Sponsors: Barbara's Bakery/Weetabix, Bay State Milling, Crunchmaster, Dunkin' Donuts, Frito-Lay/Quaker, General Mills, Grain Millers, International Pasta Organisation, Lundberg Family Farms, Nature's Own, Riviana, Uncle Ben's. Supporters: To Your Health Sprouted Flour, Carl Brandt/Mestemacher, HomeFree.
 

We're Not JUST About the WG Stamp
Sometimes when we're out and about people say, "Oh, you're the folks who do the Whole Grain Stamp." It's great that we're known for this, but in fact the WGC does so much more for its member companies and we want to make sure all of you are taking advantage of the possibilities. Did you know that the WGC will... What are the additional fees for all this? Zilch. Nada. Zip. Nothing. It's all included in your annual WGC membership fee. Contact the WGC staff for help on any of these issues: 
Harley Songin (harley@oldwayspt.org), 
Kelly Toups (kelly@oldwayspt.org), and 
Cynthia Harriman (cynthia@oldwayspt.org).

Busting Grain Myths
As many of you know all too well, misinformation about wheat and about other grains runs rampant. This sorry state of affairs was one of the reasons we held our conference -- to educate members, health professionals and the media on the facts vs the fictions. You may be aware of another issue that came up this week, concerning the pre-harvest use of glyphosphate (e.g. Roundup) on wheat.

As always when controversial issues arrive in the Tweetosphere and Blogosphere, we seek out experts who can advise us on the basics, and post the information on our Myths Busted page under the Newsroom tab of our website. You can see our response to this issue there. When your customer service team is answering consumer questions, remember that this page and others on our website can come in handy. Can't find the answer? Email us at the addresses above.

Update Your Member Contacts Today
If you're reading this monthly member e-newsletter, you clearly find it valuable. Who else at your company could benefit from being in the loop? 

If you have colleagues who need our regular updates on getting the most out of your WGC membership, make sure they're on our mailing list. Forward any additional email addresses to Harley Songin (harley@oldwayspt.org) and she'll add your team-mates to our monthly distribution, if they're not already included on your membership. Or, simply log in and make updates to your profile yourself (it's the same login you use for registering new products). 

New Oldways Video: A Taste of African Heritage
As you may know, the WGC is just one of eight major programs run by Oldways, and we often end our newsletter by sharing news about our sister programs.

Today we're excited to share a new video on Oldways' YouTube page highlighting the heartfelt mission and impact of "A Taste of African Heritage," a six-week cooking-and-culture program how being offered nationwide by our African Health & Heritage program. The video is designed to raise awareness about the program, as well as to walk future teachers and students through the innovative information, cultural celebration, community fellowship, and powerful takeaways that A Taste of African Heritage is spreading across the country. Click here to watch the video.

If this film inspires you to become a teacher of A Taste of African Heritage, you can sign up on our Teacher Sign-Up Form. To inquire about classes planned near you, please email Sade Anderson at sade@oldwayspt.org.  
Best regards,

Cynthia Harriman
Director of Food and Nutrition Strategies
cynthia@oldwayspt.org

Kelly Toups, MLA, RD, LDN
Program Manager
kelly@oldwayspt.org

Harley Songin
Program Assistant
harley@oldwayspt.org

... and from all of the Oldways and Whole Grains Council staff