A volunteer Red Cross nurse weighing food at the start of a seven-day recording of the diet of a community in Crete, in the context a survey conducted by the Rockefeller Foundation. The survey resulted in the first description of the Mediterranean diet, providing evidence that 61% of daily caloric intake of the Cretan population derived from cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits and nuts and another 30% from extra-virgin olive. Interest in the health implication of the Mediterranean diet began in the 1950s, with the work of US epidemiologist Ancel Keys.

Rockefeller Archive Center