U.S. demand will help save our industry. But it will take a while.

I've done my share of bemoaning what seemed like lackluster growth in U.S. olive oil consumption over the past decade.

After all, thousands of studies extolled its health benefits over the period. Consumers' interest seemed to be climbing, and just about everyone in our industry had been doing their part to educate people on the value of high-quality olive oils.

Yet from 2010 through 2017, consumption hovered around 300,000 tons – about 10 percent of the global supply.