Since the beginning of the pandemic, I hear more and more about food shortages and supply-chain issues. Unrelated to the pandemic, each year I hear the news about natural disasters around the world on a growing scale because of climate change. There seems to be lots of concern about the resilience of the global food economy, but the global food economy is not resilient. Multi-national food producers don’t have the holistic and regenerative playbook that small-scale food producers have. The global food economy is dominated by pharma-chemical companies, dependent on synthetic oil-based inputs and expansion to maintain growth and profits. But don’t think growth and profits of these corporations translates into more well-fed communities, and well-managed agricultural land. Growth of corporate food giants means more deforestation is taking place, more aquafers are being depleted while chemical runoff contaminates groundwater. All this high-energy behavior, just to bring low-nutrient food to the market.
What if we were able to reduce food waste by 20%? What if we were able to increase the micronutrients in flour by 95%? Whole grain flour is a necessary piece to how we fight the climate crisis, and build healthier communities. With the rising costs of goods and services, we cannot afford to discard one-fifth of our crops, and the portion containing nearly all the nutrition.
By and large, the way we go about our flour production is out-of-date and terribly flawed. It is on us, the people working closest with grains, to drive the change we know we need.
Conventional enriched white flour, like Robin Hood All-Purpose, is made up of milled endosperm (the starch sack of the grain). The nutrient-rich germ and bran have been removed, including the 20 micronutrients contained within. 5 of those nutrients were added back synthetically, requiring more inputs and water. The energy required to produce this low-nutrient food is staggering, yet somehow creates massive profits for shareholders. Profits in today’s world are not always a sign of efficiency, as much as they are a sign of exploitation.
To respect our environment, value the work farmers are doing, and feed our communities the best food we can, we have to be using whole grains. The germ and bran contain high amounts of fibre, iron, B and E vitamins like folate and niacin. These micronutrients are important for healthy immune systems, brain function, and reproductive health. As a baker, I have to do what I can to ensure these nutrients are present in the food I make.
It’s not unknown the value of these nutrients. Fiber, iron, and folic acid are some of the most common supplements for people to take. So why can’t we just include them in our food like nature intended? Removing the building blocks of life from our food, and selling a product as healthy, is despicable. I can’t see it any other way, but will remain open to hearing any disagreements that might be out there.
We see the producers of white bread doing everything they can to market their product appear healthy. Cobs Bread has a high fiber loaf. They have added a small percent of Hi-Lo Mix [Wheat Flour, Oat Fiber, Inulin, Guar Gum, Sodium Diacetate] to increase fiber from 1 to 4g per serving. Unfortunately, sodium diacetate is being used as a preservative. Sodium diacetate is a fungicide and bactericide meant to prevent mold growth. It’s hard to imagine consuming a microbial pesticide is a good way of promoting a healthy gut.
Other bakeries and artisan mills use a lot of smoke and mirrors to help boost the image of their refined products. Adding charcoal to white bread doesn’t have the same health benefits as eating whole grain bread. Saying sifted flour contains all the nutrition as whole grain is incorrect. Selling white flour and saying its health qualities are due to it being freshly-milled is not accurate. We are either doing the work, or we are coming up with a story to create the illusion. And I’m tired of being polite and note including hyper-links on paragraphs like this.
28,508,343,000 bushels of wheat were produced worldwide in 2021. Canada and the US have a similar guideline, suggesting half of adults grain intake should be from whole grains, yet only 2% of adults achieve this. Even if just half of global wheat is being sifted (and that is an incredibly conservative estimate) we are losing an incredible 171 BILLION pounds of nutrient-rich food to out-of-date industrial practices.
What I would like to do is get together as a group and come up with a strategy of how to support the whole grain movement in Vancouver and British Columbia. I think it’s important for us to share our ideas and support each other.
To help us get started, Laura Valli from Washington State University, will be joining us.
I have booked a room at Vancouver Public Library, Strathcona branch. Sunday, February 19, 2-4pm. Tickets are free and are available here. Limited availability, register now.
This is a call to action. I hope you will join me.
I will leave you with a photo of whole grain baguettes, made by the incomparable Cheryl O’Shea. I hope to see you later this month.