Citing an avalanche of “misinformation” about the value of wheat products and a decline in consumption of grain products, a new cereal advocacy institute launches this week .
The Healthy Grains Institute (HGI)has been established to react to growing published and social media claims that gluten-free and non-wheat products are healthier, Maple Leaf Foods senior communications vice-president Lynda Kuhn told a grain industry meeting in Ottawa Nov. 22.
“Our goal will be to react to news stories that are not based on fact and science,” she told a symposium organized by the Canada Grain Council and Grain Growers of Canada. “The gluten-free trend continues to grow and the image of the wheat industry suffers.”
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She said the gluten-free target audience has moved well beyond those with celiac disease. And “fad diets” often target wheat as a problem.
A primary target is American cardiologist and author William Davis whose books, Wheat Belly and Wheat Belly Cookbook, are runaway best sellers.
On his blog, Davis said wheat and whole grains have become “incredibly destructive genetic monsters” that cause obesity, diabetes, arthritis and many other ailments.
Consumption of products made from “all the major grain categories” has been declining for the past decade, Kuhn said. “The past 10 years has been tough on bread.”
The institute that was to be launched across the country Nov. 27 is supported by the Bakery Association of Canada, the Canadian National Millers Association and the Canadian Pasta Manufacturers Association, but Kuhn said it is not a front for the industry.
The institute will offer advice from plant breeders, dietitians and nutritionists about the benefits of a balanced diet that includes wheat products.
“It can’t be seen to be a flashy industry-sponsored marketing campaign,” she said.
A member of the HGI scientific advisory panel said his job will not be to promote the industry but to keep the debate “factual and science based.”
Ravi Chibbar, Canada Research Chair in molecular biology for crop quality at the University of Saskatchewan, said a healthy diet requires grain and wheat.
“I see the (Wheat Belly) book as based on anecdotal evidence rather than science and fact,” he said. “Wheat and other grains that I think we will focus on later are essential. You cannot live without eating grain and it is healthy and to try to convince people otherwise is wrong.”
He said the institute will encourage research on the pros and cons of grain in the diet.
