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Smart agricultural practices and an extensive grain-trade network enabled the Romans to thrive in the water-limited environment of the Mediterranean, a new study shows. But the stable food supply brought about by these measures promoted population growth and urbanisation, pushing the Empire closer to the limits of its food resources... Brian Dermody, an environmental scientist from Utrecht University, teamed up with hydrologists from the Netherlands and classicists at Stanford University in the US. The researchers wanted to know how the way Romans managed water for agriculture and traded crops contributed to the longevity of their civilisation. They were also curious...

Unregulated genetically modified wheat... in a second location in the United States... in Montana, the Agriculture Department said Friday. The department said it is investigating the discovery of the Montana wheat, which is a different variety than the genetically modified wheat found in Oregon.

Russia, one of the world's largest wheat exporters, has supplied 4.7 million tons of all grains including pulses to its customers abroad in August. Its top customers are in North Africa and the Middle East. Russian wheat prices rose for a second straight week thanks to a record pace of August exports, high domestic demand and weak rouble that offset continuing harvesting, analysts said on Monday.

New research confirms some of the basic tenets of the Wheat Belly, a book by Dr. William Davis, which argues that wheat avoidance results in healthy weight loss.Published in Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry this month, and titled “Gluten-free diet reduces adiposity, inflammation and insulin resistance associated with the induction of PPAR-alpha and PPAR-gamma expression,” researchers compared the effects of a gluten-based diet to a gluten-free diet in mice.Researchers Noted Gluten exclusion (protein complex present in many cereals) has been proposed as an option for the prevention of diseases other than coeliac disease. However, the effects of gluten-free diets on obesity...

I mentioned two days ago the decision of schools to ban birthday cupcakes. Michelle Obama is essentially fighting with students to get them to change what they eat. But what is missing from this story is the proper context. The fact is that our bad eating habits are getting encouraged by taxpayer money. In fact, the government arguably changed our dietary habits to their present behavior. The Foundation for Economic Education came out with an article yesterday about dealing with “food deserts.”

Wheat prices fell Tuesday as the outlook for the crop in Russia improves amid cooler and wetter weather. The price of wheat for July delivery fell 11.25 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $6.01 a bushel. Wheat prices have slumped 17 percent in the last two months. The drop comes after a surge at the start of the year that was driven by concern that supplies would be crimped amid tensions between Russia and Ukraine, both big wheat exporters. …

'Rice theory' explains north-south China cultural differences, study shows A new cultural psychology study has found that psychological differences between the people of northern and southern China mirror the differences between community-oriented East Asia and the more individualistic ...

Charred grains of barley, millet and wheat deposited nearly 5,000 years ago at campsites in the high plains of Kazakhstan show that nomadic sheepherders played a surprisingly important role in the early spread of domesticated crops throughout a mountainous east-west corridor along the historic Silk Road... "Ancient wheat and broomcorn millet, recovered in nomadic campsites in Kazakhstan, show that prehistoric herders in Central Eurasia had incorporated both regional crops into their economy and rituals nearly 5,000 years ago, pushing back the chronology of interaction along the territory of the 'Silk Road' more than 2,000 years," Frachetti said... ...several strains of...

WASHINGTON — The father of the so-called Green Revolution has a permanent home in the U.S. Capitol. Lawmakers unveiled a statue of Norman Borlaug on Tuesday in a ceremony on what would have been his 100th birthday. The Iowa native and University of Minnesota graduate is credited with saving as many as 1 billion people from hunger by creating a type of wheat that was disease resistant and high-yielding. Borlaug, who died in 2009, won the 1970 Nobel Prize for his work and has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. His likeness will join...

The detection of a small amount of genetically modified material in a Washington state farmer's non-GMO alfalfa crop constitutes a "commercial issue" only and does not warrant any government action, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday. The Washington state farmer had complained in late August to state agricultural officials that his alfalfa hay had been rejected for export sale because of the presence of a genetically modified trait that makes the crop resistant to herbicide. The event triggered a wave of concern from consumer and agricultural groups who have fought the government for nearly a decade to keep...

The first time Margaret Dron organized the Gluten Free Expo early last year, it was inside the gymnasium of a small community centre in east Vancouver. She had recruited one volunteer, two speakers, 38 vendors and expected 500 attendees. There was no entrance fee—instead, people were to bring gluten-free goods for the local food bank; three boxes were set aside for the collection. Six hours later, more than 3,000 people had turned out, and the volunteer had to call a one-tonne truck to pick up the donations. In one Sunday afternoon, Dron realized, “there is some serious potential here. So...

Lesley University is not nearly so isolated, but it has the same mandatory policy about its student cafeteria. There was a problem however. Several students had Celiac disease. They needed to eat gluten free in order to not get sick. So naturally they told the college and the college allowed them an exception to the mandatory cafeteria plan, letting them keep the money and use it to buy gluten-free food off campus. Right? No, the students sued the college to mandate that the college accommodate them. I don’t feel sorry for Lesley because, frankly, I still bear a grudge against...

Australian scientists are expressing grave concerns over a new type of genetically engineered wheat that may cause major health problems for people that consume it. University of Canterbury Professor Jack Heinemann announced the results of his genetic research into the wheat, a type developed by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), at a press conference last month. "What we found is that the molecules created in this wheat, intended to silence wheat genes, can match human genes, and through ingestion, these molecules can enter human beings and potentially silence our genes," Heinemann stated. "The findings are absolutely assured....

Modern wheat is a "perfect, chronic poison," according to Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist who has published a book all about the world's most popular grain. Davis said that the wheat we eat these days isn't the wheat your grandma had: "It's an 18-inch tall plant created by genetic research in the '60s and '70s," he said on "CBS This Morning." "This thing has many new features nobody told you about, such as there's a new protein in this thing called gliadin. It's not gluten. I'm not addressing people with gluten sensitivities and celiac disease. I'm talking about everybody else...

A team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) uncovered 14 large pithoi-style bulk storage jugs filled with the wheat inside what was a storage room in a monumental, palace-like building from the Canaanite period (2,000-3,000 BCE), the INPA said on Monday. After the jars are fully exposed the researchers will transfer them to conservation and restoration laboratories. Afterwards, the palace will be covered up again until the next excavation season. Archeological excavations at Hatzor have been conducted by Hebrew University in cooperation with the INPA for the past couple of decades. In...

All over America the corn is dying. If drought conditions persist in the middle part of the country, wheat and soybeans will be next. Weeks of intense heat combined with extraordinarily dry conditions have brought many U.S. corn farmers to the brink of total disaster. If there is not significant rainfall soon, many farmers will be financially ruined. This period of time is particularly important for corn because this is when pollination is supposed to happen. But the unprecedented heat and the extremely dry conditions are playing havoc with that process. With each passing day things get even worse. We...

Harvests of Russian wheat and Ukrainian corn set to hit recordsKYIV, Ukraine (MarketWatch) — Fueled by record harvests, Russia and Ukraine are expected to surge to the top ranks of the global export markets for wheat and corn in the coming years, a development that will open up new investment opportunities in commodities and equities. The surge in Russia, which will see its exports of wheat explode to more than 20 million metric tons this year from four million in the 2010-2011 year, is powered by robust production and inventory, rising global demand and lower domestic prices. Meanwhile, Ukraine will...

“I had no sense of well being till I went gluten free.” “I don't use my inhaler anymore.” “My skin rashes disappeared.” The testimonials are startlingly earnest. Although food fads come and go with wearying regularity, perhaps it's time we investigated wheat. Why are a small but steadily increasing number of people going gluten-free, and saying it's changed their lives. Perceived as a ‘Western disease,' gluten sensitivity has never really been taken seriously in India. Its most extreme form is Celiac disease, caused by acute allergy to gluten, present in wheat and related grains such as barley and rye. A...

As my journey with God progresses He just shows me more and more truths. The Wheat and the Tares. Our churches have so many tares. I've written and recorded this song about the topic. Performed in my home studio etc... When Will You Believe

> The book is written by cardiologist William Davis who says that thanks to the actions of Big Food and government agencies such as the USDA and places like the American Heart Association that are always pushing “whole grains,” we are sicker and fatter than ever. > Have you tried getting off wheat? If so, did it help?