Replies

Humans cannot eat "raw" wheat; it would kill them. It must be processed. In poorer countries, the grain of choice is rice (middle and far east) or corn (South America).

The "processing" of wheat to which you refer is also known as "cooking." You are correct. Wheat (and other grains) must generally be cooked to be eaten, although I've consumed quite a bit of raw wheat germ and bran.

You are correct that wheat is found in small amounts in almost all processed foods. (So is corn in its varioius forms, BTW.) What I'm having trouble with is your assumption that these small amounts add up to a large consumption of actual wheat.

BTW, wheat was the foundation of almost all the early civilizations: Sumer, China (north, where their civilization started), Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc. It's not some recent invention of modern civilization.

The "genetic modification" of wheat to which you refer is also I believe known as "selective breeding" of plants and is also many thousands of years old.

I'm perfectly willing to agree that there are perhaps quite a few people who shouldn't eat wheat, just as there are those who can't adequately digest dairy foods. To jump from this to a claim that wheat is bad for everyone doesn't seem warranted to me.

Re #7 I didn't say wheat was bad for everyone, what I said is the rise in wheat consumption was the connection in civilized nations to the rise in asthma and Crohns - which are Celiac related auto-immunes.

Genetic Modification (GM) is different than cross breeding. We have been cross-breeding for thousands of years. You mate a red rose with a white rose and get a pink rose - thats cross breeding. Genetic Modification has only been around for the last 20ish or so years and involves inserting geneticially modified gene fragments of plant or animal with desired traits into plants to get a specifically desired trait. (short explanation) Yes, I DO know the difference - I have a degree in horticulture.

Wheat of today does not resemble the wheat of two thousand years ago. Although wheat has been around for centuries, it had not been cross bred to have the large amount of Genetically Modified gluten like it has today. Gluten is the offender not the wheat!

For someone who is wheat/gluten intolerant even the smallest amount of gluten can be a problem. Actually, Monsanto (yes the people that make Round-up) are invoved in GM crops. They are trying to GM wheat to make the gluten less "allergic" to celiacs!