Your ideas and words continue to inspire me. I am just an old home maker and try to mill my flour with an old Nutrimill grinder with a Oklahoma wheat. Thank you for your inspir8ng words. Jim
What an incredible statement. I did not know the corporate impact against the benefit of whole grain existed on such a global scale. I find myself newly informed. Blessed. I understood the value of milled grain and enjoy it's purpose, but at such a scale? Insanity. I am a bit of a freak for sustainability and this hits just right. Spending $26 for a 5-pound bag of flour delivered may, for now, be a luxury, but I am optimistic on the reach. I look forward to sharing the wares from such an effort and feel that it is important that when sharing, this story is part of the share and hope that others may listen and make the decision to better themselves from within and carry the message forward. Thank you, Graison for your valued reach and powerful influence. Your contributions to the village will be your legacy.
`Thank you. Our concept of cost and value are very skewed--because the cost of flour and bread and wheat is artificially low, when millers and bakers and farmers actually charge what they need to we throw up our arms. Yet few people have compunction spending $200 on Nikes or $8 on an oat milk latte. But god forbid we charge $8 for a baguette which took 24 hours to makes and 10 years of craft to perfect. I think bakers need to do a better job being on the offensive, not the defensive, about what we do and why it's special. This storytelling will elevate the value of our work by the honesty of its message.
100%. I will admit that I am a frugal spender, but I also will not hesitate to spend money on the things that I hold great value for. Food is essential. Breaking bread is magical. Sharing is the reward. How we have come to where we are in the food consumption world is a travesty. Some of the largest packaged food corporations on earth are owned by...Phillip Morris! They took the addiction method to the food industry and recreated it into our diets. Aided by paid for scientist and partnered with pharmaceuticals, we have the health crisis that we experience today. Until we can reach the masses, and I believe the fire has been lit, the center isles in grocery stores will continue to murder humans. Slowly, and only after a costly string of prescriptions, we will face mortality at the hands of greed. That it actually cost more, sometimes double just to eat healthy is a wild testament to the burden of now eating healthy. We can go on, and probably should. But for now, my 5-pound bag of Heritage whole wheat flour was just delivered. The very first use, a roux. Tomorrow, we bake.
Thanks again, Graison. Your inspiration, energy and passion are excitingly contagious. Never lose or allow anyone to take that away. Geaux Tigers!
You’re not only so talented, but you way of expressing yourself and sharing your gift the world is so electric and magnetic. Excited to change the way I do things. Thanks for your passion and dedication to a topic and conversation that not enough are talking about. It takes true courage to do that!
What an inspiring, even if alarming, piece. When I visited New Orleans a few years back, studying baguette and lamination at Bellegarde, I was fascinated by your focus and quiet drive and now find myself moved by your writing. Please continue to do what you do. Your message and knowledge are important to say the very least.
The winter wheat varieties of the Midwest and north are going to go down in supply as demand goes up. They require a nine week vernalization. Hard frost. Otherwise they will not produce a stem or seed.
Honestly, I can't believe my wheat made anything last year only four weeks of cold temperatures but the third week was 25 below so I'm sure there was some long-term frost in that top inch. Still there will be a day when Kansas, the lower portion of Nebraska and parts of South Dakota failure. Just so you know.
Is anyone else mindful of the dynamic that our consumption of simple carbohydrates were limited to tiny handful amounts in the fall only before agriculture? Complex carbs didn't exist until much later.
I strongly feel that should be removed from one's diet. As much as possible at least. I am certainly not an example to follow. I still cheat with cheese and dry, ready to consume red wine. Fingerling potatoes and wild rice. For the most part giving up bread which is incredibly hard. I might have a couple tablespoons of barley in a soup per winter.
As an aside, remember to forgo conventionally produced wheat flour. Is the number one glyphosate containing product in the grocery store. If it's not #CertifiedOrganic, it's toxic.
In Wales (UK), there is a revival of an ancient wheat grain, Hen Gymro (Old Welshman), which flourished here until WWII and thrived in the wet conditions of Mid-Wales. This initiative is part of a new 'bread economy' that has emerged alongside the refurbishment (by enthusiasts) of old water mills, which used to be dotted around the countryside. The landscape, shaped by numerous small streams, was ideal for powering these mills. The refurbished mill where it began, Felin Ganol, has been operational for 18 years, encouraging bakers to use old wheat varieties grown locally. It still feels like they are at the beginning of their journey. The flour produced from Hen Gymro is low in gluten, unlike the commercially available flour that has been modified to contain excessive gluten, contributing to many gluten intolerances. Local bakeries have started using this Welsh flour, albeit still mixing it with stronger flour. It's a good idea, but I'm not sure it can feed the entire population of Wales. Millers have an enormous task ahead: to convince farmers to grow old varieties of grain and bakers to use it…and people to eat it even if the loaves don’t have the open crumb so glorified on social media.
I took a class with you recently in La Jolla and was inspired in many ways - not only in my bread baking but the class itself really stoked something in me that has been burning for a long time - with how I see my work and the future of what I do professionally. I am happy to read your thoughts more in detail after you shared a little bit with us. Of course flour is not just flour and I am glad that you are talking about this. The more we know, the better decisions we can make (hopefully).
I work (now) as an acupuncturist and practitioner of Chinese Medicine and, like you, try to go beyond the depth of many of my peers, taking every and any opportunity to scratch beneath the surface of why people come to see me and how they want to change their lives (and therefore change the lives of others). A big part of making changes in one's life is what they eat and HOW they eat. Another part of making changes is asking the right questions and gathering information to make the best choices, whether it's with healthcare or what we buy at a grocery or market.
Without going on and on, the quality of what is easily available to people [primarily] in the developed countries I have been to is worse than in more agrarian countries and groups and less developed countries, however you can quantify that. The prevalence of processed foods with no nutritional value is an easy bone to pick and an easy-ish lesson to teach. Hunger and food scarcity is one thing (I'm thinking Sudan) but making good choices when possible is another (I'm thinking families with parents who both(?) work full-time jobs and maybe more - it's not the food that is a problem, but the time that it takes to get good food and prepare it. You mentioned this to the class...not everyone has the luxury to think this way. That is a good talk for another time.
But thank you. I wish that there was - in general - more talk about quality and flavor than size and volume when it comes to food. I hope this conversation that you have started here can continue!
A thoughtful and correct analysis concerning food in industrial countries and the agrarian style dynamic. That's because they have an agriculture model, not agribusiness.
Agriculture produces food, agribusiness produces toxic from input to product commodity derivatives.
Your ideas and words continue to inspire me. I am just an old home maker and try to mill my flour with an old Nutrimill grinder with a Oklahoma wheat. Thank you for your inspir8ng words. Jim
Thank you very much Jim.
What an incredible statement. I did not know the corporate impact against the benefit of whole grain existed on such a global scale. I find myself newly informed. Blessed. I understood the value of milled grain and enjoy it's purpose, but at such a scale? Insanity. I am a bit of a freak for sustainability and this hits just right. Spending $26 for a 5-pound bag of flour delivered may, for now, be a luxury, but I am optimistic on the reach. I look forward to sharing the wares from such an effort and feel that it is important that when sharing, this story is part of the share and hope that others may listen and make the decision to better themselves from within and carry the message forward. Thank you, Graison for your valued reach and powerful influence. Your contributions to the village will be your legacy.
`Thank you. Our concept of cost and value are very skewed--because the cost of flour and bread and wheat is artificially low, when millers and bakers and farmers actually charge what they need to we throw up our arms. Yet few people have compunction spending $200 on Nikes or $8 on an oat milk latte. But god forbid we charge $8 for a baguette which took 24 hours to makes and 10 years of craft to perfect. I think bakers need to do a better job being on the offensive, not the defensive, about what we do and why it's special. This storytelling will elevate the value of our work by the honesty of its message.
100%. I will admit that I am a frugal spender, but I also will not hesitate to spend money on the things that I hold great value for. Food is essential. Breaking bread is magical. Sharing is the reward. How we have come to where we are in the food consumption world is a travesty. Some of the largest packaged food corporations on earth are owned by...Phillip Morris! They took the addiction method to the food industry and recreated it into our diets. Aided by paid for scientist and partnered with pharmaceuticals, we have the health crisis that we experience today. Until we can reach the masses, and I believe the fire has been lit, the center isles in grocery stores will continue to murder humans. Slowly, and only after a costly string of prescriptions, we will face mortality at the hands of greed. That it actually cost more, sometimes double just to eat healthy is a wild testament to the burden of now eating healthy. We can go on, and probably should. But for now, my 5-pound bag of Heritage whole wheat flour was just delivered. The very first use, a roux. Tomorrow, we bake.
Thanks again, Graison. Your inspiration, energy and passion are excitingly contagious. Never lose or allow anyone to take that away. Geaux Tigers!
Why am I emotional right now
You’re not only so talented, but you way of expressing yourself and sharing your gift the world is so electric and magnetic. Excited to change the way I do things. Thanks for your passion and dedication to a topic and conversation that not enough are talking about. It takes true courage to do that!
Thank you very much Alex-hope to see you in SLC soon
Very thoughtful and compelling
What an inspiring, even if alarming, piece. When I visited New Orleans a few years back, studying baguette and lamination at Bellegarde, I was fascinated by your focus and quiet drive and now find myself moved by your writing. Please continue to do what you do. Your message and knowledge are important to say the very least.
The winter wheat varieties of the Midwest and north are going to go down in supply as demand goes up. They require a nine week vernalization. Hard frost. Otherwise they will not produce a stem or seed.
Honestly, I can't believe my wheat made anything last year only four weeks of cold temperatures but the third week was 25 below so I'm sure there was some long-term frost in that top inch. Still there will be a day when Kansas, the lower portion of Nebraska and parts of South Dakota failure. Just so you know.
I have to point out that the following statement is an example of terrible message message framing.
"Because what we grow, and how we eat it, are not just facets of climate change. They’re its main ingredient."
You do know that fossil fuels in their derivatives are the soul cause of the paradigm? Everything else is enabled by their existence.
Is anyone else mindful of the dynamic that our consumption of simple carbohydrates were limited to tiny handful amounts in the fall only before agriculture? Complex carbs didn't exist until much later.
I strongly feel that should be removed from one's diet. As much as possible at least. I am certainly not an example to follow. I still cheat with cheese and dry, ready to consume red wine. Fingerling potatoes and wild rice. For the most part giving up bread which is incredibly hard. I might have a couple tablespoons of barley in a soup per winter.
As an aside, remember to forgo conventionally produced wheat flour. Is the number one glyphosate containing product in the grocery store. If it's not #CertifiedOrganic, it's toxic.
In Wales (UK), there is a revival of an ancient wheat grain, Hen Gymro (Old Welshman), which flourished here until WWII and thrived in the wet conditions of Mid-Wales. This initiative is part of a new 'bread economy' that has emerged alongside the refurbishment (by enthusiasts) of old water mills, which used to be dotted around the countryside. The landscape, shaped by numerous small streams, was ideal for powering these mills. The refurbished mill where it began, Felin Ganol, has been operational for 18 years, encouraging bakers to use old wheat varieties grown locally. It still feels like they are at the beginning of their journey. The flour produced from Hen Gymro is low in gluten, unlike the commercially available flour that has been modified to contain excessive gluten, contributing to many gluten intolerances. Local bakeries have started using this Welsh flour, albeit still mixing it with stronger flour. It's a good idea, but I'm not sure it can feed the entire population of Wales. Millers have an enormous task ahead: to convince farmers to grow old varieties of grain and bakers to use it…and people to eat it even if the loaves don’t have the open crumb so glorified on social media.
I took a class with you recently in La Jolla and was inspired in many ways - not only in my bread baking but the class itself really stoked something in me that has been burning for a long time - with how I see my work and the future of what I do professionally. I am happy to read your thoughts more in detail after you shared a little bit with us. Of course flour is not just flour and I am glad that you are talking about this. The more we know, the better decisions we can make (hopefully).
I work (now) as an acupuncturist and practitioner of Chinese Medicine and, like you, try to go beyond the depth of many of my peers, taking every and any opportunity to scratch beneath the surface of why people come to see me and how they want to change their lives (and therefore change the lives of others). A big part of making changes in one's life is what they eat and HOW they eat. Another part of making changes is asking the right questions and gathering information to make the best choices, whether it's with healthcare or what we buy at a grocery or market.
Without going on and on, the quality of what is easily available to people [primarily] in the developed countries I have been to is worse than in more agrarian countries and groups and less developed countries, however you can quantify that. The prevalence of processed foods with no nutritional value is an easy bone to pick and an easy-ish lesson to teach. Hunger and food scarcity is one thing (I'm thinking Sudan) but making good choices when possible is another (I'm thinking families with parents who both(?) work full-time jobs and maybe more - it's not the food that is a problem, but the time that it takes to get good food and prepare it. You mentioned this to the class...not everyone has the luxury to think this way. That is a good talk for another time.
But thank you. I wish that there was - in general - more talk about quality and flavor than size and volume when it comes to food. I hope this conversation that you have started here can continue!
A thoughtful and correct analysis concerning food in industrial countries and the agrarian style dynamic. That's because they have an agriculture model, not agribusiness.
Agriculture produces food, agribusiness produces toxic from input to product commodity derivatives.