Grain of Truth: The Real Case for and Against Wheat and Gluten

Journalist Yafa (Cotton: The Biography of a Revolutionary Fiber), declaring himself protected by a “sturdy armor of skepticism,” devotes this informative but unwieldy book to a critique of dietary and nutritional trends—notably, the gluten-free craze—that position wheat as inherently bad for human consumption. In the course of examining the American wheat industry, he achieves a more nuanced position: the technological breakthroughs in grain milling and expedited fermentation have allowed America to prioritize “production of commercial white bread at low cost in massive quantities.” As a result, bread companies have enacted “grave health consequences” on consumers. Gluten is a significant problem for those who have celiac disease, but it has little to do with the other issues around bread consumption. This conclusion is stated early on, while the rest of the book is dedicated to informing the reader about bread. Readers may start to wonder how many scientists, artisanal bakers, and children Yafa must interview before he feels he has sufficiently made his points: bad bread is processed and produced by big companies for mass consumption and capital gain, good bread “comes from wheat grown and nurtured in harmony with nature’s cycles,” and sourdough is cooked slowly and could be suitable for some gluten-intolerant people. Agent: Flip Brophy, Sterling Lord Literistic. (May)