What's in a grain? Would an ancient kamut grain be wheat?

Grains have been bred for centuries and genetically engineered for decades to increase crop yields and lengthen shelf life. Great in theory, but less so in practice. Wheat and corn are two of the most genetically modified grains today, which has drastically altered their protein/sugar makeup - lowered the protein and increased the sugar.

Grains such as amaranth, quinoa and kamut have been around as long as wheat, but they haven't been bred or genetically engineered, so they are a richer source of nutrients and are often better tolerated by people with allergies or celiac disease. Compared with wheat, kamut has 40% more protein!

Peru recently passed into law a 10-year ban on GMOs from being imported for cultivation or locally raised (seeds, livestock and fish). The country’s leading group representing farmers and ranchers, the NAC, said that by this measure Peru “defends its biodiversity, its agriculture, its gastronomy and its health.”

The Paleo Diet is a return to the primal diet of our ancestors, eliminating dairy (milk, cheese, butter, yogurt) and grains completely. While this may be extreme for some, it is a whorthwhile exercise to rate the nutritional value of the grains you choose to eat.

At Each Peach Cafe, we serve our sandwhiches on kamut bagels, true kamut sourdough rolls, or house-made dehydrated onion flatbread (no grain!).

It's time we all take a look at the evidence and then take responsibility for our own health. "Let food be they medicine and medicine be thy food." -- Hippocrates

Join us at the cafe May 4th to view "King Corn" - a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. And sign the petition at Each Peach to regulate the labeling of GMOs in the USA. As the Iron Lady says, "DO something."

- Augusta