A FRIEND HAS urged me to utter a warning about
the possible danger to the public health of the new loaf, with its lower nutritive value. I propose to do nothing of the kind. A great deal of nonsense, it seems to me, is talked on this subject. I happen to like wholemeal; but I certainly do not believe there is any magical or medicinal property in it. To argue as some of my friends do that nature, in providing the husk, obviously intended it for human consumption seems to me about as sensible as to argue that nature, in providing the banana skin, obviously intended us to eat it. I know that some loaves are more nutritious than others; but there is no evidence that this makes any appreciable difference to health. The Government's panel of experts which went into the subject in 1953 found no cause for alarm; and even the Medical Research Council, which feels that a reduction in the extraction rate constitutes an avoid- able risk, does not offer any evidence on what form the risk takes. In any case, I gather that the addition of some nutrients will still be compulsory; whether we like it or not, we still con- tinue to eat portions of the white cliffs of Dover, ground up and brought to bakeries in lorries. And, of course, if anybody wants to buy a loaf above the official minimum standards, he will be free to do so, paying a penny or so more. But for me there will be only one test of the new bread : its taste.
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