Cereals are therefore important for their fuel since they are rich in
starch, and for their protein, and, if we eat the entire kernel, for
their mineral matter and vitamines. They also have the pleasant flavor
and texture which we have grown to like.

Wheat is no better than any of the other cereals. It possesses
absolutely no nutritional advantage for man or beast over oats, corn,
and rye. It has no more protein, and no better protein. It has no more
fat and no better fat. It has no better mineral salts and in no larger
amounts. It has no more fuel or better fuel. It is just _one_ of the
cereals, and there is not the slightest evidence that it is the best
one. It has merely become one of our habits.

Corn and wheat and the other cereals are just as well digested if
equally well prepared. A soggy piece of wheat bread may, of course,
be less readily digestible than a well-made piece of corn-bread, but
that is a question of skill in cooking, not of difference in cereals.
Complaints have been heard in England about the war bread. It is true
that it may be hard on those of frail digestive powers to change their
food habits in any way, but Hutchison, an eminent London physician, in
tracing down complaints, found that frequently people laid to the new
bread ailments from which they had suffered before the war. "When in
doubt, blame the war bread," seemed to be the motto.


THE SOCIAL IMPORTANCE OF CEREALS, ESPECIALLY WHEAT

The world eats more cereals than any other kind of food. They are
so widely available, so cheap and nutritious, that they are a main