"Bread Sales Take A Beating..."

...As more consumers go gluten-free:

"Paul Hetherington has been with the Baking Association of Canada for nearly 20 years and he has never seen people so turned off by bread.

"At least not since the Atkins diet was a major fad, and, unfortunately, this is worse.

"While Atkins was a short-term fad, Mr. Hetherington, the president and chief executive of the association said the current adversity to bread is different because the grain-based staple is now plagued by several factors that are unlikely to go away anytime soon.

"First, cash-strapped consumers are being more disciplined with not wasting food products.

"“Bread is a perishable product, so if one is more careful with it, putting it in the freezer for example, it doesn’t go stale,” he said.

"Also, recent dietary shifts due to a stigma associated with wheat products and an embracing of gluten-free diets by people who are not adverse to gluten have driven down bread volumes, Mr. Hetherington said...."

The science is telling us that Atkins was right, and people are figuring out that avoiding "wheat" is an easy, reliable way to feel better...

Thanks to Jimmy Moore on Twitter.