Tomorrow we’ll return to our regularly scheduled program of guerilla food-preservation strategies. Before we do, though—and at the risk of firmly sticking my foot in my mouth—I want to take a moment to talk a bit about gluten-free foods. Lately I’ve noticed a spike in gluten-free related search terms. Increasing numbers of readers are arriving at this site by looking for recipes for gluten-free tomatoes, gluten-free jams, and gluten-free salad recipes. On the one hand, we’re happy to help, which is why we try to tag all gluten-free recipes appropriately. On the other hand, I can’t help but feel that the searchers are being duped by a commercial culture that tricks consumers into thinking that unless something says “gluten-free” on the label, it’s not safe to eat. (Trader Joe’s, I’m looking at you.) The Chicago Tribune says that marketers introduced more than 1,000 gluten-free products to grocery store shelves last year. Along these same lines, an article in last month’s New York Times explains that the cost differential between gluten-free “replacement” foods and “original” foods may be tax deductable for people with medial conditions—but that foods that are naturally gluten-free are not considered a medical expense.
I find this upsetting for many reasons, some of them rational, some of them not. My (usually deeply repressed) inner liberatarian is offended that the tax system subsidizes expensive “fake” bread, when some people can only afford rice (incidentally, gluten free!) to begin with. But I think the real problem, for me, is that the entire commerical gluten-free culture represents a movement away from real food. It’s depressing when someone Googles “canning tomatoes gluten free” because, of course, tomatoes don’t contain gluten. Same goes for green beans, beets, meat, and jam made with fruit and sugar. I so, so, sorely wish that the medical establishment and food educators would take the time to explain that people with gluten allergies and intolerances have many healthy, nutrious, and delicious naturally occuring food choices out there.
Please don’t take this as a diabtribe against people with celiac disease. I have family members who can’t eat gluten, and I sympathize with them. I “get” that sometimes, what you really, really want is a loaf of bread, and that it’s important that you be able to feed that craving. But before you buy your next package of gluten-free granola, try a bowl of yogurt or polenta instead. Press your doctor to give you lists of foods that are naturally gluten free, and take the time to investigate the wide world of flavors that never had anything to do with wheat in the first place.
Rant over. Fire away in the comments.
I have to respectfully disagree with you. As someone who was diagnosed with celiac 9 years ago (which was triggered by my daughter’s birth), I feel that being gluten-free has opened up a whole new world of food for me. Because I can’t eat most pre-processed food, I don’t. I make most of my own food. And so many foods and food cultures have been opened up to me because I’ve had to look for alternatives. This is true of most of the other gluten-free people I hang out with.
On the other hand, it is a godsend to be able to go to the store and find some basic, gluten-free brown rice crispies for our sometimes crazy before-school mornings. I think people who don’t have to eat gluten free don’t truly understand the hardships inherent in having to make all your own food. I am lucky–I like to cook and bake and have made it a personal search to figure out ways to do it well. But, many, many people who get diagnosed don’t like to cook or bake and are left in a panic-inducing state where “everything” in their food world is suddenly off-limits to them.
I think our differences in opinion may be one of differing viewpoints. I think that the fact that there are more gluten-free processed products is indicative of a culture that is (slowly) mainstreaming food allergies. In doing this, it has embraced processed food for people who can’t eat mainstream things. Don’t forget, there are still very few processed things that are available to gluten-free people. I usually don’t eat them, but for the random rare times when I need something packaged and portable, they are amazingly helpful.
Also, as someone who loves to bake, I’ve had to do a ton of research to figure out how to make things I like from scratch. And gluten-free baking is a whole different world than wheat-flour baking. While you might be able to buy one bag of flour in order to make cookies, I have to buy several because I have to mix them (just one won’t provide the right texture). Also, I have to add xanthan gum every time–which is extraordinarily expensive. Or, I can buy a mix that includes all of these–but this mix, in a tiny bag, is very expensive. So, even cooking from scratch is much more expensive for me that it is for someone like you, who doesn’t have to bake gluten-free if you want to bake.
It might be useful to consider the tax break for gluten free foods as the equivalent to providing tax breaks for wheelchairs for people who are disabled. You may not see the need for them and may not need to use one yourself, but some people really need them to have a certain quality of life that they wouldn’t otherwise have.
One last point, it is extraordinarily hard to get the tax break for buying gluten-free products. Most people I know don’t even try to get it because of the massive amounts of documentation and paperwork involved. Just trying to be approved for the tax break is ridiculously hard and rare. Think of having to prove that every single item you say is gluten-free is actually gluten free. It’s next to impossible and very frequently sets you up for a tax audit.
Finally, I don’t think it’s so weird for someone to do a search on “gluten free jam” or “gluten-free salad dressing.” Gluten is in everything. When I shop for pre-made things like this (which is rare because I make my own), I have to spent several minutes checking lables. Jam is easier than salad dressing, which regularly contains gluten. The only lemon curd in my local store contains wheat.
And gluten is disguised under a variety of names. So, when I buy something with modified food starch, I have to remember if the most recent law has designated that to be not wheat starch. Or maybe it now can be wheat starch and my information is out of date by a month. Also, when things like soy sauce contains wheat, miso may contain barley, and brown rice syrup may contain barley, it’s hard to shop for some fairly basic condiments.
I hope this is helpful!
Rock on. Bring out your repressed inner libertarian!
I think this relates to whole aspects of food awareness. Many people have outsourced the thinking related to food choices to someone else – marketers, the government, media. It still shocks me (though I’m getting over it) when I talk with people about raising chickens for eggs and meat. So often I get a response like “oh, I’d be too afraid to eat food I raised myself!” And they comment on how great government regulation is for keeping them safe and ask me if I’m worried about salmonella. How did we end up here?
Sing it, sister!
I get irritated also at seeing all the labels of gluten free on products that would not contain gluten to start with. On the other hand, it is a learning process to figure out what does and does not have gluten in it. Unfortunately, the cynic in me does not think the retailers do it out of the goodness of their heart as much as to make extra money.
What is hard about eating gluten free is all the things that do contain gluten and all the people around you who do not understand where gluten can lurk. I do not know how parents keep their kids away from it – it’s really hard to avoid.