By Karin Kloosterman

(A wheat farm in Midnapore, Alberta, circa 1920s)

Following a global worldwide trend to return to healthy and locally produced food, both Canada and Israel are going back to their roots, and reclaiming old wheat cultivars which have been replaced by blander fast-growing industrial ones.

When we go to the supermarket, we might find many different kinds of tomatoes –– but when it comes to buying a bag of wheat, the choices remain very limited. Basically there is your run-of-the-mill mass-produced flour that comes in white, or whole wheat. But within the world of wheat –– before the industry became industrialized –– dozens of different wild and imported varieties of wheat were used in both Canada and Israel.

Along with a growing trend to eat organic, or participate in the Slow Food Movement (see Slow Food Canada and Slow Food Israel) or the 100 Mile Diet, which both advocate a certain lifestyle and food choice changes, more farmers, bakers and consumers –– in Israel and in Canada –– are turning to alternative wheat cultivars for improving taste and the baking experience.

In a broader scope, protecting different varieties of wheat can ensure a better future for humanity. Genes contain biochemical information that help plants and animals adapt to change and ward off disease. We also know that the answer to new drug therapies come from nature (See my Huffington Post story: the next wonder drug from nature?)–– we just have to discover how to unlock the potential.

Israel is the “genetic heartland of genetic diversity,” quotes an environment ministry report, yet Israel (like Canada and the Western world) relies on intensive farming and limited wheat varieties suited to the mass consumer market. And it came as a big surprise to me, since the importance of wheat in Jewish prayers and the Bible, are a focus –– yet, most of Israel’s wheat is imported from the States and Canada.

Lasting longer on the shelf, with a high yield, importers have given modern society a bland, but reliable wheat, at the expense of wheat cultivars which are genetically rich and arguably much more tasty that we could ever imagine. (Read an eye-opening background story in the NY Times on what’s happening in the US).

Israel Goes Against the Grain
Israel reportedly has one of the world’s largest and readily available collections of wild wheat, barley, oats, and legumes. Stored in a special gene bank (The Israel Genebank for Agricultural Crops (IGB)), the Israeli wheat varieties contain genes that can increase protein content, disease resistance, drought tolerance, and other traits important to wheat farmers. (For a great report on Israel wild wheat varieties see here. ).

And today, Israelis and Palestinian colleagues are working on a project to reclaim Israel’s ancient wheat heritage. A multidisciplinary team of Israeli scientists (including those from Italy, Egypt, Israel, Germany and the Palestinian Authority) have been studying the genetic diversity and population dynamics of wild emmer wheat on a hilly slope near Ammiad in the Eastern Galilee:

Each year, samples of wheat seeds are collected every 3-4 meters along four transects. These are grown in experimental plots and tested for biochemical markers, disease resistance and other gene-related traits. Differences are carefully noted and correlated with the highly-localized soil, water, topographic and ecological conditions at each collection site.

Results have shown that the wild wheat genes are not spread randomly across the terrain. Groups of genes exist as stable clusters or complexes associated with specific geographical features, such as north-facing slopes. These results will help guide future Israeli and international efforts in the realm of dynamic gene preservation.

Academia in Israel is playing its part as well: Tel Aviv University’s Institute for Cereal Crop Improvement is the largest of the many major and minor seed bank private collections in the network and includes 20,000 (mostly wild) accessions of Israeli cereals and 2,000 worldwide accessions.

Saskatchewan Farmer Brings the Fife Back to Life
Following a worldwide trend, Canada too has its own movement to preserve its wheat stock’s genetic heritage, closely aligned with Canada’s recent history. One cultivar that a local Alberta farm is reviving is the Red Fife, imported from the Ukraine and dating back to 1,000 B.C.E. It almost became extinct in 1988.

Reports the Heartland Canada blog on a Saskatchewan farmer who is bringing back the fife:

Red Fife was first introduced to the central Ontario Otonabee region in 1842 as Halychanka, originally from Ukraine…Until 1888, it flourished as Canada’s main variety of commercial wheat. But with its 134 days to maturity requirement, it was not suited for the prairie provinces. As a result, some Calcutta wheat was brought in from India and crossbred with Red Fife, which led to the 107-day Marquis wheat and its higher yields.

It was a fantastic baking wheat because it is low in gluten and it has a crumbing effect when ground into flour — meaning that it makes a hay yellow crumb — with a scent of herbs like anise and fennel. In the mouth, it has an herby, spicy flavour to it.

The wheat can be bought at the Carlton Trail Ranch, an organic farm and lodge in Saskatchewan. For more on Canada’s wheat heritage visit: the Heritage Wheat Foundation in Alberta.

According to this story I wrote a couple years back, Israel is importing Canada’s wheat. I’d love to see some boutique Canadian flour get shipped to Israel (for a taste of my homeland), and likewise, some exotic Israeli biblical grains make it to the shelves of Canada’s Price Choppers.

Related posts:

1. Israeli scientists farming sturgeon for caviar
2. Canada and Israel Share “A Bear” To Improve Middle East Environment