Chaos wheat, “climate blend,” is a new type of flour composed of a variety of extreme weather resistant varieties of wheat to be more resilient to climate change. Despite its deviation from traditional wheat, it is shown to uphold the same baking quality (in regards to taste, texture, and rise). It was developed because climate change has been endangering wheat crops and this is not only affecting the supply and demand of wheat, but also creating intense price fluctuations. We spoke to Robin Morgan, a researcher at Washington State University’s Breadlab, about why these climate resilient crops may be the future of bread. For a transcript, please visit: https://climatebreak.org/chaos-wheat-with-robin-morgan/
What is Chaos Wheat?
Wheat varieties that are resilient to climate change are sometimes referred to as "chaos wheat." An initiative of King Arthur Baking Company–an emerging leader in the creation of chaos wheat–and Washington State University's Breadlab is aiming to create wheat blends, such as King Arthur's Regeneratively-Grown Climate Blend Flour, composed of unique wheat varieties bred for resilience against the unpredictable effects of climate change, including fluctuating temperatures and varying water levels. These wheat varieties are cultivated using regenerative agricultural practices that enhance soil health and biodiversity.
Chaos Wheat as Climate Solution
By focusing on breeding wheat that can withstand extreme weather conditions, the initiative seeks to ensure consistent crop yields despite environmental unpredictability. Additionally, the use of regenerative agriculture practices contributes to carbon sequestration, improved soil health, and increased biodiversity, all of which play a role in mitigating climate change.
To create the special, “Climate Blend” flour out of chaos wheat, researchers use practices like “cover cropping and crop rotations, minimizing inputs, no/limited tillage, and affordability and accessibility of crops.” The chaos wheat collaboration with Washington State University’s Breadlab, aims to increase biodiversity, promote carbon sequestration by improving soil health, and build resilient farm ecosystems as a whole.
In the late 1800s, white bread was extremely popular due to its low cost of production at enormous scale. However, this quickly became detrimental to the environment because it led to monoculture, which reduces genetic biodiversity. In fact, large scale bread production “emits more greenhouse gases than Russia, Brazil, and Germany combined”.
Benefits of Chaos Wheat
Chaos wheat increases genetic diversity and reduces risk of diseases and increases “resistance to drought, pests, and volatile weather, while requiring less water, fertilizer and agrochemical.” Part of the potential advantage of chaos wheat is the plants’ improved ability to deal with “‘ chaotic events.’” Currently, however, it is more expensive in comparison to standard whole wheat, “$2.98, compared with $1.12”.
The inspiration for this blend came from ancient strategies that farmers employed, for example a “mix of different species and varieties known as maslins” which are “plants [that] compete less with one another for soil resources and are diverse”. Essentially, if “they can offer 2 to 3 percent higher yields, they will be our greatest asset to increasing yields and crop resilience.”
Challenges of Implementation
Potential critiques or drawbacks of this solution include the challenges associated with transitioning farmers to regenerative practices, which may require significant changes in traditional farming methods and could involve initial financial investments. Moreover, as regenerative agriculture is currently unregulated and lacks standardized certification, defining and implementing consistent practices can be complex. Ensuring that these new wheat varieties are economically viable for farmers and acceptable to consumers in terms of taste and baking quality also presents potential challenges
There is also a tension between large scale efforts, including the King Arthur Baking Company initiative, and more local initiatives that might be “developing more sustainable and climate-resilient products” and which “keep our dollars in the local food economy” but “invest[s] in a more sustainable and resilient food economy”. This is often a difficult tradeoff.
Robin Morgan believes that chaos wheat is a game-changer in agriculture and in the face of climate change as it reduces wheat’s vulnerability to extreme weather conditions. This means that the crops can grow in more locations and with reduced soil disruption. Moreover, he emphasizes that it increases health benefits by providing more fiber to consumers.
About Our Guest
Robin Morgan moved to Washington state to pursue a PhD at the WSU Breadlab in order to develop a perennial grain crop. He has experience ranging from the chromosomal to the field level as well as studying the history of wheat.
Resources
For a transcript, please visit: https://climatebreak.org/chaos-wheat-with-robin-morgan/
Ethan: I’m Ethan Elkind, and you’re listening to Climate Break. Climate solutions in a hurry. Today’s proposal: climate resilient wheat crops, often referred to as "chaos wheat." Robin Morgan, a researcher at Washington State University’s Breadlab, explains why we need these climate resilient crops.
Morgan: What we're looking at is an increasing occurrence of extreme weather events and unreliable weather patterns for the most part, so we can deal with that through trying to breed for, for different environments.
Ethan: Morgan says conventional grains and crops grow for only one season before harvest, leaving them vulnerable to extreme weather. Instead, Morgan’s Breadlab grows grain that can be productive for two or more years, improving their climate resilience and also providing health benefits.
Morgan: We do this both from an agricultural perspective, but also from a food perspective by really emphasizing, like the benefits of switching from like a refined wheat flour to whole grain to increase, like fiber consumption and just the overall benefits.
Ethan: The Breadlab is now working on expanding the market for this wheat.
Morgan: We are actively working on developing new, like commercial commercialization avenues for our both breeding for our, um, varieties, and the outcome of this breeding work. On a local level, we somewhat regularly host pop-up bakery events here at the Breadlab, so about once a month. And in the near future, hopefully there will be more than, more than that, like buying flour and, and other products.
Ethan: To learn more about chaos wheat, visit climatebreak.org.