April 21, 2016
Why Are These Cheerios Different from All Other Cheerios?
What the story of General Mills' newly gluten-free cereal tells us about the food we eat—and don't—at Passover.
Do you, do I, does anyone know
How oats, peas, beans, and barley grow?
(English folk song)
In February 2015, the cereal maker General Mills announced “the biggest news since our commitment to whole grain in every box.” The news was that as of July of that year, Cheerios would be gluten-free.
Strange, you say: aren’t Cheerios oat-based, and aren’t oats already gluten-free (even though they contain a protein similar to gluten called avenin)? And if oats are already gluten-free, why would Cheerios have to be made gluten-free? And anyway, what is an essay about oats and gluten-free breakfast cereal doing in Mosaic at Passover time? What do Cheerios have to do with the exodus from Egypt?