Bay State Milling’s CEO, Pete Levangie, had the honor of hosting a thought-provoking panel, “Getting Grain-ular: Seeding Change for Global Health” at SXSW 2024 this past March. The panel brought together experts from the nutrition, science, and consumer perspectives, including Dr. Deborah Kennedy, Chef, PHD nutritionist, and CEO of Culinary Rehab; Stacey Pool, Chief Marketing Officer of Noodles & Company; and Sean Finnie, Director of the Western Wheat & Pulse Quality Lab at the United States Department of Agriculture.
The panel discussed the transformative potential of high-amylose wheat and its impact on global health. With growing scientific evidence highlighting the importance of dietary fiber in disease prevention and gut health, the panel focused on an innovative, non-GMO wheat varietal that supplies ten times the prebiotic fiber content of traditional wheat.
With less than 5% of Americans reaching the daily recommended amount of dietary fiber, high-fiber flour can bridge the fiber gap with without any changes to diet or lifestyle. In addition, the average American consumes 130 lbs of wheat flour per year – making it an accessible and affordable way to increase nutrition. If just half of the traditional flour in the US market was replaced with high-fiber flour, we could close the fiber intake gap and impact rising disease rates.
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conference and festival in Austin, Texas. It showcases new ideas, technologies, and creative ventures, attracting thought leaders, innovators, and forward-thinking companies from various sectors. SXSW is known for being at the forefront of innovation, making it the ideal venue for introducing groundbreaking food technology. Being selected to present at SXSW validates the cutting-edge nature of Bay State Millings HealthSense® High-Fiber Wheat Flour technology and the innovative strides we are making to improve the food industry.
As the only company in North America to bring high-amylose wheat to market, Bay State Milling is pioneering a transformation of consumers’ favorite foods to increase nutrition, address global fiber deficiencies, and make a lasting impact on public health.
Attendees also joined Bay State Milling at SXSW to get a taste of the groundbreaking high-amylose wheat in action at the Wheat Better Coffee and Waffle Bar. Chefs prepared fresh-pressed waffles with Bay State Milling’s HealthSense® High-Fiber Wheat Flour for attendees to taste this innovative ingredient for themselves and the response was overwhelming.
Bay State Milling’s participation at SXSW 2024 is a testament to the company’s driving motives and position as a trailblazer in the food industry.