This May and June, we’re supporting the AHDB’s ‘Beige Is Beautiful’ campaign to increase consumer awareness around the importance of including whole grains in a healthy, balanced diet. The campaign aims to highlight that ‘beige’ food can be beautiful too – in a striking way, by using a piece of iconic art created by food artist Prudence Staite from barley, porridge, oats, wholegrain cereals, rye and wholemeal flour and depicting Van Gogh’s Sunflower painting.

Why are whole grains good for you?

Whole grains are a good source of fibre and provide our bodies with essential vitamins and minerals. Foods that are high in fibre can help us feel fuller for longer, aid digestion and prevent constipation. There are also important links between eating a diet that’s high in fibre and lower incidences of certain illnesses and disease, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and bowel cancer. UK guidelines recommend that adults aim to eat at least 30g of fibre each day, but on average people only consume around 20g. You can find out more on the AHDB’s ‘We Eat Balanced’ website here.

Whole grains are a good source of fibre and provide our bodies with essential vitamins and minerals. Foods that are high in fibre can help us feel fuller for longer, aid digestion and prevent constipation. There are also important links between eating a diet that’s high in fibre and lower incidences of certain illnesses and disease, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and bowel cancer. UK guidelines recommend that adults aim to eat at least 30g of fibre each day, but on average people only consume around 20g. You can find out more on the AHDB’s ‘We Eat Balanced’ website

A role for food barley in UK agriculture?

In the UK, farmers grow barley for distilling, brewing or animal feed rather than food. However, Agrii believes that there are opportunities for barley in the food sector too – including in breakfast cereals and artisan breads. One valuable advantage of our food barley varieties are there naturally high levels of beta glucans and fibre, which can help in digestion and prevention of type 2 diabetes. Look out for more information in coming months from the results of our trials work screening different food barley varieties to find those really well-adapted to UK growing conditions.