Following the Whole Grain Stamp as it catches on in one country after another has been a great lesson in geography for us. This week, as the Stamp saw its debut in Australia, I found I just had to know how far our packaging symbol had traveled this time.

I cranked up Google Maps, my usual tool for matters geographical, and asked for directions from Boston to Perth, Western Australia, figuring I’d get the air miles. But Google had other plans for my travel.  “16,561 miles” my screen informed me. “56 days, 9 hours. This route has tolls. This route includes a ferry. This route crosses through Japan.” Step by step, Google took me by highway across the United States to Seattle, where Step #26 said “Kayak across the Pacific Ocean” to Hawaii, which I was apparently supposed to navigate by road (no mention of how I was supposed to bring my car in my kayak), then get back in my kayak (Step #42) and continue to Japan. Several toll roads (directions in Japanese), another kayak ride, and 91 steps later, I’ve arrived in Western Australia.
 

My destination is Bodhi’s Bakehouse, a thriving company founded in 1981 and purchased in 1986 by John and Jane Noonan, who ran it until 2007. From the start, Bodhi’s has been dedicated to reviving ancient bread-raising practices, and making a wide range of healthier breads. “White bread is kid’s stuff,” said third-generation baker John Noonan during his family’s tenure. “Bodhi’s is bread for the rest of your life.”

Today, Nazgol Afsarpour and her husband run the business, using their background in science – rather than baking – to take Bodhi’s to the next step in combining health and good taste.

Bodhi’s bakes with regular wheat, Kamut® and spelt; with rye and oats; with sprouted grains; and with legume flours, selling the finished products throughout Australia and even exporting to Singapore. How about some “Acadia Spelt Organic Bickies?” (Aussies say “bickies” – a shortened form of biscuits – where Americans would say “cookies”) or a loaf of sprouted mixed grain bread with fruit, using whole grain spelt, rye, and barley sprouts. Alas, the online shop is limited to shipment in Australia, and I don’t have 56 days (or a kayak) to get there.

That thought brought me back to my original question. Turning my back on Google Maps I got serious about finding the direct distance from WGC headquarters in Boston to Perth, where Bodhi’s Bakehouse is baking up a storm. It’s 11,644 miles (18,738 km). A few more clicks reminds me that the circumference of the earth is 24,859 miles, confirming that the Whole Grain Stamp has indeed made it half-way around the world. Any further, and we’d simply go ‘round the other way, so this is as far as it gets.

With about 195 countries in the world, we’ve still got a few more places where we can introduce the Whole Grain Stamp, however. So – back to work! (Cindy)