US breadmakers hold crisis talks over impact of Atkins diet

Consumption of bread plummeted in America in the past year with an estimated 40 per cent of Americans eating less than in 2002. The US bread industry is to hold a crisis "bread summit" tomorrow to discuss measures to curb falling sales.

Patrick Davis of the National Bread Leadership Council, which organised the summit, said that it was unclear whether the fall in bread sales was a temporary blip or indicative of a more permanent change in eating habits. The average American eats 54lbs of bread a year, barely a third of the quantity consumed by the French and Italians.

My new diet requires lots of fiber - four slices of whole wheat/bran bread a day, lots of fruit and vegetables, legumes. Carb count the Atkins way - subtract fiber and also consider the GLC index.