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Rather than do 30 seconds of basic googling you instead decided it was awful and returned it? This comment is just bizarre to see on HN. Wheat-based plastic is

Rather than do 30 seconds of basic googling you instead decided it was awful and returned it? This comment is just bizarre to see on HN. Wheat-based plastic is made from wheat straw, not wheat grains. The straw has no gluten to start with and it sure as hell doesn’t after the chemical treatment required to plasticize it.

kwoff 2y ago
I've had celiac for over a quarter century, but my first thought seeing the headline was something like "oh no, another thing to look for?" Then I realized, like you said, it probably depends on how it's made. Not to exaggerate, but there's a sort of low-key "trauma" associated with celiac. I used to have nightmares where I'd eat bread or something without realizing it (should I throw up? do people think I'm faking it? why didn't I remember to check if it has gluten?). There are these gluten-free burritos in the gluten-free section. The other day, I got one out of my freezer and only after opening the package and seeing the burrito was a bit browner than usual and thinking "is this spoiled?", then I thought "wait, is this not gluten-free?" and verifyied the package...didn't say gluten-free. Next time in the store, I found they have non-gluten-free burritos beside the gluten-free ones, in the freezer marked gluten-free.... They often do this in the gluten-free bread/etc aisle, too, right next to the gluten-free stuff. And recently they stopped adding green "gluten free" labels on the price tags which were handy when strolling down the aisles, so now I'm back in "turn every package around to check for allergens" mode. Anyway, just saying I understand OP's knee-jerk reaction.
- ManuelKiessling 2y ago
  Ah, the cookie nightmares, always a nice experience… Good to hear I’m not the only one though. Interesting times might be ahead actually. As the world moves away from meat and plastics (which is great, don’t get me wrong!), the glue-iness of gluten seems to play a central role. There are the biodegradable plastics on the one side, which in contrast to their contents don’t need to be marked as containing gluten (at least in Germany and at least for now), and on the other side, 90% of the stuff I see in the „vegan replacements of originally-non-vegan food“ aisles are based on wheat; which isn’t a problem while it‘s only a partial slice of the market, but might get interesting for cealiacs if one day those products replace the originals completely.
EdwardCoffin 2y ago
People with celiac disease have to go to great lengths to avoid things that have even the possibility of cross contamination. I can easily imagine that the processing that wheat straw goes through is not stringent enough to ensure that no wheat grains are not inadvertently included.
ManuelKiessling 2y ago
Rather than to inform yourself on the matter you instead decided you are entitled to tell a person with an autoimmune disease how their world works? There are some first studies which show that yes, some of those biodegradables do contain gluten and yes, they do contaminate their contents in doses that are above the threshold for a person with cealiac disease. The latest issue of the DZG magazine (German Cealiac Disease Society) reported on it.

kwoff 2y ago

I've had celiac for over a quarter century, but my first thought seeing the headline was something like "oh no, another thing to look for?" Then I realized, like you said, it probably depends on how it's made. Not to exaggerate, but there's a sort of low-key "trauma" associated with celiac. I used to have nightmares where I'd eat bread or something without realizing it (should I throw up? do people think I'm faking it? why didn't I remember to check if it has gluten?). There are these gluten-free burritos in the gluten-free section. The other day, I got one out of my freezer and only after opening the package and seeing the burrito was a bit browner than usual and thinking "is this spoiled?", then I thought "wait, is this not gluten-free?" and verifyied the package...didn't say gluten-free. Next time in the store, I found they have non-gluten-free burritos beside the gluten-free ones, in the freezer marked gluten-free.... They often do this in the gluten-free bread/etc aisle, too, right next to the gluten-free stuff. And recently they stopped adding green "gluten free" labels on the price tags which were handy when strolling down the aisles, so now I'm back in "turn every package around to check for allergens" mode. Anyway, just saying I understand OP's knee-jerk reaction.

ManuelKiessling 2y ago
Ah, the cookie nightmares, always a nice experience… Good to hear I’m not the only one though. Interesting times might be ahead actually. As the world moves away from meat and plastics (which is great, don’t get me wrong!), the glue-iness of gluten seems to play a central role. There are the biodegradable plastics on the one side, which in contrast to their contents don’t need to be marked as containing gluten (at least in Germany and at least for now), and on the other side, 90% of the stuff I see in the „vegan replacements of originally-non-vegan food“ aisles are based on wheat; which isn’t a problem while it‘s only a partial slice of the market, but might get interesting for cealiacs if one day those products replace the originals completely.

EdwardCoffin 2y ago

People with celiac disease have to go to great lengths to avoid things that have even the possibility of cross contamination. I can easily imagine that the processing that wheat straw goes through is not stringent enough to ensure that no wheat grains are not inadvertently included.

ManuelKiessling 2y ago

Rather than to inform yourself on the matter you instead decided you are entitled to tell a person with an autoimmune disease how their world works? There are some first studies which show that yes, some of those biodegradables do contain gluten and yes, they do contaminate their contents in doses that are above the threshold for a person with cealiac disease. The latest issue of the DZG magazine (German Cealiac Disease Society) reported on it.