Miller Magazine Issue: 134 February 2021

38 NEWS MILLER / february 2021 The second World Flour Day will be celebrated on 20 March 2021. This day is dedi- cated to one of the most important foods of humankind, a staple that has nourished people every day for millennia, contributing to health, well-being and prosperity. It has had great influence on the political, economic and cultural development of societies. This commemorative day was inaugurated by the FlourWorld Museum in Wittenburg in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. The importance of flour will be celebrated on 20 March 2021 “This year World Flour Day will again be observed under special conditions,” says idea-giver and initia- tor Carsten Blum. “Last year face-to-face meetings were likewise very restricted. Nevertheless, farmers, millers and the entire flour processing industry, from New York to Sydney, from Buenos Aires to Mexico City, from Istanbul to Moscow, marked the day with many creative and digital activities. So this year again we're encouraging all participants in the value chain to commemorate the importance of flour and the role it plays,” says Blum. Accordingly there will be many initiatives on 20 March 2021 to honour staple food No. 1. “Last year we received lots of photos and videos of celebrations, at companies and mills large and small,” says Cars- ten Blum. Bakers showed the great variety of products that are made from flour every day, and they baked their regional specialities. Turkish flat bread and Mexi- can wheat tortillas are just two examples. A high po- int was the flour sack that a mill made especially for World Flour Day. “This year we will again collect all the ideas in our museum and document them for the future. This year FlourWorld will also create a special sack for this 20th of March, and it will receive a place of honour.” Founded in 2008, in a cultural history pro- cession through its exhibits the museum illuminates the epochal effects that flour had on people between the neolithic and industrial revolutions, and will have in future. It also houses the world’s largest collection of flour sacks. The illustrations on the over 3600 sacks from 140 countries tell the story of what grain, flour and bread mean to the people of the world. The 20th of March was carefully chosen to be in the middle of the solstice, which varies between 19 and 21 March. In the Northern Hemisphere this is the beginning of spring, the time of planting. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the start of autumn and harvest. So for farmers around the world, the days around March 20 are a special time, one of hope and gratitude.