Wonder Bread leaves Karloffornia-over emissions

Wonder Bread run out of California for carbon diox emissions
Citizens for the California Republic -- Tom McClintock's blog ^ | August 31, 2007 | Tom McClintock

No Wonder...

Published On 08-31-2007 , 2:27 PM

Gov. Schwarzenegger’s drive to reduce carbon dioxide emissions got a major boost this week when the makers of Wonder Bread announced the total withdrawal of their bread products from Southern California. Interstate Bakeries, the makers of Wonder Bread, Roman Meal, Home Pride and Baker’s Inn breads announced the closure of four bakeries, 17 distribution centers and 19 outlet stores, leaving 1,300 Californians out of work. The iconic breads – that had been staples of Southern California grocery stores since the 1940s – will completely disappear from shelves starting October 20th.

The parent company, Interstate Bakeries, blamed the high cost of doing business in California. The company has been losing money in California for some time, hit by a number of concerns including declining demand and non-union competitors, but their principal problem was simply California’s growing hostility to human enterprise.

Not mentioned by the company was this grim reality: Gov. Schwarzenegger’s AB 32 mandates a 25 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020. A principal byproduct of baking bread is – you guessed it – carbon dioxide. Indeed, without carbon dioxide, there’s no such thing as bread as we know it. Bread gets its spongy texture from yeast converting glucose into equal parts of ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. The familiar smell of bread baking is the oxidation of the ethyl alcohol as these gases are released during heating.

But not any more. No Wonder.