Slicing bread used to be a consumer activity. The consumer may have bought the loaf from the local baker, but the slicing of it was up to him. Sometimes one didn’t even bother taking out the knife . . . you just grabbed off a chunk. Hence the term “breaking bread.”

Pre-sliced bread sold at market is a development of later capitalism. It’s pretty neat, hence the expression “better than sliced bread.”

But here’s something worse than sliced bread: a political controversy. In Britain, the land that gave us the sandwich, the House of Lords has been listening to complaints about bread slice thickness. The Baroness Gardner of Parkes says that bread slices are getting thicker, and insists that thicker slices lead to thicker waists.

The Baroness asked “Why is it that in central London you can hardly find a thinly sliced or medium-sliced loaf of bread to buy, and any sandwich you buy in any supermarket is now made with thick bread?”

Now, I don’t know about you, or about London, but I do know that I have purchased thin-sliced bread recently. And thick-sliced, too.

I notice that it is traditional to slice the tougher, mealier breads thicker than the Wonder Bread varieties. And it is known that the thicker, less processed breads are better for you.

We’re all free to have our own opinion about the proper thickness of bread. But best of all would be to keep politicians, and any leftover royalty, out of the issue of bread thickness. No matter how you slice it.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.