Photo via Wheatware

Who says you can’t play with your food? Not Wheatware, a company that makes biodegradable drumsticks and guitar picks from wheat. For the kids-at-heart, they also make a maraca that doubles as a yo-yo. It’s filled with bean seeds, and will actually grow into a plant if you bury it in the ground!

There’s an annual 50 billion bushel wheat surplus, so there’s plenty of wheat to go around. Even better, Wheatware plans to create a take-back program for their stuff so it can be recycled to make new products.

But the real question is, can they rock? If awards and publicity are any indication, then yes. Wheatware guitar picks won “Best in Show” in the accessory category at the NAMM (the National Association of Music Merchants) show in Austin in July 2007 while Wheatware drumsticks scored “Trendsetter Award” at the NAMM show in Nashville in June 2008. Wheatware has also been featured on the History Channel’s Modern Marvels TV show and at the 2008 Grammys and Live Earth concerts.

If you’re still not convinced, you may be interested in knowing that the company’s top executives Warren Kirsch and Katherine Patton are musicians themselves  – they play guitar and drums respectively.

Get it here: Wheatware (drumsticks $15/pair; guitar picks $4.20 for 12; yo-yo/maraca $7)