Rice ? Wheat ??

So I have been thinking about this for some time and I have to ask .Why is Boiled rice , wild or regular white acceptable as "" food "" for the table in a grain form . yet we don't do it with wheat ? I'm sure that there is a simple answer to the question .Hope it doesn't sound stupid , but I just can't figure out what the answer is .

We eat wheat at the table,my MIL makes a wheat salad, it is awesome. Not sure what is all in it except wheat and whipped cream. YUMMY!

I use to chew on a monthful of wheat while driving a combine on the farm. The grain bin was within reach from the driver's seat on the old Massey I drove. It seems to me I have seen salads made of different kinds of grain.

So then why isn't it more utilized as a table grain as well as Rice ? seems maybe we are missing out on a lot of things here that seem acceptable in other country's .Is it because of the price per bushel ? if you added up a bushel of rice and figured out the cost of it I think we would be rather surprised at what we are paying for a Grain from another country when we have something here that's just as good if not better from the sounds of it .