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When asked what the most important food is globally, many would incorrectly answer that soy beans, cabbage, or various incarnations of noodles are the most recognized. In actuality, the most-eaten food is the instigator of 2008's shortage worry: rice. This seemingly insignificant grain was not only feared to be inadequately produced (Dummet), but provides “more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by the human species” (Smith). To fully comprehend the significance of rice, a few premier subjects pertaining to it must be examined, including its origin, methods of preparation, and cultural impacts.
The first known cultivation of rice was over 9000 years ago, in the Yangtze river valley of Asia. In Africa and the Middle East, rice was first grown 3500 and 2000 years ago, respectively. Since then, rice has been cataloged and engineered to precise specifications, with more than 100,000 cultivars existing in the International Rice Genebank. As a parallel to rice's early development in the history of mankind, rice was the first crop to have its genome fully sequenced, likely as a result of its genome size – only 430 megabase pairs exist in rice ("Rice"). This repetition of rice as a predecessor to the inclusion of other grains indicates a preference for rice over other crops.
Milling processes for rice have varied greatly with technological advances, namely the application of water-powered (Hokusai), then steam-powered sources, but the essential objective of milling has not changed. When harvested, rice grains are composed of two parts, the husk and the fruit (Rost). The primary task of most milling processes is to remove the husk, which is often considered as chaff, creating what is known as 'brown rice', but the husk may be continued to be processed from the grain, along with the germ, to create 'white rice'. Problems associated with the additional processing includes a loss of nutrients, which may be restored through the application of talc or other powders, which creates what is colloquially known as 'polished rice'. This method of resorting nutritional value is thought to be carcinogenic (Cancer Prevention Coalition), and as such is not common, as in the U.S.A., or banned entirely ("Rice"). With this in mind, it is inferred that brown rice is an healthier choice for consumption, even if unwittingly made by Neolithic man or woman.
The growth process of the rice plant Oryza sativa is not as an underwater plant, as would be imagined from popular precepts of rice. Water is used as a weed- and pest- control mechanism, in which the only plant allowed to grow in a paddy is the rice, as most invasive varieties of undesirable plants can not grow in said conditions. This method of weed prevention is highly consumptous of water, a detail that causes most rice to be cultured in areas with high levels of natural or seasonal rainfall, or locations with access to large amounts of freshwater. Worth noting is the ecological impact of this method, namely the release of large amounts of methane as a waste product ("Rice").
Cultural impacts of rice are myriad, although often overlooked, or inconsequential to most. Consequential impacts include the development of the drought-resistant, high-yield rice cultivar “NERICA” for Africa, as a panacea to improve local economy and food supply ("Rice"). A second important cultivar is one produced by Ventria Bioscience, which has been genetically modified to include the three proteins lactoferrin, lysozyme, and human serum albumin, all of which are found in human breast milk, and have antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial effects (Bethell). This cultivar has also been suggested as an 'oral rehydration solution', to treat diarrheal diseases ("Rice"). A majority of overlooked cultural consequences of rice remain undocumented, possibly because they are only significant when investigated in relation to many fields of science, economy, history, and other more arcane subjects of study. As a placebo, a short statement regarding rice in the real world might be made, to the effect of: rice is important, both as a low-income, manual-labor job source, and as a low-cost diet staple. Historically, it is easily stored, and may be brought to war, or famine, or trade. It may also be converted from a granular state to a flour state, for additional versatility in storage, shipping, preparation and consumption. As noted above, nearly ¼ of the calories consumed worldwide by humans are those of rice, and it remains as “the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, the West Indies, East, South, and Southeast Asia.” ("Rice") Concisely, rice is integral to the properly-functioning global economy and community.
Sources (MLA)
Bethell, Huang J. "Recombinant human lactoferrin treatment for global health issues: iron deficiency and acute diarrhea." NCBI 42nd ser. 3.377 (2004). Print.
Dummett, Mark. "Global Rice Shortage." Web.20 Aug 2009. .
Hokusai, Katsushika. Onden no suisha. 1826-1833. 36 views of Mount Fuji.
"Rice Anatomy." Welcome to UCD Plant Biology. Thomas L. Rost, 1997. Web. 21 Aug. 2009. .
"Rice." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 21 Aug. 2009. .
Smith, Bruce D. The Emergence of Agriculture. Scientific American Library, A Division of HPHLP, New York, 1998.
Stout, Sofia. "Rice in Central America." Personal interview. 20 Aug. 2009.
"Talcum Powder can cause cancer." Cancer Prevention Coalition. Cancer Prevention Coalition, 2003. Web. 21 Aug. 2009. .
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