Monday, November 21, 2011

#7 The Origin of Rice


The Origin of Rice

Rice is one of the most common foods in the world. But how is it produced? I had no idea...

Here are some videos describing how rice is grown and produced around the world.

http://bit.ly/pmX5Sg How To Grow Rice

http://bit.ly/uZu2K1 Rice Growing Time Lapse (112 days)

http://bit.ly/s5y2P9 Rice Planting Steps (75 cents per day)

http://bit.ly/rv48jz A Day In The Life Of A Philippine Rice Field

http://bit.ly/rGKRle  BBC Chinese Rice Culture

As you can see from these videos growing rice is a long and strenous process. Some farmers use animal power to plow their fields while others are lucky enough to have power tools. In one of the videos the camera man says the workers are paid around 75 cents per day. Obvissouly this is not enough for producing one of the most important crops in the world. Some communities are completely dependent on the production of rice like the one in the BBC video.

This website gives a lot of basic knowledge about the rice industry.
http://bit.ly/s5wNZw



This website has some very important graphics which tell a great deal about the rice industry. This graph shows who is producing the most rice in the world. According to Sage Foods, almost 560 Million Metric Tons (MMT) of rice are grown annually. More than double of what it was 40 years ago. "Of the 560 MMT produced almost 60 percent is grown and consumed in China and India."


The next graph shows which countries were exporting the most rice in 1999. I was suprised that China was not on this list, I assume that China produces most of its rice for consumption. I was also suprised to see the U.S. near the top of this list (around 8 MMT). I didn't know that we produced large quantities of rice. Here is a video describing the rice industry in California. http://bit.ly/uDyYL2 Here is another video showing how rice is produced in California. http://bit.ly/uBylBe

Another graph from this website says Arkansas produces the majority of our rice, followed by California, Louisiana, and Texas. Here are updated statistics of the importing and exporting of rice around the world. http://reut.rs/iK2RQ5
Image of Working the ricefields in the Central Highlands, Vietnam
OREC- http://bit.ly/vTOtGi also has globalization statistics for the rice industry. The Organization of Rice Exporting Countries is made up of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.

The Price of the worlds rice has continued to rise in recent years which has created issues around the world. http://bit.ly/rMPWLG

The lack of organization around the rice exporting industry has made it difficult to limit the price of this staple crop. Here is a blog describing some of the issues http://bit.ly/vkrlNf.


Rice production is also dramatically affected by droughts or floods in regions of rice cultivation. recently floods in Thailand have damaged their exporting capabilities and success. Globalization has also created great opportunities for developing countries around the world. I thought this blog did a great job at describing globalization and rice. http://bit.ly/tCeYU4

Rice is one of the most important crops around the world. It is important to understand that this crop has very little security because of the strict conditions it is produced in. The dangers of droughts and floods are a threat to mass production. http://bit.ly/vO3iP8

 Like many crops rice farmers are paid very little and have little employee rights.  Rice sovereignty is also like most other crops. Corporations have the power to export and make large profits off of this crop. Companies like C&M Products of America have economic power and use it to exploit the production of other countries. Haiti is dependent on American rice, because exports have destroyed their farms. http://bit.ly/seYf6p



Most rice is not exported far. The majority of rice is consumed in relatively close proximity to where it is grown and harvested. I think the majority of rice, and rice products in Washington are produced in California. Other ethnic style rices are most likely exported from Thailand, India, or Vietnam. The affects of Patel's hourglass example are clear in the production of rice around the world. Farmers have very little power and choice. They are underpaid and are controlled by the crop they grow.




2 comments:

  1. How does policy impact rice production? What does rice tell us about levels of poverty and economic inequality?

    ReplyDelete
  2. China is a big country with a large poplulation. Therefore, most of the rice that it produce use for its consumption even it needs to import from other country. This is why China is not on the list.

    ReplyDelete