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Who Eats Rice, Anyway?
In a story that should really be more surprising than it is, the New York Times tells us that agricultural research budgets across the world have declined dramatically in the last few decades—bottoming out in time for this year’s food crisis. Over the last 25 years, donations from the world’s wealthier countries have been halved; until recently, key loans from the World Bank had been cut by roughly three-quarters. In the 1980s, the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, for example, had “five entomologists, or insect experts, overseeing a staff of 200. Now it has one entomologist with a staff of eight.”
Luckily, you know, no one eats rice, so it hardly matters.
Apparently, agriculture scientists have warned of the drop-off in funding for years. But government officials were cocky about the world’s ability to feed itself. Even now the importance of these programs, which breed seeds that tolerate or even excel in local conditions or that fight off sudden infestations, seems unrecognized. As the Times reports, “the United States is in the midst of slashing, by as much as 75 percent, its $59.5 million annual support for a global research network that focuses on improving crops vital to agriculture in poor countries. That network includes the rice institute.”
Posted by | Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 8:23am | 2 comments
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"Surprisingly" Nicholas is approaching the subject with the same perspective some americans do, THEY ARE THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE.
Maybe rice it is not as common in America as french fries are however take a look a this statistics.
Between 1961 and 2002, per capita consumption of rice increased by 40%. Rice consumption is highest in Asia, where average per capita consumption is higher than 80 kg/person per year. In the subtropics such as South America, Africa, and the Middle East, per capita consumption averages between 30 and 60 kg/person per year. People in the developed West, including Europe and the United States, consume less than 10 kg/person per year.
Rice is the most important crop in Asia. In Cambodia, for example, 90% of the total agricultural area is used for rice production. See The Burning of the Rice by Don Puckridge for the story of rice production in Cambodia.
U.S. rice consumption has risen sharply over the past 25 years, fueled in part by commercial applications such as beer production. Almost one in five adult Americans now report eating at least half a serving of white or brown rice per day.
This might not impact us very strongly however I would suggest you to think "globally".
Take Care
Cio--Nicholas was being sarcastic. Of course, loads of people eat rice. You've given us some good statistics (thank you!), but don't accuse Nicholas Day of being ethnocentric. Rather, he's being the opposite.