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Rice, Our Daily Food
[11-11-2011] |
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Untitled Document
 We
eat rice very often. In fact, many Asians, including Koreans, Chinese,
and Japanese eat rice three times a day. More than 90 percent of the
world’s rice is grown and eaten in Asia. In fact, rice is the main food for half the world’s population. Three of the
world’s four most populous nations are rice-based societies: China,
India, and Indonesia. We have been eating rice for more than 5,000
years.
Rice is one of the oldest foods in human history. It has been cultivated in China since
ancient times. However, most
believe the roots of rice come from India and Thailand.
Other countries in Africa and the Middle East also cultivated rice
for about 3,500 years. After the mid 15th century, rice spread throughout Europe including
Italy and France. The Spanish brought rice to South America at the
beginning of the 18th century.
Rice arrived in the U.S. in the
17th century. Colonists were the first
to cultivate rice in America. Today, many American states produce rice. Arkansas is
the leading rice producing state.
California, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Missouri and Florida also
cultivate rice.
In many Asian countries, rice is more than food. It is an important
symbol of luck and wealth. In some Asian cultures,
rice is considered a link between Heaven and Earth. In India, people believe
that rice is important to fertility. This is why rice
is thrown on newly married couples in
many countries.
 In
India, rice is associated with prosperity and Lakshmi, the
Hindu Goddess of Wealth. Rice is worshipped during the full moon day following an
important Hindu ceremony called the Durga
puja. The words for rice and food are the same in several Asian languages.
The Chinese word for rice is the same as their word for food. The
average Asian person eats
150 kilograms of rice each year, compared to the average European
who eats 5 kilograms.
There are more than 40,000 different varieties of rice in the world.
Rice is cultivated in over 100 countries and on every continent except Antarctica. Rice is
used in baby food, breakfast cereals, snacks, frozen foods, sauces, dog
food, and much more! |
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