Food and Drink in Society - Case Study Example

Rice a Historical LIAU) Rice: A Historical View How a Food Staple Took Over the World Justin Foo Loong Liau of Central Lancashire Rice aHistorical 2(LIAU) Rice: A Historical View - How a Food Staple Took Over the World Introduction The history of rice reaches back as far as the history of agriculture. Humans have been cultivating rice for many, many generations, creating a large genetic history, as well as an agriculture history. Rice is a staple of many food cultures, providing a healthy carbohydrate, rich in nutrients. Brown rice is preferred, while white rice rates too high on the glycemic index. White rice has been milled farther than brown, stripping away important nutritional values, however giving it a longer shelf life. Two main varieties of rice exist, mainly African rice and Asian rice, from which all genetic derivations have come into existence. Rice is a powerful food, being a foundation of the diet of some cultures, an essential aspect of the economic survival of many cultures, and a source of work for numerous agricultural communities. Rice is a product that has been used deep into antiquity and is cultivated in areas of the world with a high level of rainfall, which creates a proper climate for its growth. While flooding the fields is not a necessary process of growing rice, it is a more common method of controlling the fields and preventing infestations of rodents and infiltrating weeds. The flooding is done after the planting and sustains a crop that would otherwise require greater efforts to maintain the quality and safety of the growth. Cultivating rice by means of mechanical devices is not sound in reference to the level of waste of petroleum, however in countries with low costs for labor, the rice is still cultivated by Rice a Historical 3(LIAU) hand. The origins of rice dates back many thousands of years, perhaps millions as proposed by C. Wayne Smith and Robert H. Dilday in their history of the grain titled Rice: Evolution, History, Production, and Technology. According to Smith and Dilday (2002:4), “Its early progenitor, a grass, had differentiated into rather distinct forms in various humid regions of the southern landmass now called the Gondwanna supercontinent more than 130 million years ago.” As the landmass broke apart, the ancestral relative to rice ended up evolving into the rice that is eaten today, which comes from two basic forms. African rice, (Oryza glaberrima Steud) and the variety known as the common rice, or Asian rice (O. sativa L.) (Smith 2002: 4) African Grown Rice The African variety of rice has not seen the popularity of its Asian cousin. African rice became widely grown in West Africa beginning around 1500 B.C. (Smith 2002: 12). Cultivation originated in the Niger valley by the first agriculturally based societies in Africa (Devries 2001: 131). Although this native variety was grown for hundreds of years, Asian rice was introduced into Africa by European explorers in the 16th century and has become the standard variety grown in Africa. Although the Asian variety has a dominant place in the agricultural of Africa, there are still fields of the African variety grown in sporadic fields. Rice is an important crop in Africa because it has a high- income yield possibility. “Demand for rice has increased at an annual rate of 5.6% since Rice a Historical 4(LIAU) 1962 (Devries 2001: 141). African rice is cultivated according to three different types of water events. Rainfall, groundwater and tides result in three different systems which are referred to as “upland, inland swamp, and tidal production” (Sutter 2009: 85). This system allows for a rotating system that can create crops throughout the year. “By relying on several sources of water and several cropping environments, farmers enhance subsistence security by minimizing the risk of the rice crop completely failing in any given year”(Sutter 2009: 86). This was noted by European explorers in the early seventeenth century and is a long standing practice. Asian Grown Rice Asian rice was developed from two central areas of origin. Genetic history shows that the origins of O. sativa came from South and East Asia with another epicenter developing in the “intercrossing of the indica and japonica forms of O. sativa, which developed into a long series of varieties of japonica (Toriyama 2005: 48). The rice that developed in China reached a genetic diversification as early as 10,000 years ago. Two main types of rice developed. The first is a cooking rice that exhibits a dryer quality and is called hsien, or sen. The other type of rice that developed is a sticker rice called keng. This diversification had been found in writings from as early as the second century A. D. Genetic evidence has supported this theory of the evolution of cultivated rice. Jason Londo, Washington University in Arts & Sciences biology doctoral candidate, and his adviser, Barbara A. Schaal, Ph.D., Washington University Spencer T. Olin Professor of Biology in Arts & Sciences, ran genetic tests of more than 300 types of rice, including both wild and Rice a Historical 5(LIAU) domesticated, and found genetic markers that reveal the two major rice types grown today were first grown by humans in India and Myanmar and Thailand (Oryza sativa indica) and in areas in southern China (Oryza sativa japonica) (Biologists 2006). The variety of rice that made its way into Japan from China is derived from the keng. History of Rice Production In pre-historical theories, the cultivation of rice began in the “Yellow River Basin and Changjiang Basin during the early Holocene”(Imamura 1996: 212). Japan was primarily a hunting gathering culture of communities. The development of an agriculture culture did not happen for many generations after it was developed in China. The reasons for this can be reasoned from two different theories, of which it is most probably a combination that result in a delayed beginning of agriculture in Japan. The first reason is because of the geographical isolation of Japan from the mainland. Japan is of course, an island, and while there is evidence that cultures from the mainland visited at times during prehistory, there is not evidence of a major migration from the mainland. As well, while there was only a water body between the Changjiang Basin and Japan, the sea is 1000 km between the lands. The second reason is based on the adaptation of the rice to the warm humid climate as it was cultivated through Korea and the rice genetically adapted over generations of plantings until it could adapt in Japan (Imamura 1996: 213-214). Evidence of rice cultivation can be found as early as 4000 B. C. E in Korea, but does not appear until 3000 B. C. E. in Japan, and even at that time has not developed into a widespread agricultural community (Imamura 1996: 214). The climate of Japan does Rice a Historical 6(LIAU) not adapt well to dry-field agriculture, so the survival of the communities could not easily change from their hunting gathering forms of food acquisition. Thus, agriculture did not develop easily or quickly on the island. However, because of the timing that was involved, as agriculture did develop in the wet-field methods, the technology was advanced because it was adapted from surrounding cultures who had been agricultural in nature for thousands of years (Imamura 1996: 214-215) Rice in Europe According to Toriyama (2006:48), rice spread to Europe more than 2000 years ago, however other literature reports that it came later from Arabs into Sicily spreading through Italy, then filtering throughout the rest of Europe at some point during the eighth and ninth century (Seed 2000: 1; Grieve 1995). Although the actual time of delivery to the European geographical areas is unclear, the areas that are most adaptive to the growth of rice lie in the Mediterranean nations. There is also the report of rice coming to England through explorers visiting India, which would put the arrival of rice into England during the age of the explorers, which would put its appearance in roughly the 15th century. Rice was used initially in England as a thickening agent or for its medicinal properties to soothe the stomach (Oliver 2008). Eventually, it would be added to traditional dishes and inserted into the English diet. Experimental growth of rice has been done in England, most notably by Sir Joseph Banks, an English naturalist and botanist of the late 18th and early 19th century. Because mountain rice in known to flourish in colder whether, it was supposed that these Rice a Historical 7(LIAU) experiments would find some success. Sir Banks planted six different varieties in May, and while the vegetative growth was abundant as long as the ground was kept moist, the plants failed to grow stalks from which to get the grain and an early frost killed the crop, leaving the experiment without success (Burnett 1836: 117). Since that time, a rice crop was developed in “England on the banks of the Thames, near Windsor” (Burnett 1836: 117). According to Grieve (1995), “In England it has been cultivated merely as a curiosity, and may be seen in the hothouses of most botanic gardens, treated as a water plant”. Current Use of Rice Rice is one of the most valuable food resources that exists in the world. “Rice is the largest staple crop for human consumption supplying 20 percent of caloric content of the world” (Biologists 2006). While the figure of 20% is accurate for the world, Asia consumes an average of 30% of its calories in rice, generally eating the grain at every meal in most cultures. In Europe, the percentage caloric content was 1% from 1970 through 1990, however that had doubled to 2% by 2001 (Toriyama 2005: 8). In traditional English cooking, rice is generally not included. In modern cuisine, rice is included and is part of the infusions from India and other Eastern cultures. However, British traditional plates include a ’meat and two veg‘, which means literally a portion of meat, a leafy vegetable and a tuberous vegetable, but not a carbohydrate. The most common dish in traditional English and British cuisine that includes rice is the ‘rice pudding‘. Rice a Historical 8(LIAU) Ninety-one percent of the world’s rice is grown in Asia, while three percent comes from South America, two percent is grown in Central and North America, three percent in Africa, and one percent in Europe (Toriyama 2005: 10). There is an association between rice and poverty in that as the increase in the demand for rice has been seen across the world, rural farmers and dwellers can find employment in the fields, decreasing their poverty and elevating their standard of living. ’A study of the two main rice-producing and consuming countries, China and India, showed that improvements in rice yields significantly helped to reduce rural poverty (Toriyama 2005: 9). Because technology has increased the yields in these countries in the last four decades, production was able to increase by 2.6% in China and 2.7% in India per year. Conclusion Rice is a worldwide commodity that contributes to the overall health and well-being of a significant portion of the population. Asian countries typically eat rice at every meal. English food traditions use rice sparingly, although the use has risen as a cultivation of fusion cuisines has become an integral part of British eating habits. Rice contributes to the world economy, diminishing poverty and providing much needed employment in rural communities. A grain with a long antiquity, rice has evolved over many millennia, with hundreds of varieties and countless uses. Rice can be used as a side dish, made into a gluten and lactose free milk, and used in its brown form as a heart healthy source for weight management. The existence of rice has had nutritional, economical, and health implications across the world since the beginning of agricultural Rice a Historical 9(LIAU) communities and continues to increase in importance as new technologies continue to improve its crop yield and its value as a food source. Rice a Historical 10(LIAU) List of References “Biologists trace back genetic origins of rice domestication” (12 June 2006). Science daily: Science news. 14 February 2009. BURNETT, J. (1836). Magazine of botany & gardening British and foreign: comprehanding figures carefully coloured from nature of flowers, fruits & cryptogamia with descriptions thereof, together with original & select papers & reviews on the principles and practice of cultivation. London, G. Henderson. CARNEY, J. A. (2001). Black rice: the African origins of rice cultivation in the Americas. Cambridge, Mass, Harvard University Press. DEVRIES, J., & TOENNIESSEN, G. H. (2001). Securing the harvest: biotechnology, breeding, and seed systems for African crops. Wallingford, Oxon, UK, CABI Pub. GRIEVE, M. (1995). “Rice“. Botanical: A modern herbal. 14 February 2009. GUPTA, P. C., & OTOOLE, J. C. (1986). Upland rice: a global perspective. Los Ban~os, Laguna, Philippines, International Rice Research Institute. IMAMURA, K. (1996). Prehistoric Japan: new perspectives on insular East Asia. Honolulu, Hawaii, University of Hawaii Press. MURATA, K., & HARRISON, A. (1995). How to make Japanese management methods work in the West. Aldershot, Hants, England, Gower Pub. Co. OLIVER, LYNNE. (17 November 2008). “Food Timeline/Pudding” Food timeline. 14 February 2009. OWEN, S. (2003). The rice book: history, culture, recipes. London, Frances Lincoln. SEED, D. (2000). The top one hundred Italian rice dishes: including over 50 risotto recipes. Berkeley, Calif, Ten Speed Press. SMITH, C. W., & DILDAY, R. H. (2002). Rice: evolution, history, production, and technology. Wiley series in crop science. New York, Wiley. SUTTER, P., & MANGANIELLO, C. J. (2009). Environmental history and the American Rice a Historical 11(LIAU) South: a reader. Athens, University of Georgia Press. TORIYAMA, K., HEONG, K., & HARDY, B. (2005). Rice is life: scientific perspectives for the 21st century : proceedings of the World rice research conference, Tsukuba, Japan. Manila, International rice research institute (IRRI). Read More