The Importance of Rice - Literature review Example

Rice Research Biology/ Natural History Rice is the seed that belongs to grass family and its species is oryza sativa from Asia or oryza glaberrima from Africa (Huang et al., 2012). Rice is a monocot annual plant that is pollinated by wind and its eatable seed is a grain. It can either be wild or domesticated. It is the most widely eaten cereal grain as a staple food for human in large part of the world. Rice is the third highest crop worldwide in terms of production. It is highly nutritious with high caloric intake. Rice is believed to have originated and domesticated in China many thousand years ago in the valley region called Pearl River (Carney, 2001). It was then introduced to Europe through Western Asia and to Americans during European colonization period. Rice comes in different varieties and it varies depending on the region it is grown but the most preferred rice is the one that is softer and sticker. For good production of rice, certain varieties are recommended to be used as cultivars. These cultivars should be resistant to pests and diseases. Rice cultivation does well in areas or countries that have high rainfall as it requires a lot of water to cultivate. It is labor intensive. The common method of irrigation that is commonly practiced in cultivation of rice is flood irrigation. This method assists in reduction of weeds and prevents rodents (Vaughan, Lu &Tomooka, 2008). Climatic factors that are favorable for growing rice is in areas that have high rainfall and areas where labor force is adequate, as it is labor intensive. Rice requires a lot of water for it to grow and produce well. Furthermore, in order to produce large amount of rice, there are varieties of cultivars that are supposed to be used. Such varieties should be resistant to pests and diseases. Vaughan Lu and Tomooka (2008) opine that rice is a staple food for a larger part of population in the world and it is an energy giving food. Its nutritive value depends on the variety, nutrient quality of the soil is grown in, and how it is prepared before it is ready for human consumption. Rice is a staple food that came up due to single domestication in China from a wild rice called oryza rufipogon. According to genetic evidence, this domestication happened in the Pearl River region of China although it was assumed in decades ago that rice was first domesticated in the Yangtze River valley in China. Its plant morphology changes show that it changed from the wild rice to the one that is being cultivated now (Huang et al., 2012). Rice fertilization took place through wind pollination of flowers. The wild rice that underwent morphological process was called phytoliths, which is of two varieties; indica and japonica. Rice then spread from China to the Middle East countries (Liu et al., 2004). Social / Cultural According to Liu et al (2004), rice plays an important role in human health. It is of nutritive value to the body. In this research, rice is an energy giving food and contains proteins but does not contain all essential amino acids, which are necessary for good health. It provides 20% of the world’s dietary energy supply unlike other major staple food of the same family. Rice nutritive value varies depending on the variety, nutrient quality of the soil is grown in, and the way it is prepared before it is ready for human consumption (Jahn et al., 2004). Rice that is of highly colored strains is useful to human health. The color pigments contain antioxidant properties that are derived from anthocyaninns and tocols. Rice, which is red and black in color, contain nutrients that are beneficial to human body as compared to white rice. Cultural Importance According to Jahn, Litsinger, Chen and Barrion (2007), rice plays an important role in the society. It is can be used for religious purposes as well. Many cultures do normally use rice during wedding ceremonies by spreading it in front of the bride and groom. For example, in a country like Nepal, pounded rice ritual is done during weddings. A groom will requests for it and the bride must give him a plate full of pounded rice (Liu et al., 2004). In other communities especially in phillipines, by product of rice called the rice wine is used during harvesting ceremonies. Economic Importance Rice is of economic importance to both human and environment. It provides large amount of energy as compared to wheat and maize (Liu et al., 2004). Although rice provide human with less proteins, it is much better than wheat and maize. In addition, rice is currently the most preferred crop in terms of its nutritive value and the economic significance it has to both human and environment (Carney, 2001). Rice has both negative and positive impact. Its positive impact is that rice as a staple food is being preferred more than any other major staple food because it contains nutrients that are necessary for human health. According to Liu et al. (2004), rice is exported in many countries although it is limited because it believed to be a staple food not for export. It is a source of income to those who grow. In terms of trade, rice production is important although it provides only 8% of the world trade. This is because it is considered by many cultures or societies to be a source of staple food (Jang & Xu, 2009). Besides, rice is valuable in the fact it can be ground into flour for different uses. The ground rice is also used in making different kinds of beverages including rice milk, amazake, rice wine, and horchata (Liu et al., 2004). Liu et al. (2004) further assert that rice flour is also used in making many noodles, which can be consumed by fruitarians. According to Jang and Xu (2009), rice being staple food does also have negative impact to both human and environment. Rice and its by-products contain chemical called arsenic, which is poisonous to human health. The chemical belongs to group 1 carcinogen that is cancerous in nature (Potera, 2007). Some varieties of rice, especially the brown rice, contain high level of arsenic. Also, rice that is grown where cotton was previously harvested is highly susceptible to arsenic. For instance, the white rice, which is mainly grown in United States, such as in Texas has higher levels of arsenic than other parts of the world. This is because of the past use of pesticides that was used to control cotton weevils. Moreover, cooked rice contains bacteria that produce a toxin when it is left in a hot place (Jahn et al., 2007). In addition, rice has negative effect to environment. Because of its cultivation in wetland fields, rice is responsible for the emissions of a dangerous gas called methane (Jang & Xu, 2009). This gas is generated from anaerobic fermentation of organic matter in the soil, which is caused by continuous flooding of the fields such that soil aeration is interfered with. There is poor soil aeration. No atmospheric oxygen can get into the soil. This interference will lead to production of methane, which is a greenhouse gas and is dangerous to both micro organisms that are found in the soil that helps in fermentation of organic matter and also to living things (Kim, 2008). Historical Background Rice was once a wild plant but after being domesticated in China, it became a staple food that is good for human consumption. According to Kim (2008), not only rice is a staple food for human but also has some other importance. Rice also has negative impact on both human health and environment in terms of chemical properties that is contained in the plant. It is noted that although rice is essential for the provision of nutrients, it has chemical called arsenic that is dangerous to human health (Jahn et al., 2007). The chemical belong to a group that is capable of causing cancer to human. The kind of gases that are emitted during rice production has dangerous effects to environment to both micro organisms that are important for decomposition in the soil and also to living things. Jahn et al. (2004) indicate that rice production has increased worldwide as compared to the past. Many countries are now producing rice both for subsistence purposes and also for export. In 1960, the production of rice globally has steadily grown from about 200 million tonnes to more than 678 million tonnes in 2009 (Kim, 2008). In the year 2009, China had approximately 197 million tones, India 131 Mt, and Indonesia 64 Mt, and these countries are among The largest producers of rice (Kim, 2008). Policy / Legal Rice is legally produced in the Middle East countries and also United States. Countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Pakistan, Asia, Africa and also Europe are growing rice (Kim, 2008). Jahn et al. (2007) explain that due to droughts that arose in the year 2007 and 2008 in countries that are producing rice in large amounts, the prices also rose up. Although there was no shortage of rice in the market, the prices of rice increased which led to the governments of Vietnam and India banning rice exports. This rise in prices led to inflation by import orders by the Philippines marketing board, which is governed by the National Food Security Authority. Rice distribution worldwide is controlled. It is because of the importance of rice to human health and also for food security purposes (Kim, 2008). Also in world trade, the percentage of rice that is sold is low simply because it is considered as a staple food. It is grown as a subsistence crop and not for export. References Carney, A. (2001). Black rice: the African origins of rice cultivation in the Americas. Cambridge: Harvard University Press Huang, X., Kurata, N., Wei, X., Wang, Z., Wang, A., Zhao, Q., Zhao, Y., & Liu, K., (2012). A Map of rice genome variation reveals the origin of cultivated rice. Nature 490 (7421): 497–501 Jahn, G., Domingo, I., Almazan, M., Pacia, J., Pacia, J (2004). "Effect of rice bug Leptocorisa oratorius (Hemiptera: Alydidae) on rice yield, grain quality, and seed viability". Journal of economic entomology 97 (6): 1923–7 Jahn, C.; Litsinger, J., Chen, Y., & Barrion, A. (2007). "Integrated Pest Management of Rice: Ecological Concepts". In O Koul and GW Cuperus. Ecologically based integrated pest management. CAB International. pp. 315–366 Jang, S., & Xu, Z. (2009). Lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidants and their antioxidant activities in purple rice bran. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 57(3): 858–862. Kim, M. (2008). "Multivocality, multifaceted voices, and Korean archaeology". Evaluating multiple narratives: beyond nationalist, colonialist, imperialist Archaeologies. New York: Springer Liu, L., Z. Van., Shu Y., & Maluszynski, M. (2004). Officially released mutant varieties in China. Mutat. Breed. Rev 14 (1): 64 Potera, C. (2007). Food Safety: U.S. Rice Serves Up Arsenic. Environmental Health Perspectives 115 (6): A296 Vaughan, D., Lu, B &Tomooka, N. (2008). The evolving story of rice evolution. Plant Science 174 (4): 394–408 Yang, L.(2005). Handbook of Chinese mythology. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More