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II.A.7 - Rice

from II.A - Grains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

By
Te-Tzu Chang
Edited by
Kenneth F. Kiple  and
Kriemhild Coneè Ornelas
Kenneth F. Kiple
Affiliation:
Bowling Green State University, Ohio
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Summary

Economic and Biological Importance of Rice

Rice in Human Life

Among the cereals, rice and wheat share equal importance as leading food sources for humankind. Rice is a staple food for nearly one-half of the world’s population. In 1990, the crop was grown on 145.8 million hectares of land, and production amounted to 518.8 million metric tons of grain (paddy, rough rice). Although rice is grown in 112 countries, spanning an area from 53° latitude north to 35° south, about 95 percent of the crop is grown and consumed in Asia. Rice provides fully 60 percent of the food intake in Southeast Asia and about 35 percent in East Asia and South Asia. The highest level of per capita rice consumption (130 to 180 kilograms [kg]per year, 55 to 80 percent of total caloric source) takes place in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Vietnam.

Although rice commands a higher price than wheat on the international market, less than five percent of the world’s rice enters that market, contrasted with about 16 percent of the wheat. Low-income countries, China and Pakistan, for example, often import wheat at a cheaper price and export their rice.

Biological Value in Human Nutrition

Although rice has a relatively low protein content (about 8 percent in brown rice and 7 percent in milled rice versus 10 percent in wheat), brown rice (caryopsis) ranks higher than wheat in available carbohydrates, digestible energy (kilojoules [kJ]per 100 grams), and net protein utilization. Rice protein is superior in lysine content to wheat, corn, and sorghum. Milled rice has a lower crude fiber content than any other cereal, making rice powder in the boiled form suitable as infant food. For laboring adults, milled rice alone could meet the daily carbohydrate and protein needs for sustenance although it is low in riboflavin and thiamine content. For growing children, rice needs to be supplemented by other protein sources (Hegsted 1969; Juliano 1985b).

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The Cambridge World History of Food , pp. 132 - 149
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2000

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