Rice eaters beware.

[Zizzle]

Depressing!! As if apple juice wasn't bad enough! Now our precious rice?!?!

The recent Consumer Reports investigation found that rice is among the foods that tend to have elevated levels of arsenic for two primary reasons. Rice is among the plants that are unusually efficient at taking up arsenic from the soil and incorporating it in the grains people eat. Moreover, much of the rice produced in the U.S. is grown in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas on land formerly used to grow cotton, where arsenical pesticides were used for decades, just as they were in orchards and vineyards.

When the rice initially planted in some of those former cotton fields produced little grain due to that pesticide residue, farmers solved that problem by breeding a type of rice specifically designed to produce high yields on arsenic-contaminated soil, according to Andrew Meharg, a professor of biogeochemistry at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. His research has shown that U.S. rice has among the highest average levels in the world of inorganic arsenic, which is known to cause skin, lung and bladder cancer in humans. Rice in the U.S. has also been shown to contain substantial amounts of another organic form of arsenic demonstrated to be carcinogenic in rats.

Rice drinks given to young children who are lactose intolerant may also pose risks. In fact, after a 2008 study conducted by Meharg found levels of inorganic arsenic exceeding 10 ppb in a majority of samples of rice milk tested in the United Kingdom, the UK’s Food Standards Agency advised that children younger than four and half years old should not have rice drinks as a replacement for cows’ milk, breast milk or infant formula.

http://news.consumerreports.org/safety/ ... -rice.html

I wonder if this means buying Asian rice could be better? Since that soil was probably always used for rice? Then again, who knows what it's irrigated with. I wonder if even organic rice can be grown on soil that was once filled with arsenic-laden pesticides?

[desertrat]

Sigh. Well, I guess we can't live forever, huh? I wouldn't touch ANYTHING that comes imported from China, and Japan too. And it seems anything from USA is a joke. Maybe India?
Mandy

[tex]

I wonder if even organic rice can be grown on soil that was once filled with arsenic-laden pesticides?

IMO, the organic certification process by which any producer can be qualified for organic production is a joke. All that is required, for example, in the way of prior applications of chemicals, fertilizers, etc., on the land, is a documented history showing that no unapproved materials have been applied to the land for at least the three prior years. It could have been a toxic waste dump four years ago, but that doesn't matter, according to the certification criteria.

Sorry - I don't make the rules, I'm just reporting them. That's one of the reasons why I don't normally seek out organic foods. Because IMO, long-term history is just as important as short-term history, (for certain considerations), and long-term history is totally disregarded by the organic certification process.

IMO, this could be easily corrected, by requiring that all land be screened for certain existing chronic issues, (such as arsenic content), by soil testing, as a prerequisite for certification. Of course, the reason why they don't do that, is because it would be unfair discrimination, since no other land is required to be screened for such residues, prior to being used for production agriculture purposes. However, IMO, if they are going to sell organically-produced commodities at a premium price, and promote them as "healthier" options, then the products should be held to safe arsenic standards, whether conventional production is held to that same standard or not. It would be a good selling point for organic products, because it would be one distinction about which there could be no question - organic food would definitely be "healthier", if it were certified to be held to safe arsenic standards.

At least, that's the way I see it.

On a related note - remember all the "Agent Orange" that the military sprayed all over Southeast Asia, during the Vietnam War? That was a 50-50 mixture of two chemicals that those of us in agriculture knew as 2 4 5-T, and 2 4-D. The combination made one of the most powerful hormonal herbicides ever developed. Remember that our government didn't just use it to destroy forests - they also used the chemical to destroy rice crops on agricultural land. Over the course of the 9 years in which it was used, I wonder how much agricultural land in that area escaped being sprayed. Of course, it's claimed that the toxins in these compounds degrade rapidly, but I'm not sure whether to believe that or not.

2 4 5-T was banned many years ago, in this country. Also, 2 4 5-T was never used on cropland in the U. S. It was labeled for brush control, and it was used primarily to remove brush from rangeland. As I recall, it was so expensive, that most ranchers only used it for spot treatments, so it was normally not used as a broadcast treatment, except on a limited number of acres. Of course, the government has deep pockets, so they weren't bashful about using it liberally, in Southeast Asia.


Tex

[Zizzle]

My sister read that rice from California is the safest, followed by China (ironically) and certain parts of Southeast Asia (Thailand was mentioned). She said to avoid rice from Bangladesh. I suppose Vietnam too (and Korea?? for the reasons mentioned above).

[draperygoddess]

Oh, great, now I not only have to read the ingredients, I have to read where it came from?! Sorry, but I'm not quitting rice! As my MIL said at Thanksgiving, "It's a good thing you like rice--looks like that's about all you eat!"

[Martha]

I always buy Thai jasmine rice because we like the flavor best. I didn't know about chemical contaminants in the soil.

If you try to avoid everything that someone says is bad for you, there would be nothing left to eat, drink, wear, or breathe. Dr. Mercola comes to mind--he has nothing good to say about anything. But I do love the soft-spray bidet that he sells!

Looking at the up side of sticking my head in the sand,
Martha

[Sheila]

I love risotto and just won't give it up. The brand that I've been buying is grown in Texas and I guess that it could be grown on former cotton land. At my age, I think I'll just continue to eat it. My DH has mesothelioma that he got from being exposed to asbestos 50 years ago!!! I'm sure most cancers are caused by environmental contamination of all kinds. However, it isn't possible to know the purity of all the foods, cosmetics etc that we use. I fear for my children and grandchildren and all of the crap they are exposed to. Between the hysterics who see contamination around every corner and the pollution deniers who would like to reverse all regulation, there has to be a sensible middle ground. I do draw the line a buying any food that is made or grown in China.
Sheila

[tex]

Sheila,

There's a very good chance that most rice land in Texas never saw any cotton that ever had any arsenic compounds applied to it. Considerable acreages of rice were grown in southeast Texas as early as 1853. In 1903, Texas farmers planted 234,000 acres of rice. Today, they produce rice on approximately 350,000 acres of land. So most rice acreage has been planted to rice since before the advent of arsenic-based ag chemicals.

Arsenic acid did not become available for ag use until the mid to late 1950's. My father bought the first mechanical cotton harvesting machine ever sold in Central Texas, in 1952, and for 2 or 3 years, we had to strip the cotton, leaves and all, then use pitch forks to throw it back off the trailer, and spread it on the ground to let the leaves dry for a week or so, before running it back through the machine to fracture the dry leaves and blow the cotton onto a trailer for delivery to a gin, where it would be further processed, to separate the lint. It was very hard work, but it still beat picking cotton by hand, and it cut the cost of harvest a lot, of course.

After a couple of years, arsenic acid became available, which could be diluted with water, and sprayed on the cotton, to desiccate the leaves, so that the dried leaves would crumble during harvesting, and fall through the bottom of the machine, and the cotton could be immediately taken to the gin. That was real progress, and early on, the warnings about wearing protective clothing while using the acid, were rarely heeded. After a few years, though, most cotton farmers noticed that after cotton harvest, their fingernails would be all distorted, and some of them missing, etc., and so people began to recognize the need for at least wearing protective gloves when using the stuff.

I very much doubt that very much cotton acreage in Texas ever went to rice, because by the time arsenic acid became available, rice farming paid much better than any other crop in texas, and only certain land was suitable for rice. Not only that, but government farm programs that began in the 1950's stipulated which crops could be planted on any farm entered into the farm program, and allotted acreages were based on production history, so if a farm hadn't been growing rice previously, it couldn't legally be planted to rice, unless the farmer wanted to eschew the farm program, and most farmers couldn't afford to do that, because of all the drought years in Texas.

In addition, conventional crops such as cotton, corn, or wheat, do not work very well with rice, because of the way that fertilizer becomes tied up after the soil dries out after a rice crop is harvested, so it's unlikely that any rice farmers rotated to cotton, in alternate years. Instead, rice usually pays well enough that rice farmers just allow the land to remain fallow, if they need to break a continuous crop cycle because of insects, disease, weeds, or whatever.

Anyway, the point is, in Central Texas, when cotton lost it's position as the "King" crop during the 1960's and 70's, most of that land went to wheat and corn, and there's a very good chance that the same trend was followed in most other parts of Texas, as well.

The bottom line is that if inorganic arsenic in food crops is of concern, then wheat and corn would be most likely to bear the brunt of that risk, in Texas. Rice should be comparatively safe.

At least that's the way I see it, and I was there, when all this was happening.

Tex

[Polly]

Interesting discussion.

I use only Lundberg organic rice products (rice, rice cakes, brown rice hot cereal) from CA. It has been a family farm since 1937. Of course, that is no guarantee, but it seems like a good choice to me. Maybe I should write them and inquire about arsenic - think I will. Stay tuned.

Hugs,

Polly

[MaggieRedwings]

Oh damn! My day is just getting better - now arsenic in rice. Luckily, rice no longer seems safe for me but if I do have any it is only Lundberg like Polly or Jasmine from my Asian market.

Love, Maggie

[Lesley]

Aren't I lucky? I don't have to worry about rice. I can't have it according to Enterolab.

Tex, is there a subject on which you can't hold forth and supply the most interesting stories and details? You are truly a font of incredible information.

[Sheila]

Thanks, Tex. That was an amazingly thorough explanation of crop rotation, arsenic, cotton etc. I love that you took the time to make that explanation and didn't just say, "Don't worry about it". I will eat my Texas grown risotto without worry.
Sheila

[tex]

Lesley and Sheila,

Thanks for the kind words, but I'm just old. I was lucky to have been born at a time when horses and mules were still used for a few jobs on farms, and before virtually all of the modern conveniences were available. So I've had the unique privilege of being able to drive a team of horses while doing farm work, and later doing the same type of work with the most modern, high-tech tractors, each one of which replaces hundreds of horses and mules, and, or course, I've enjoyed using all the equipment that evolved between those two extremes.

When I came into the world, we had no running water, no bathroom, (except for an outhouse, of course), and the only use for electricity was one bare light bulb in each room. The electricity became available in the area where we lived, just before I was born. I believe there might have been one or maybe two wall plugs, but there was nothing to plug in. And when the cold winter winds blew, the uninsulated walls, made of 1 by 12 wooden planks, didn't do a very good job of keeping it out. In cold weather, the old cast iron wood heater usually glowed red, from the intensity of the oak and mesquite logs that were burning inside, but we had to sit practically on top of it, to keep warm. It was sort of like the old saying about fireplaces in those days, "your face scorched, while your ass froze". In the summer it was fine, though, because all the windows worked properly.

The only "electronic" device wasn't electronic at all, but an old vacuum tube radio, that used a dry cell battery, so it wasn't used much, since the battery didn't last long, and they were an expensive luxury. No washing machine, no refrigerator, or any other appliances, at least not for the first few years. I'm sure conditions were better in the cities, but out in the country, where we lived, we were happy to have those bare essentials. The kitchen stove was a modern version, that used kerosene, rather than wood.

Anyway, IMO, starting that way was a true blessing, because it allows me to truly marvel at all of the high-tech devices that are available today, and all of the comforts and conveniences that we have. I feel sorry for kids today, because they take all this technology for granted. They probably think it was always this way. Most of them probably can't even imagine what life was like before Al Gore invented the internet, (if they even believe that life existed before the internet).

Tex

[Deb]

Tex, you're so right. My grands are so clueless about how things have evolved. When I show concerns about privacy issues, etc. they think I'm loony!

[Sheila]

My husband tells me I'm spoiled because he grew up in slender circumstances and had to begin to work as a very young boy and I grew up in suburbia near NYC. I guess I am spoiled because I grew up in a middle class home and, thank you God, did NOT have an outhouse. I think I am probably close to you in age and I wasn't aware of how life was lived in rural areas of this country. Reading about such things doesn't begin to inform about the reality of living it. You certainly turned out very well and your childhood helped to make you the very interesting, curious and learned man you are today.
Sheila