Rice eaters beware.

[Lesley]

"your face scorched, while your ass froze"

Tex, I am nearly your age, not far behind. I grew up in totally different conditions than you did, in S. Africa. Because of apartheid the situation for whites was unbelievably luxurious even if one wasn't rich. Even blue collar workers who had the outhouse (we had indoor toilets and plumbing) had at least one servant.
It was why l left the country.

Still, we had no TV, only a radio and books, coal fires, an ice box, a phonograph with the His Master's Voice horn, none of the toys and stuff the kids have today, and still we grew up not feeling deprived.

I share your wonder at the new gadgets that are coming out thick and fast. Some delight, some dismay. You are obviously more technologically evolved than I, but the fact that I can use a computer at all, and can stay connected to so many people is a constant source of amazement to me, as are the friends, very close ones, I have made online and have stayed close with over the years, though I have never met some of them face to face. Phew, that was a Germanic sentence. Grammatically correct, I think, but LONG!

[tex]

I'm really bad about using long sentences. My book will probably be a flop, if for no other reason, because of the excruciatingly long sentences. But - what the heck? I'm enjoying writing it.

Tex

[Robin]

Okay I had an out house growing up! My grand parent lived on the Cape (in Mass). They had a pig farm with chickens too! Every summer I went there, we never had running water inside the house, nor electricity and the out house was definitely outside! I look back and realize what a great experience it was. With all the technology today I think something is missing. Life was real and uncomplicated.

As for rice, I am still going to eat it. I will look for the one grown in Texas! Everything in Texas grows better.

Love Robin

[tex]

Life was real and uncomplicated.

Ain't that the truth. When you get the news once a week, (when you go into town to get a few groceries), you don't find yourself constantly worrying about tsunamis, earthquakes, and revolts, on the other side of the world, the way all the "tweeters" do, these days.

Everything in Texas grows better.

Thanks for a good laugh.

Love,
Tex

[Gloria]

I grew up in a suburb of Chicago, but still didn't have the city conveniences. We had an ice box, no telephone or TV, an outside pump for water, no hot water until I was 12, but I do remember having electricity. Little by little we began to acquire more modern conveniences - but never air-conditioning!

Gloria

[Zizzle]

I guess the news media is jumping all over the arsenic in rice story...old news here!

Thought I would update you all with the FDA statement released today. They plan to test 1,200 rice products for arsenic to determine whether specific recommendations should be made, but they give some examples of arsenic levels in a few foods (not by brand or organic versus non-organic, so not helpful).

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/Consume ... 319827.htm

Of course they say:

Based on data and scientific literature available now, FDA is not recommending that consumers change their consumption of rice and rice products at this time, but that people eat a balanced diet containing a wide variety of grains.

[gluten]

Hi, I am very cautious about buying food products from outside the U.S.A. Companies that make food additives have moved some of their production outside of the country. A friend who works for one of the companies in this country is always concerned about losing his job. They can produce the same product outside the country for one dollar less per pound and when you produce millions per year that is a big savings. The only question is the quality of the water. The same is true in rice products from the east. The rivers that feed water to the rice paddies are still used for the dumping of toxic wastes from mining, manufacturing and untreated human waste. I live in New England and arsenic is found in the well water. It is a natural because the water that feeds the wells flows through the cracks in the granite rock. In the processing of chicken 7 parts per million of arsenic is allowed. However, we do have the ability to chelate out toxins.

[gluten]

Hi, Correction on the last sentence of my reply. However, the body has the ability to chelate out toxins such as arsenic, lead, aluminum and iron.

[DebE13]

I've decided to give up rice and corn to see if it helps since I'm stuck in a rut. Summer is over and I'm done coasting so today is day one of trying the Paleo diet. I have rice milk in the fridge though that I'd hate to see go to waste. Do you think I can justify that it's really not rice? I've found jasmine rice has the best flavor and will probably keep eating it if I find that eliminating it doesn't change things.

[wonderwoman]

On the car radio today I was listening to discussion on arsenic in rice. They said instead of using one cup rice and two cups of water, use one cup of rice and six cups of water and drain off the excess water when it is done cooking. I am not recommending this, only reporting what was said.

[Deb]

I've read more and more people cooking their rice that way, Charlotte. It's not for the arsenic factor either but just for the ease of it. It does seem like it might help remove more toxins though. Deb

[Leah]

The San Francisco paper this morning had an article on the arsenic in rice. It did say that there is organic arsenic in all rice ( and other products) and that it is passed through our bodies harmlessly. Now that they have the capability of detecting organic form none organic, testing should be done. I usually use white rice ( for stir fry) from CA. and Thailand jasmine for everything else. At some point, we have to decide not to stress out about EVERYTHING. Isn't stress bad for us, Tex? :)

Leah

[tex]

Isn't stress bad for us, Tex?

Definitely! That's why I'm not going to mention that some types of seafood (especially shellfish), and even seaweed, contain a lot of arsenic.

We've been eatin' this stuff all our lives, so I don't see much point in falling into a panic just because someone brought it up on the news. LOL.

Tex

[brandy]

OK, since rice is a key part of my Florida hurricane preparedness plan and I have two five pound bags in the cupboard I guess I won't stress too much but I think I'm going to try the jasmine rice.

Brandy

[mzh]

I'm really bad about using long sentences. My book will probably be a flop, if for no other reason, because of the excruciatingly long sentences. But - what the heck? I'm enjoying writing it.

Tex

They *were* long until I got my hands on them. The book reads just fine now!