The collapse of Australia’s rice production is one of several factors contributing to a doubling of rice prices in the last three months — increases that have led the world’s largest exporters to restrict exports severely, spurred panicked hoarding in Hong Kong and the Philippines, and set off violent protests in countries including Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Italy, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, the Philippines, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
New York Times

Rice or noodles? This was a question that Noel and I would ask each other what we wanted to eat if we didn't want to eat Oreo cookies or ice cream for dinner. Those two items were a staple for us. Rice was invaluable when we wanted to fill our bellies, but not with oily, gross authentic Chinese food from the school cafeterias. Rice filled bread balls for breakfast, rice with some type of veggie or meat from the mystery menu at the korean rice place, and rice with fried chicken for dinner. Rice all the time. Back in the USofA, we eat rice once every two or three weeks. We have great alternatives like bread, pancakes (with syrup!), or cinnamon toast crunch to fill our bellies. All of these great foods buffer me from the harsh reality of a price increase of a staple food. It makes the sweet cereal just a little sweeter when I serve it alongside a portion of perspective. (By the way, Ratatouille is a great movie.)

Hey Craig, if you are out there, grow some more rice for the rest of the world already.

Comments

  1. Caleb17/4/08

    Yeah, i read somewhere that because of the rising prices of other staples, 2008 is going to be the year of the potatoe. Did they eat much potatoe in China?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Patrick17/4/08

    Yes, they eat potatoes. However, EVERYONE had rice.

    ReplyDelete

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