PM takes notice of
selling commodities at higher prices
Prime Minister Imran Khan took notice
of overcharging by utility stores
ISLAMABAD
(Dunya News) – Prime Minister Imran Khan took notice of overcharging by utility
stores despite providing a subsidy to stores.
Special
Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous
Ashiq Awan said that PM has directed Utility Stores Corporation (USC) to sell
sugar at Rs68 per kg and Ghee at Rs170 per kg.
She
said that 20kg bag of flour will be available for Rs800. She maintained that
pulses and rice are also available at subsidized rates.
She
went on say that providing relief to the masses and bringing ease in the lives
of the people are top priorities of the government.
She
added that government will ensure the sale of food items on subsidized rates at
the outlets across the country.
Pakistan experiences worst locust
plague in three decades
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Sputnik
As
Imran Khan’s governing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party is having a hard time
dealing with a 12-year-high inflation rate – reaching 14.6 percent in January –
one of Pakistan’s worst locust invasions has wreaked havoc on agricultural
crops.
A
locust swarm has descended on the country’s Punjab province, the main
agricultural region, along with cities across the Pakistan-India border. Around
40 percent of crops were destroyed on farmland in Karachi and other towns in
Pakistan's Sindh province, according to Zahid Bhurguri, general secretary of
the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture.
Following
the infestation that first appeared in November of last year, the likes of
which was last seen in Pakistan in the 1990s, the government has declared
a national emergency over the locust invasion that has destroyed crops of
cotton, wheat, maize, tomatoes, etc.
The
locust crisis hitting the agriculture sector in Pakistan comes as flour prices
skyrocketed by 15 percent in January 2020 and sugar prices doubled compared
with last year.
The
locust invasion has made things all the more daunting for Khan, as for the
fiscal year 2018-19, the harvest rose to only 0.5% to 25.195 million tonnes.
The current crop loss due to locust invasion is expected to cripple
the food sector in Pakistan for the upcoming several months.
READ MORE: NAB
used as 'weapon' by ruling PTI: PPP
More
than 8,000 hectares of land have been treated with pesticides so far to deal
with the locust invasion in Pakistan, as per the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Similar
locust swarms wreaked havoc in Pakistan in 1993 and 1997 as well, but this one
is believed by some to be major, with previous ones pale in comparison.
Year-Long
Food Crisis
Facing
severe criticism over the inability to control food prices, Imran Khan called
for an immediate probe into flour and sugar price hikes and measures to provide
relief from the ongoing crisis.
The
PTI government today announced various measures under a relief package to
counter inflation. A sum of Rs. 10 billion will be allocated to state-owned
utility corporation stores to provide household commodities like rice, sugar,
flour, pluses at subsidised rates to people.
The
government will also support 50,000 units of tandoor, mud ovens used to make
breads that will provide food at basic prices for people.
The
record-breaking inflation became a topic of discussion in Pakistan’s
National Assembly yesterday as opposition parties blamed Khan for the rise
in prices and the economic crisis, while calling him “incompetent”.
Analysts
are blaming the inflation on dodgy estimations about agricultural produce,
mismanagement, hoarding, as well as illegal profit-making suppliers and
dealers.
The
cost of food, along with the food shortage, had been expected to rise due to
the depreciation of the rupee and increase in utility prices, which came as
part of a $6bn IMF programme approved last year.
The International
Monetary Fund has estimated that the country’s inflation may rise as high
as 13 percent, while the Asian Development Bank has put the figure at around 12
percent.
Wheat
flour, a dietary staple, contributes up to 72 percent
of Pakistan's daily caloric intake, with per
capita wheat consumption of around 124 kg per year. To meet the
demand, Khan’s administration approved the import of 300,000 tonnes of
wheat to end the prevailing wheat crisis on 20 January. The government
also approved the import of 300,000 tonnes of sugar through the private sector
on 7 February.
The
global business intelligence Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) revealed that
consumer inflation in Pakistan will remain elevated in the near future.
GOVERNMENT APPROVES RS. 10B SUBSIDY TO CURB INFLATION
FEB 12 2020 
BY NEWSWEEK PAKISTAN
Courtesy PID
SPREAD
OVER 5 MONTHS, THE SUBSIDY FOR THE UTILITY STORES CORPORATION AIMS AT PROVIDING
BASIC COMMODITIES AT AFFORDABLE RATES
Pakistan’s federal
cabinet on Tuesday approved a total subsidy of Rs. 10 billion—with Rs. 2
billion to be disbursed every month over the next five months—for the Utility
Stores Corporation to ensure the provision of basic commodities at affordable
rates.
The proposed package
aims at providing flour, sugar, rice and pulses at affordable price in Utility
Stores across Pakistan, Special Assistant to the P.M. on Information Firdous
Ashiq Awan told journalists in Islamabad. She said the Utility Stores had been
directed to sell 20kg flour bags at Rs. 800, as well as pulses at 15-20 percent
below-market rates.
Apprising media
about the decisions taken by the cabinet on Tuesday, Awan said the government
would soon devise a strategy to keep a check on prices of essential edible
items. She said a multi-pronged strategy had been decided to curb rising
inflation in various sectors. The cabinet has approved importing sugar to
ensure its supply in the open market, she said, adding exports had been banned.
A day earlier, the Economic Coordination Committee had said the country had
sufficient sugar stocks for now, and importing the commodity was not yet
necessary.
According to Awan,
the government also hopes to open 2,000 ‘Youth Stores’ across Pakistan under
the umbrella of the Kamyab Jawan Youth Program, which provides interest-free
loans for new business ventures. This initiative would provide direct
employment to 400,000 youth, while indirectly benefiting 800,000 more, she
claimed. In addition, she said, 12 new cash-and-carry Utility Stores would be
opened in the country’s biggest cities to ensure the common man had access to
affordable edible items.
Under the cabinet’s
plans to curb inflation, the Utility Stores would also provide basic
commodities at the subsidized rates to “NanBais” and small tuck shops, said the
adviser to the P.M. She said five duty free zones would be created along the
Afghan border to stop illegal smuggling of basic commodities.
Detailing the
government’s ongoing welfare projects, Awan said 4.3 million women were being
given Rs. 2,000/month under the Ehsaas Program. In addition, she said, 20,000
women would benefit from the Ehsaas Nutrition Program, while the government
planned to open 100 more langer khanas this year.
Awan said Prime
Minister Imran Khan had issued directions during the cabinet meeting to devise
a mechanism to reduce the prices of gas and electricity in phase-wise manner to
reduce the burden of inflation on people. She claimed a report on what had
caused inflation would soon be shared with the media and general public.
According to the
special assistant, Special Assistant to the P.M. on Health Dr. Zafar Mirza
briefed the cabinet about ongoing initiatives to prevent the spread of the
novel coronavirus in Pakistan. He also updated the prime minister on the
situation of Pakistani students stranded in China since the outbreak.
·
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·
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Hoarders Fined After Recovering 1500 Sugar, 8,000 Rice Bags
District
monitoring team comprising Tehsildar City and Assistant Commissioner Sadar
recovered1500 sugar bags and 8,000 rice bags from godowns located different
parts of the city after launching crackdown against hoarders here on Thursday
MULTAN,
(APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Feb, 2020 ) :District monitoring
team comprising Tehsildar City and Assistant Commissioner Sadar recovered1500
sugar bags and 8,000 rice bags from godowns
located different parts of the city after launching crackdown against hoarders
here on Thursday.
Official
spokesman said, first raid was conducted at a godown located at Tanveer colony
owned by the local Rizwan Qureshi. It had stored about 5000 rice bags illegally
which got recovered immediately with fine Rs. 15,000
imposed to the owner.
The
second raid held at Umar Hassan's godown situated at Surij Kund Road, from where
about 1,000 sugar bags were recovered. The owner was charged with Rs10,000 fine on the
spot. About 3,000 rice bags were founded as stored unlawfully in a godown
located at the same Surij Kund Road, with the owner
named Shamsher Ali Qureshi was fined similar as Rs10,000.
The
official team conducted another raid at Mouza Lutfabad and recovered 500 sugar
bags from a godown
located there. Fine Rs50,000
was imposed to the owner concerned forthwith.
Group: Review Rice Tariffication Law
A
party-list group on Wednesday called for a review of Republic Act 11203 or the
Rice Tariffication Law to assess its impact and appealed to the Duterte
administration to ensure adequate domestic rice production.
Former
Party-list Rep. Cecil Chavez made the appeal as she denounced the amelioration
program for small rice farmers under the P10 billion rice competitive
enhancement fund—which she described as a “band-aid” solution to help improve
rice production and generate adequate income for the country’s three million small
rice farmers.
“The
details of the amelioration program, that includes a mechanism, seed
distribution and questionable credit program are not simply rooted on sound
farmer economic and economy,” Chavez said.
Chavez,
who voted against the Rice Tariff Law in the past Congress, said the rice
tariff law and the amelioration program detailed under the RCEF “both need a
hard rethinking and review.”
“The
Duterte administration needs to suspend the Rice Tariff Law in the meantime
that a review of the horrific impact of the law on small rice farmers and the
country’s food security concerns is being undertaken,” Chavez said.
Instead,
she said crafting a comprehensive and science-backed Rice Industry Roadmap
should be the first order of business of the Duterte administration.
“In
the order of priority, the Duterte government should take the necessary steps
if it were really sincere in helping the small rice farmers battered by the
rice tariffication law and ensuring adequate rice production and supply by
local farmers,” she said.
These
include the drafting of a Rice Industry Roadmap following massive consultations
with farmers organizations, agricultural scientists, agricultural economists
and top-notch agronomists; legislating a “new rice-centric law” that both helps
the small rice farmers and ensure adequate domestic rice production; and
suspension of massive rice importation.
“The
Rice Tariff Law and the accompanying RCEF are so full of holes and flaws that
are inherent in a rush legislative undertaking that did not even bother to
consult with the small rice farmers,” Chavez said.
Meanwhile,
the ‘Bantay Bigas’ (rice watch) Group and the Amihan National Federation of
Peasant Women and Anakpawis Party-list said on Wednesday that Filipino rice
farmers lost at least P74.8 billion due to depressed farm gates which the
groups blamed on the implementation of the Republic Act 11203 or Rice
Liberalization Law.
“It
has been a trend, since the country joined the World Trade Organization in 1995
when there was even the slightest buzz of arrival of imported rice, farm gate
prices at the barrios are forced down by traders, throwing farmers into
bankruptcy and indebtedness. It is worse now, because it was institutionalized
by RA 11203. This is the anti-peasant legacy of the Duterte regime,” Rafael
Mariano, former Anakpawis Party-list lawmaker said in a press statement.
Anakpawis
staunchly opposed the law when it was still being deliberated at the lower
house and as alternative primarily pushed for the Rice Industry Development Act
(RIDA) bill during the 17th congress.
The
bill, now House Bill 477 being pushed by Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene
Brosas, proposes the authentic development program for the national rice
industry, involving the three-year allocation of P495 billion, which includes
P185 billion for its core programs and P310 billion for the procurement program
of the NFA.
Bantay
Bigas also blamed the law for the rice farmers’ losses, as exposed by
government data. These are: (1) 2018 value of production of palay at P385
billion for the volume of production of a little more than 19 million metric
tons, or P20.19 per kilogram average value or farm gate price; (2) the 2019
value of production of palay at P305 billion for the volume of production of a
little more than 18.8 million metric tons, or P16.22 per kilogram or decline of
about P4; and (3) 2019 volume of production of palay if previous value per kg
was maintained, value would have been P380 billion, thus, potential losses due
to depressed farm gate prices would be at P74.8 billion.
“We
have been warning against this even before the enactment of the law, but
Duterte chose to favor the rich oligarchs who dominate rice importation and
trade. He is ruling against the interest of poor Filipino rice farmers. Thus,
we call on all stakeholders to join the call of repealing the law,” Cathy
Estavillo, spokesperson of Bantay Bigas and Secretary-General of
Amihan, said.
Bantay
Bigas led the 50,000-signature petition to repeal RA 11203 and it is aiming
another batch of 100,000 signatures by March. Estavillo said that the public
warmly welcomed the petition drive as opposition to the law and liberalization
policies for the rice sector.
The
groups said that undermining the rice food security, self-sufficiency, and
self-reliance, and abandoning the “food on the table” agenda would be an
indisputable legacy of the Duterte regime, and the Filipino peasants have
engraved this on their consciousness and would never be erased.
“We
urge the Filipino people to rise up against rice liberalization, junk the law
and uphold the national rice industry, as legacy of the people’s struggle to
the next generation Filipinos,” the groups said.
Bantay
Bigas and Amihan urged the people to join the” Rise for Rice! Junk Rice
Liberalization!” protest this coming February 14 at Mendiola bridge, Manila,
marking the laws’ first year implementation.
Use Math and
Physics to Flip the Best Fried Rice
Just grab a calculator and a wok.
Feb 12, 2020
JAMES RONAN / EYEEMGETTY IMAGES
· Two mechanical engineers have studied Chinese chefs
to mathematically model their
wok-tossing techniques.
· Fast-moving wok cooking enables the Maillard reaction without
allowing frying rice to burn.
· The findings could help scientists develop devices to
support chefs, technology for frying bigger batches, and more.
Physicists have paired China’s long
culinary history with kinematics in order to “identify an optimal regime
for making fried rice.”
To do this, they studied five restaurant chefs, using slow-motion video footage
to track how the chefs’ movements moved the rice around the wok.
In the Journal of the Royal Society
Interface, Hungtang Ko and David Lu, both of the Georgia
Institute of Technology School of Mechanical Engineering, describe the history
of wok tossing and the much more recent history of robots that can be
programmed for cooking motions. Anyone who’s tossed sautéing food in a pan
knows it’s a subtle, tricky move that can go wrong and messy very fast. Could a
robot ever manage it?
Ko and Lu cite Spyce, a real
restaurant in Boston where robots try to mimic human chefs using woks. Spyce
“uses rotating drums to mix and heat Chinese food at frequencies of 0.5 Hz,
which, as we will see, is six times less than the wok tossing of professional
chefs,” they write. “The low speed reduces the jumping of the food, and likely
precludes the high temperatures that permit the Maillard reaction.”
MORE
FROM POPULAR MECHANICS
Basically, the defanged robot wok
chef is missing the two most important aspects of wok tossing—or, not even
tossing, in this case. By cooking in a rounded-bottom wok in constant motion
over an extremely hot flame, chefs can fry rice at up to 1,200 degrees
Celsius—nearly 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, and almost hot enough to melt iron—without
ever burning it. The Maillard reaction is
the way proteins in food become flavorful and brown, like when you sear a steak
or bake a loaf of bread. It’s related, but not the same as true caramelization
of sugars.
But the inimitable human chefs end
up with structural problems of their own: The authors say 64.5 percent of
Chinese restaurant chefs have shoulder pain they attribute at least partly to
the repetitive strain of wok tossing. Robots may never be able to wok toss, but
robotic technology could help reduce strain and support these chefs. And to do
that, researchers have to fully understand what’s happening when a chef tosses
a wok of frying rice.
The researchers recorded footage of
five chefs and then studied the footage. They derived a harmonic function to
describe the action:
HUNGTANG KO AND DAVID L. HU
This and a consequent series of
equations describe the kinematic shape of the wok, the trajectory of the rice
mixture inside, and any “failed catch” grains that could escape. The overall
motion the chefs use creates a pendulum effect. “First, the chef pushed the wok
forward and rotated it clockwise to catch the falling rice. Then, the chef
pulled the wok back while rotating the wok counterclockwise to toss the rice,”
the researchers write.
MORE FOOD SCIENCE
The chefs naturally optimized the
motion of the wok. “Despite the variability in cooking conditions, we found the
tossing frequency to be consistent at 2.7 ± 0.3 Hz (N = 276). Noticeably, when
chefs toss the wok for many cycles in a row, the frequency also increases
slightly. The variation is because the wok moves more slowly in the first few
tosses before reaching steady state,” the scientists explain.
Any automation that can truly model
this cooking motion could revolutionize food preparation. “Although cooking in
big batches is strenuous for chefs, it can potentially reduce heat losses by
having a relatively smaller surface open to the air per unit weight. Thus,
large-scale cooking has the potential to save energy, especially for large
numbers of customers,” the researchers say.
They found that making three
servings at once took just 25 percent more time, reducing the required energy.
They suggest that the added strain of a heavier, larger serving is counteracted
by how much less time chefs would spend cooking.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a30896618/physics-fried-rice/
Eat Healthy with
FOR8- a venture by Mudita Akoijam
By inventiva
February 13, 2020
FOR8 is a venture working with farmers in North East India,
which was started by Mudita Akoijam. FOR8 promotes high quality indigenous food
products from this region, having strong nutrition content in addition to being
great for the taste buds. These serene states are organic by default and gifted
with the most high nutrition plants, most of which grow naturally in this
organic terrain. FOR8 build alliances with women self help groups and
marginalized farmers empower them through fair trade and an organic
platform. The team of FOR8 believes in the right combination of ancient
wisdom and modern science – a contributing factor in longevity and good
health. FOR8 advocates ethical practices of production using traditional
farming methods.
FOR8’s prime products – Organic Black Rice and Organic Himalayan
Red Rice which are present in organic food stores across Delhi, Mumbai, Pune,
Bangalore, Nature’s Basket and Amazon. They supply to Chef’s across India for
Asian, European, Continental cuisines and health food chains. FOR8 is
located in Imphal and Delhi.
Owing to the large number of skin and hair benefits of Black Rice,
FOR8 has also launched a new range of Bath & Body care products recently
under the name of Chakhao (which means Black Rice in Manipuri language). Rice
water has been traditionally used in Manipur as an herbal shampoo from time
immemorial. The products at FOR8 are made with all natural ingredients, infused
with Black Rice extract and essential oils (on the basis of science of
Aromatherapy).
What makes FOR8 unique?
FOR8 works directly with several farmers, women self help groups
across North East India. Its focus is to promote local indigenous super foods
and natural produce through innovation and the right market presence for the
end consumer.FOR8 lays main focus on high quality produce of the state and
don’t grow/procure products from other states growing products that don’t
originate from there. Since Black Rice is a local product from Manipur, the
variety sold by them has highest Antioxidants. The Himalayan Red Rice is a
local grain from Assam (called Bao Dhaan) also having several health benefits –
Antioxidants, Dietary fibre, Vitamin B1, B2 and B6.
While selecting the product line, the team of FOR8 ensures that
only indigenous super foods are chosen – this will be more supportive to the
farmers and will also provide our consumers with genuine natural products.
About the founder of FOR8
The founder of FOR8 is Mudita Akoijam. Despite being born and
brought up in Delhi Mudita has been always very connected to her home land –
Manipur and always felt very deeply about the struggles of the local people
there. Her student life in Delhi included B.Com Hons from Jesus and Mary
College (DU) and further studies as Masters in International Management from
United Kingdom, which was followed by working in UK and then in India for
approx. 3 years. The idea was followed by a lot of research and frequent visits
to Manipur, interactions with several local farmers, women self help groups,
NGO’s, local entrepreneurs and even scientists in IBSD.
Mudita Akoijam said in a conversation with us;
“When this journey began in 2015 I decided to quit my job and
focus completely on understanding the GAP both in the market and sourcing. The
supply chain did not exist at that point and several insecurities remained
including lack of quality control and awareness to do so among the farmers,
lack of proper infrastructure and processing in Manipur, lack of economically
viable logistics network, collective farming was also a challenge since each
farmer was growing the produce on small plots of land owned by
them. It took a lot of efforts – collaboration with many people
including local farmers and entrepreneurs and a huge dose of patience to bring
the product to market in the form it is available today.
Despite being born and brought up in Delhi I have been always
very connected to my home land – Manipur and always felt very deeply about the
struggles of the local people there. My student life in Delhi included B.Com
Hons from Jesus and Mary College (DU) and further studies as Masters in
International Management from United Kingdom, which was followed by working in
UK and then in India for approx. 3 years. But nothing ever gave me the
satisfaction of working for another person’s dream and their company, when I
could do something much more meaningful with my life and helping local farmers
was a much more fulfilling thought.”
What are Mudita Akoijam’s plans for the upcoming years with
FOR8?
Black Rice has much more presence abroad than in India. Most
developed nations are consuming Black Rice in several cuisines since their
access to information and Superfoods is much higher than other nations – this
speaks about quality of life and focus on health. Our North East being cut off
from the rest of India, abroad for the longest time has unfortunately not been
able to provide such local produce to people. As this gap becomes smaller with
constant focus by the govt on North East and also simultaneous growing
awareness amongst farmers, as well as consumers – Black Rice and such
indigenous products will become much more popular within India and
abroad.
The fitness and health segment in India is a huge market for
such produce and it is growing everyday as India grows economically too. More
people are willing to invest on good organic food now rather hospital bills –
prevention is better than cure. There are many products like Black Rice
which are indigenous in our state and deserve to be in the market which would
really benefit the local farmers as well as consumers. Modern Pharma industry
is running on slow poisons in the form of harsh medicines being given by
doctors worldwide.
We hope to increase our product line further by identifying the
healthiest indigenous natural produce of this organic region and bringing them
to people.
The Philippines has rated 'Golden Rice' safe, but
farmers might not plant it
·
By GLENN DAVIS STONE and DOMINIC
GLOVER Washington University and
Institute of Development Studies
“Golden
Rice” is probably the world’s most hotly debated genetically modified organism.
It was intended to be a beta carotene-enriched crop to reduce Vitamin A
deficiency, a health problem in very poor areas. But it has never been offered
to farmers for planting.
Why
not? Because Golden Rice has an activist problem, according to its proponents.
They insist that the rice would have prevented millions of child deaths by now
had it not been blocked by anti-science activists.
In
particular, they single out Greenpeace, which has campaigned against approval
of Golden Rice as part of its broader opposition to GMOs. Greenpeace responds
that its actions are not what has kept Golden Rice from reaching the market.
We
study developing-world agriculture, including use of genetically modified
crops, and are conducting ongoing research on Golden Rice, originally funded by
the Templeton Foundation. We advocate keeping an open mind about Golden Rice,
which may eventually have some nutritional potential in limited cases. But our
view, based on numerous scientific studies, is that the rice is still beset by
problems that have little to do with activists.
FILLING
A NUTRITIONAL GAP?
Vitamin
A is one of many nutrients lacking in the diets of the world’s poorest
children. Vitamin A deficiency, or VAD, can cause blindness and even premature
death.
The
vitamin comes directly from animal products and indirectly from beta carotene
in plants, which the human body can convert to Vitamin A. Plant scientist Ingo
Potrykus, who co-developed Golden Rice, has claimed that “VAD often occurs
where rice is the major staple food.” White rice grains contain no beta
carotene.
But
it’s not rice’s job to provide vitamins. Most diets across Asia and Africa
consist of a carbohydrate core such as rice or maize, which provides calories
and bulk, and a sauce, stew or soup for flavor and nutrients.
Since
rice is a poor source of vitamins and minerals, any child eating a rice-only
diet will be sick. Genetically modifying rice to contain beta carotene is at
best a band-aid for extreme cases of VAD, not a corrective for a widespread
problem.
DECADES
OF DEVELOPMENT
Potrykus
and colleagues devised a strategy for producing Golden Rice in 1992, and
announced in 2000 that they had developed an experimental prototype. Potrykus
appeared on the cover of Time magazine with his rice, which the cover
proclaimed “could save a million kids a year.”
The
biologists were on to something, but the prototype was nowhere near ready for
farmers or consumers. The beta carotene concentration was far too low, and
researchers did not know if the plants would grow well. The prototype was also
a rice variety that farmers in VAD areas would not grow.
In
2002 Golden Rice research moved to the International Rice Research Institute
(IRRI) in the Philippines to be developed for Filipino farmers. Meanwhile
scientists at the global agricultural company Syngenta, which had acquired
commercial rights to the rice, began to develop a new package of genes to
improve the beta carotene levels. By 2005 they unveiled Golden Rice 2, which
accomplished this.
Next,
researchers inserted these GR2 genes into multiple plants, with the goal of
introducing them without disrupting other genes. Each insertion is called an
“event.” IRRI breeders took the most promising event and began breeding the
trait into two trusty lowland rice varieties.
But
there was a problem. Field trials showed that the introduced genes had indeed
disrupted other genes and lowered the rice’s productivity, so breeders turned
to a different event. By 2017 field trials showed that this rice grew
adequately. The rice was submitted to the Philippine Bureau of Plant Industry,
which designated it as safe in December 2019.
However,
Golden Rice still has to be approved for commercial sale and still needs a
company to grow marketable quantities of seed. Proponents’ claim that the rice
would be given free to farmers is false: No one has offered to produce and distribute
the rice seed for nothing. And even if someone were to grow marketable
quantities of seed for sale, two crucial problems remain.
Unanswered
questions
First,
the claim that Golden Rice will remedy Vitamin A deficiency remains unproven.
As IRRI scientists themselves stressed in 2013, “It has not yet been determined
whether daily consumption of Golden Rice does improve the vitamin A status of
people who are vitamin A deficient.”
Vitamin
A is fat-soluble, and children with VAD rarely have fats in their diet.
Moreover, they usually suffer from gut parasites and infections that make it
harder to convert beta carotene to vitamin A.
A
2012 study, which has been cited over 70 times – despite being retracted in
2015 for breaching research ethics – seemed to show that Golden Rice would
raise children’s vitamin A levels. But children in the study were fed balanced
meals that included fats, thus demonstrating only that Golden Rice worked in
children who did not need it.
Even
the latest analysis of Golden Rice’s safety points out that research has yet to
show that it will mitigate VAD. And by the time Golden Rice gets to
undernourished children, its beta carotene level may be very low, since the
compound deteriorates fairly quickly.
Second,
there is no clear way for the rice to get to the children who need it.
Projections of the benefits of Golden Rice assume that farmers will immediately
grow it, but families poor enough to be affected by VAD often lack land to grow
rice for themselves. VAD in the Philippines has been highest in Mountain
Province, where farmers are unlikely to plant lowland rice varieties, and in
part of metro Manila where no rice farming occurs.
To
reach undernourished kids in areas like these, Golden Rice would have to be
grown by commercial farmers and sold in markets. We examined whether farmers
would plant Golden Rice in a new study of seed selection practices in a “rice
bowl” area of the Philippines.
Farmers
choose from a large and rapidly changing array of rice seeds, based on
agronomic performance, market demands and local trends. Their choices show that
varieties containing the “Golden” trait are out of fashion, overtaken by newer
and better performing varieties.
Some
might adopt Golden Rice if it could fetch a premium in the market, but extremely
poor customers are unlikely to pay it. Farmers may need subsidies to plant
Golden Rice, but it is unclear who would pay them to plant it.
An
oversold solution
The
old claim, repeated again in a recent book, that Golden Rice was “basically
ready for use in 2002” is silly. As recently as 2017, IRRI made it clear that
Golden Rice still had to be “successfully developed into rice varieties
suitable for Asia, approved by national regulators, and shown to improve
vitamin A status in community conditions.”
The
Philippines has managed to cut its childhood VAD rate in half with conventional
nutrition programs. If Golden Rice appears on the market in the Philippines by
2022, it will have taken over 30 years of development to create a product that
may not affect vitamin levels in its target population, and that farmers may
need to be paid to plant.
This
article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
PHL to remain top
rice importer in 2020 despite waning appetite for staple
By
February 13, 2020
-
A
worker carries a sack of imported rice at a warehouse in Divisoria, Manila in
this file photo.
Rice imports may decline by 14
percent to 2.5 million metric tons (MMT) this year due to the waning appetite
of traders but the Philippines would remain the world’s top buyer of the
staple, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
In its monthly world grain
report, the USDA revised downward its import volume projection for the
Philippines in 2020 from 2.9 MMT to 2.7 MMT due to “slowing pace of purchases”
by traders.
Despite the cut in projection,
USDA data showed that the Philippines would remain the world’s top rice
importer for the second consecutive year after overtaking China last year.
China’s rice import this year is forecasted to reach 2.3 MMT, according to
USDA.
The Philippines started and ended
the previous decade as the world’s top rice importer, with the country formally
overtaking China as the top buyer of the staple last year, USDA data showed.
In its report in January, the
USDA revealed that that the Philippines has “soared to become the top global
importer” of rice as its total purchases last year surpassed China’s 2.4 MMT.
China has been the world’s top rice importer since 2013.
However, in its February report,
which was published on Tuesday, USDA revised downward its estimate for
Philippines’s total rice imports last year to 2.9 MMT from 3.2 MMT. Despite the
revision, the Philippines was still ahead of China’s total imports last year.
USDA maintained its forecast for
the Philippines milled rice output this year at 12 MMT, slightly higher than
last year’s estimated 11.732 MMT.
The country’s total rice
consumption this year is projected to reach 14.4 MMT, from last year’s 14.1
MMT, according to the USDA report.
The Department of Agriculture
(DA) earlier said the country’s total rice imports last year reached about 3
MMT following the enactment of the rice trade liberalization (RTL) law, which
eased the requirements for importing rice.
The surge in imports last year
resulted in the decline of the country’s rice self-sufficiency rate, or
adequacy level, to its lowest in 10 years to 85 percent, according to the DA.
Despite this, President Duterte
personally appealed to farmers to give the RTL a chance, citing its long-term economic
benefits. The law took effect on March 5, 2019.
Thailand risks
slipping to third place in rice shipments
PUBLISHED : 13 FEB 2020 AT 04:01
NEWSPAPER SECTION: BUSINESS
WRITER: PHUSADEE ARUNMAS
Thailand is at risk of losing its
place as the world's second-biggest rice exporter this year, due to weaker
competitiveness and a lack of rice varieties to cater to changing market
demand.
Relatively higher production
costs when compared with rivals, plus volatile foreign exchange and widespread
drought, mean Thailand risks falling to third place this year as Vietnam takes
second, said Charoen Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters
Association.
"Thailand has shipped the
same rice varieties for 30 years and lacks rice variety development to deal
with changing market demand and consumer behaviour," Mr Charoen said.
"This year, the association has set a rice export target of 7.5 million
tonnes, the same target as the Commerce Ministry, worth US$4.2 billion."
The target is the lowest in seven
years. In 2013, Thailand exported 6.6 million tonnes of rice.
The country shipped 7.58 million
tonnes in 2019, fetching 131 billion baht, down 32% and 25% respectively.
The biggest export market last
year was Benin, which imported 1.07 million tonnes of Thai rice, followed by
South Africa (725,461 tonnes), the US (559,957 tonnes) and China (471,339
tonnes).
Mr Charoen said China is expected
to speed up draining its huge stocks of 120 million tonnes of rice. China last
year exported nearly 3 million tonnes.
Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary
president of the association, said key risk factors for Thailand's rice export
outlook include the strong baht, widespread drought, China's huge stocks and
continued rice variety development in Vietnam, especially fragrant rice and
soft-textured white rice.
Moreover, Vietnam has succeeded
in exporting rice at lower prices than those of Thai grains and tapping key
rice markets like China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Malaysia.
Other risk factors include the
EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement
for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would let Vietnam expand export markets to
EU and CPTPP members.
Mr Chookiat said the coronavirus
outbreak is expected to compel rice consumers, particularly China, Hong Kong
and Singapore, to raise their rice stocks.
Indonesia is also planning to
raise its rice imports to about 1 million tonnes, up from 300,000 tonnes last
year.
"The virus outbreak has
created a panic in China, Hong Kong and Singapore, increasing their demand for
rice," Mr Chookiat said.
Even with an upsurge in demand,
it will be difficult for Thailand to achieve the export target of 7.5 million
tonnes, he said.
Philippines to
remain largest rice importer in 2020
The Philippines will retain its status as the world’s biggest
rice importer in 2020, according to the US Department of Agriculture-Foreign
Agricultural service (USDA-FAS).
Thursday, February 13, 2020 15:03
In 2020, the Philippines is scheduled to
import about 2.5 million tonnes of rice, down 13.8 percent year-on-year.
(Source: philstar.com)Singapore (VNA) – The Philippines will retain its status as the world’s biggest rice importer in 2020, according to the US Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural service (USDA-FAS).
In 2020, the Philippines is scheduled to import about 2.5 million tonnes of rice, down 13.8 percent year-on-year.
In 2019, the Philippines imported a record of 2.9 million tonnes of rice, posting a four-fold increase over the past three years, and making up about 7 percent of the world’s total rice import volume.
Navy intercepts eight smugglers, seizes 608
bags of rice in Akwa Ibom
February 12, 2020
By
The Nigerian Navy, Forward
Operating Base, Ibaka, Mbo local government area, Akwa Ibom State said it has
arrested eight suspects with 608 bags of 50kg rice between 6th and 7th
February, 2020.
The Commanding Officer, FOB,
Captain Peter Yilme disclosed this to Newsmen in Ibaka on Wednesday while
handing over the suspects and the seized items to Superintendent of Nigeria
Customs Service (NCS), Wasiu Adebowale.
Represented by the Base Operations
Officer, Lieutenant Commander Kabiru Yusuf, the Commanding officer warned
smugglers to refrain from illegal activities on the waterways noting that the
command would not relent in arresting them and ending illegal activities on the
waterways as long as they continue with the illegal trade.
Receiving the suspects and items,
SC Adebowale said, “I, Wasiu Adebowale have taken over 608 bags of 50kg of
rice, 8 suspects and 3 boats”.
Two of the suspects, Michael Okon
and Joseph Etim, both from Akwa Ibom state told journalists that they were
forced into rice smuggling due to hard times and financial responsibilities.
Okon who said it was his first time
explained that he decided to venture into the trade because he needed money to
bury his late mother.
According to him,”I went to
Cameroon to buy rice, on my way back, Navy stopped me and brought me here. I
don’t have money to bury my mum, that is why I decided to go and bring in rice
since I don’t have anybody to help me, so I would have money to bury my mum.’
Joseph Etim who also said it was
his first time of smuggling rice stated that lack of job led him into the
business.
He said, “I am here because I was
caught smuggling rice. I just went to Cameroon to buy rice and on my way back,
the Naval police arrested me.
“I don’t have somebody to help me
so when I saw the opportunity, I went to Cameroon. I was hustling to survive,
somebody sent me to go and bring the rice.”
Rice
smuggling: Customs, DSS warn Kano marketers
By
Tijjani Ibrahim, Kano | Published Date Feb 13, 2020 2:04 AM
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS),
Kano/Jigawa Area Command, in conjunction with the Department of State Services
(DSS), on Tuesday, engaged leaders of Kano market associations in a meeting
over the continuous patronage of smuggled goods, especially foreign rice. In a
statement signed by the NSC spokesman in the state, Mr. Isa Danbaba, the two
agencies said the meeting was necessary going by continued patronage of
smuggled commodity in the state. The Customs Area Controller of Kano/Jigawa
Area Command, Nasir Ahmed, lamented the effect of smuggling to national
security and the economy. Ahmed, therefore, urged the leaders of the markets to
desist from patronising smuggled items in order or face the wrath of the law.
“Any warehouse or shop found harbouring
imported rice and other smuggled items will be seized and sealed,” he warned. The
duo urged the leaders of the markets to desist from patronizing smuggled items,
especially at the Singer market. Responding on behalf of the business
community, Alhaji Salisu Sambajo, assured the duo that the marketers would
cooperate by devising a means of warning their members to desist from illegal
activities. “And we promise to dislodge any trader engaging in this illegal
activity,” he assured. Sambajo then appealed to rice millers in the country to
review prices of the commodity. Related Halting rice importation Clampdown on
smugglers: Local rice appreciates against foreign rice Navy arrests 4 suspects,
seizes 358 bags of rice Download Daily Trust News App Share this article TwitterFacebookWhatsAppTelegram
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Thai rice export
expected to drop this year
Source:
Xinhua| 2020-02-12 22:49:56|Editor: yan
BANGKOK, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Thai Ministry of Commerce on
Wednesday said it expects Thailand to only export 7.5 million tons of rice this
year, a drop below the target of 10 million tons for the second straight year.
The ministry's Foreign Trade Department factored the drop in
exports to the strong Thai baht currency, decreasing competitiveness and low
supply because of a widespread drought.
Among the exported rice, "3.17 million tons of the total
export will be white rice, shipped primarily to the Philippines, Angola, Benin,
Cameroon and China, with parboiled rice making up 2.23 million tons and Thai
jasmine rice at 1.1 million tons," said Keerati Rushchano,
director-general of the department, "the remaining tons will be glutinous
rice and other types of grains."
Keerati also said that the export value is estimated at 131
billion baht (4.2 billion U.S. dollars) this year.
"Thailand lacks diversity in rice varieties to compete in
the world market," said Keerati, "and so the Thai government has now
set up a panel that includes representatives from the Rice Department, the Thai
Rice Exporters Association, the Thai Rice Millers Association and farmers to
develop soft-textured rice varieties to target global market."
He said customers' tastes have changed and now mostly favor
soft-textured grains with jasmine flavors.
Customs intercepts trailer load of rice packed as beans
The Adamawa/Taraba Command of the
Nigerian Customs Services (NCS) has impounded a trailer load, containing 256
bags of contraband rice, each bag hidden in bigger bags packed with beans.
Customs Area Comptroller, Kamardeen
Olumoh, who addressed newsmen at the headquarters in Yola on Tuesday, said the
trailer was impounded and brought to the headquarters with the rice and beans
content from where it was seized along the Yola-Mubi road.
He said the rice was hidden and
presented as beans to deceive Customs personnel who have been enforcing the
Federal Government’s policy against the importation of rice.
“This trailer you see here was
intercepted supposedly carrying bags of beans but found on examination to have
concealed bags of smuggled rice in bags of beans.
“At the end of the count, we
discovered that 256 bags of parboiled rice smuggled into the country were
packed with the beans,” Olumoh said.
The Customs controller said both
commodities and the trailer conveying them would be forfeited and warned owners
of trailers and trucks to be mindful of those who drive their vehicles as
vehicles found to have been used to convey contraband goods would always be
seized with the goods.
Senators
Encourage Increased Access for U.S. Rice in U.K. Trade Negotiations
|
WASHINGTON,
DC -- On Monday, a group of United States Senators from rice-producing states
sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer
encouraging increased market access for rice during trade negotiations with
the United Kingdom (UK).
The letter, led by Senator John Boozman (R-AR), outlines the potential market for U.S. rice that could exist if the U.K. eliminated its protectionist barriers, saying, "Prior to 2007, the U.K. was one of the largest export destinations for American rice, with a 10-year annual average of 115,000 metric tons...Given market demand and existing relationships with Britain's importers, the U.S. rice industry stands ready to regain significant market share through these negotiations." With no domestic rice production and an increasingly diversified population, even greater opportunities exist for U.S. rice exports to the U.K. now than in the past. On average, the U.K. imports more than 600,000 metric tons of rice annually. Other signatories on the letter include Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Ted Cruz (R-TX).  "USA Rice greatly appreciates our advocates in the United States Senate who are supportive of our industry and increasing market opportunities for U.S. rice," said Bobby Hanks, a Louisiana rice miller and chair of the USA Rice Trade Policy Committee. "We join these legislators in asking USTR to fight for increased U.S. rice access in the U.K. to recapture this once important market." |
|
Funding
for Ag Inspections at U.S. Borders in Budget Pipeline
WASHINGTON, DC -- The
"Protecting America's Food and Agriculture Act of 2019," also known
as the Ag Inspectors Bill, passed the House with bipartisan support by voice
vote on Monday. This bill, which passed the Senate in October and is expected
to be signed into law by President Trump, aims to improve agricultural
inspections at American borders by authorizing new funding for U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) to hire additional agriculture specialists.
If fully funded through the appropriations process, the CBP would be directed to continue to hire specialists until their total number meets the requirements identified in the Agriculture Resource Allocation Model. The CBP estimates that the U.S. is currently about 700 inspectors short of those requirements. Additionally, the bill authorizes funds to hire 200 agriculture technicians as support staff and 20 new canine teams each year to help bolster inspections. In total, the bill authorizes around $221 million and 1,200 jobs over the course of three years, subject to annual appropriations. The legislation was supported by several members of the Congressional Rice Caucus, including Congressman Filemon Vela (D-TX), who championed the bill and also serves as chair of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management. "I know how vital CBP personnel and the work they perform are for the protection and growth of our trade and agricultural sectors," said Vela. "Filling these vacancies will not only remedy the shortage of agriculture inspectors at U.S. points of entry, but will also help prevent animal, plant, and human diseases from entering the U.S. " said Ben Mosely, USA Rice vice president of government affairs. "USA Rice applauds the bipartisan support in Congress, especially from members of the Rice Caucus. They obviously understand the dire need to strengthen the U.S.'s ability to prevent the entry of pests and diseases into our country that could negatively impact the rice industry." |
Funding
for Ag Inspections at U.S. Borders in Budget Pipeline
WASHINGTON, DC --
The "Protecting America's Food and Agriculture Act of 2019," also
known as the Ag Inspectors Bill, passed the House with bipartisan support by
voice vote on Monday. This bill, which passed the Senate in October and
is expected to be signed into law by President Trump, aims to improve
agricultural inspections at American borders by authorizing new funding for
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to hire additional agriculture
specialists.
If fully funded through the appropriations
process, the CBP would be directed to continue to hire specialists until their
total number meets the requirements identified in the Agriculture Resource
Allocation Model. The CBP estimates that the U.S. is currently about 700
inspectors short of those requirements.
Additionally, the bill authorizes funds to hire
200 agriculture technicians as support staff and 20 new canine teams each year
to help bolster inspections. In total, the bill authorizes around $221
million and 1,200 jobs over the course of three years, subject to annual
appropriations.
The legislation was supported by several members
of the Congressional Rice Caucus, including Congressman Filemon Vela (D-TX),
who championed the bill and also serves as chair of the Subcommittee on General
Farm Commodities and Risk Management.
"I know how vital CBP personnel and the
work they perform are for the protection and growth of our trade and
agricultural sectors," said Vela.
"Filling these vacancies will not only
remedy the shortage of agriculture inspectors at U.S. points of entry,
but will also help prevent
animal, plant, and human diseases from entering the U.S. " said Ben
Mosely, USA Rice vice president of government affairs. "USA Rice
applauds the bipartisan support in Congress, especially from members of the
Rice Caucus. They obviously understand the dire need to strengthen the
U.S.'s ability to prevent the entry of pests and diseases into our country that
could negatively impact the rice industry." Maska Indian Kitchen + Bar, Now Open for
Lunch
By
-
February 12, 2020
129
New Lunch Spot Elevates Midtown
Miami’s Standing as a Power Lunch Destination
Rickshaw Hospitality is pleased
to announce that Maska Indian Kitchen + Bar is
now open for lunch. After a year of successfully operating for dinner, happy
hour and Sunday brunch, the restaurant will now offer a dynamic and culturally
sophisticated lunch experience featuring India’s iconic meal, the thali.
Thali, which means a large plate
in Hindi, is served on grand round plates offering various min-dishes and
flavors harmoniously curated. Diners can choose from vegetarian,
chicken, lamb, goat or seafood options. All lunch thalis will also include
basmati rice, freshly made bread, dessert and an assortment of small dishes
from dal (lentils) to yogurt (made exclusively in-house) and other
offerings which are curated daily.
The thali is culturally
significant, and steeped in traditional Indian gastronomy. It promotes
nutritional balance while cleansing and improving the palate through textures
and variety. Across the subcontinent, every region has its take on the
classic thali. Maska’s rendition is pan-regional and inspired by contemporary
and local elements.
Diners are encouraged to use all
five senses while exploring their thali plate. From inhaling the fragrant
curries and spices to tasting the array of magnificent flavors, this edible
work of art inspires the diner to be fully present.
According to Rickshaw Hospitality
owners Pravin Mascarenhas and Shamsu Lalani, “the Maska thalis are like a
7-course tasting menu, and a perfect introduction to traditional homestyle
Indian cooking.”
Already a favorite with
politicos, VIPs and local celebrities, Maska is poised to be the new “it” power
lunch spot. Centrally located in Miami’s Midtown district, the area is a
culinary mecca. Flanked by some of the most popular restaurants in Miami,
Maska stands out for its gourmet, progressive Indian cuisine, and as
the only restaurant in South Florida offering endless thali platters.
Inside the spacious 7,000
square-foot Maska, the expansive bar and lounge are perfect for socializing,
intimate two-tops for deal making, and al fresco seating for leisurely workday
lunches. Diners will also want to keep their smartphones handy, as the
beautifully presented food and striking mural – hand painted by street artist
Steven Teller – make artful fodder for any social feed.
Dishes are reasonably priced,
starting at $22. Lunch is served from 12-3pm
Tuesdays through Saturday. Lunch catering options are also
available. Through February 29th, enjoy a complimentary lassi
beverage (in mango or plain) or fountain drink with lunch.
The
Cross-Border Indigenous Battle for Wild Rice
In the Great Lakes region, what some consider a weed is actually a
sacred seed.
FEBRUARY 12, 2020
Canoes are the traditional
vehicles for gathering wild rice. RICHARD TSONG-TAATARII/ALAMY
In This Story
Ontario
Michigan
“80 years ago, most of Kawartha Lakes had lots of wild rice in
them,” says Whetung. “It used to be the rice bowl of North America.” One rice
bed mentioned in Curve Lake oral history measured 17 miles long by a mile wide.
“Used to,” Whetung says. “It’s gone now.” He blames the construction of the
Trent Severn Canal, built in 1833, for much of that disappearance. Once an
important shipping route, the waterway is now a National Historic Site operated
by Parks Canada and a popular recreation area.
Today, there’s a tense, decades-old standoff between Whetung and
recreational users of the lakes. That’s because he’s been reseeding wild rice
in this area for the past 30 years. Boating, fishing, and swimming are
difficult where the thick rice beds are flourishing once again. Cottage owners
claim their property values are dropping as a result. Whetung has become a
lightning rod for anger and frustration. His opponents created a group called
“Save Pigeon Lake” to thwart Whetung’s efforts. So dramatic and protracted is
this battle that the well-known Canadian author Drew Hayden Taylor, himself
from Curve Lake First Nations, wrote a play about it, called Cottagers and Indians.
“I don’t care,” Whetung says after telling me about the
opposition to his activities. “I would go to jail for it.”
Whetung has grown wild rice for 30 years. DARCY RHYNO
A Japanese
Sculptor's Tribute to Wild Rice Covers an Australian Floodplain
The revival of wild rice in the Kawarthas began in 1986, when
Whetung attended a conference led by Dr. Peter Lee of Lakehead University, a
biologist who specializes in wetland ecology. Now retired, Lee says the
conference had a dual purpose: to bring wild rice research to the community,
and to encourage people to grow it. The conference took place at Minaki Lodge
on the Winnipeg River, where 40,000 acres of rice grew as late as the 1970s.
“As far as you could see, there was wild rice,” says Lee. Today, he estimates
the beds are reduced to less than a quarter of their original size.
That conference and a call to action from other First Nations
communities started Whetung down the path of what he calls a “food security
uprising.” His yard and home double as Black Duck Wild Rice, the company he
named for his father’s clan. Whetung himself is a slim, fit middle-aged man.
The sides of his head are shaved, and his black Mohawk-style hair is combed
back behind a pair of sunglasses propped on his head. A mischievous smile flits
about his mouth as he shows me a furnace oil barrel fitted with a rusty chimney
at one end and a wooden barrel at the other. This is his rice roaster.
Scattered about the property are earlier generations of wild rice-processing
machinery.
Processing wild rice is labor-intensive. Whetung cures and
roasts the rice beneath a sugar maple wood fire, giving it a smoky flavor. To
separate the chaff or husk from each grain, the rice is placed in a hide or
blanket over a hole in the ground so someone can dance on it. To speed up the
work, Whetung built what he calls a ‘dancing machine,’ with rubber paddles to
remove the chaff. Traditionally, the rice and loosened chaff was tossed in the
air using a blanket so the breeze could carry the non-edible chaff away.
Whetung’s modern solution is a winnowing machine fashioned from an old furnace
blower.
Processing wild rice is complex and time-consuming. DARCY RHYNO
For Whetung, the stakes couldn’t be higher. He calls wild rice
the gift of the creator. In the Ojibwe language of the Great Lakes Anishinaabeg
peoples, wild rice is manoomin,
which translates literally as “good seed” or “spirit food.” The return of
manoomin means nothing short of survival, Whetung says. “Our people are so
sick. We’ve been suffering pretty bad, confined to this reserve. Wild rice is
one way to keep our people healthy.”
Wild rice is rich in protein, fiber, B vitamins, and minerals,
making it nutritionally superior to white rice, oats, barley, and wheat.
Whetung’s hope is that wild rice will once again become a plentiful source of
food for Curve Lake and other First Nations. “A couple days of gathering, a
week or two of other work, and a family could have a hundred pounds of rice,”
he says.
As in Canada, Barb Barton says that many people who live next to
lakes in Michigan consider wild rice a weed. “They don’t want it growing on
their lake or around their dock, so they apply for permits to put chemicals in
the water that kill it,” she says.
Barton is a member of the State of Michigan’s wild rice working
group, an endangered species biologist, and the author of Manoomin: The Story of Wild Rice in Michigan.
In 2009, Michigan State University honored Barton with the Extension Diversity
Award for her work with Michigan tribes on manoomin.
Whetung shows off his rice roaster. DARCY RHYNO
The first thing to know is that manoomin isn’t a rice at all. Zizania palustris, Zizania aquatic, and Zizania texana (found only in
Texas) are grasses native to North America, where they prefer to grow in gently
flowing waterways with muddy bottoms. While Zizania grows
mostly in the center of the continent, it’s listed as present in over 30 states
and all but one of Canada’s 10 provinces. It’s so important to Indigenous
people that the word manoomin has contributed to more place names than any
other plant in North America.
Barton says that by the early 20th century, the plant was lost
from much of its original range. She blames logging, dredging, and the draining
of wetlands. “There was even draining because of the malaria epidemic in the
mid-1800s,” she says. Mills, railways, farms, and settlements were built on the
banks of rivers and lakes where rice beds once flourished.
Manoomin was particularly hard hit by dam construction. One such
dam, built in the late 19th century at Lac Vieux Desert—the headwaters of the
Wisconsin River—changed the lives of the Lake Superior Chippewa tribe. “By
raising the water level, it drowned the rice,” Barton says. “A lot of people
used to sell rice, so they lost a big source of income. Many folks moved away
from the lake and into town. Manoomin is extremely important to the tribal
people.”
Wild rice grows thick and dense, making it hard to
swim and boat. KEITH BEATY/GETTY IMAGES
Renee Wasson Dillard serves on the Natural Resources Commission
of her Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians in Michigan. She says that
manoomin is rooted in their history. “We were once living on the east side of
the United States,” she explains. “As we started to migrate, we were following
symbols we were told to look for along the way. We would know that we were home
once we came to the place where food grows on water. We came to understand that
this was rice.”
“Now, it’s a part of our ceremonial feast,” she continues. “You
cannot have a ceremonial feast without wild rice.” Until recently, the Little
Traverse Bay Band had to purchase their wild rice, but recently band members
have been able to harvest their own, thanks to the work of band members and
people like Barb Barton. “It’s a very small amount, perhaps half a burlap bag,”
says Dillard. “But at least we can do it ceremoniously.” This past year was
particularly special, because the community built a birch bark canoe to harvest
rice traditionally. She says the canoe helps decolonize the process. “We make
our prayers and honor the rice,” she says, “to show it how much we appreciate
it.”
Appreciation for the rice goes a long way, given how hard this
band and others are working for its preservation. But new threats are lurking.
Dillard says Asian carp and a tall invasive grass called Phragmites are taking over
rice beds. Barton also notes that climate change has added new stresses. With
increased temperatures, there’s a fungus now affecting the plants, and water
levels are fluctuating wildly.
With new interest in regrowing wild rice, activists
hope that the tradition will continue. KEAN COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES
But there are hopeful signs too. The White Earth Band of Ojibwe
in Minnesota recently adopted the “Rights of Manoomin” law. It’s the first of
its kind, securing the rights of wild rice to exist, as well as the clean water
and habitat it requires to flourish, both on- and off-reserve.
“It’s unfortunate we have to have a law,” says Barton. “But I
think it helps bring the worldview of the tribal peoples to the general
public.”
Dr. Lee agrees. “Wild rice provided nourishment for Indigenous
people long before first contact with Europeans, and is a very important part
of their heritage that needs to be respected.” He says he’s glad that Whetung
is bringing back rice awareness in his community. Today, Whetung shares that
responsibility with his daughter Daemin, ensuring that the battle to save wild
rice in the Kawarthas will carry on.
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The strength and pattern of
natural selection on gene expression in rice
- Simon C. Groen,
- Irina Ćalić,
- Zoé Joly-Lopez,
- Adrian E. Platts,
- Jae Young Choi,
- Mignon Natividad,
- Katherine Dorph,
- William M. Mauck III,
- Bernadette Bracken,
- Carlo Leo U. Cabral,
- Arvind Kumar,
- Rolando O. Torres,
- Rahul Satija,
- Georgina Vergara,
- Amelia Henry,
- Steven J. Franks &
- Michael D. Purugganan
Nature (2020)Cite this article
Abstract
Levels of gene expression underpin organismal phenotypes1,2, but the nature of selection that acts on gene expression and
its role in adaptive evolution remain unknown1,2. Here we assayed gene expression in rice (Oryza sativa)3, and used phenotypic selection analysis to estimate the type
and strength of selection on the levels of more than 15,000 transcripts4,5. Variation in most transcripts appears (nearly) neutral or
under very weak stabilizing selection in wet paddy conditions (with median
standardized selection differentials near zero), but selection is stronger
under drought conditions. Overall, more transcripts are conditionally neutral
(2.83%) than are antagonistically pleiotropic6 (0.04%), and transcripts that display lower levels of
expression and stochastic noise7,8,9 and higher levels of plasticity9 are under stronger selection. Selection strength was
further weakly negatively associated with levels of cis-regulation
and network connectivity9. Our multivariate analysis suggests that selection acts on the
expression of photosynthesis genes4,5, but that the efficacy of selection is genetically constrained
under drought conditions10. Drought selected for earlier flowering11,12 and a higher expression of OsMADS18 (Os07g0605200),
which encodes a MADS-box transcription factor and is a known regulator of early
flowering13—marking this gene as a drought-escape gene11,12. The ability to estimate selection strengths provides insights
into how selection can shape molecular traits at the core of gene action.
