Global Grain

It has been 3,500 years since people intentionally started planting rice as a crop and, according to the USA Rice Federation, the average American now eats more than 20 pounds of rice per year. The popularity has led to rice being grown on every continent aside from Antarctica. The diversity of rice types, the endless meal possibilities, and the grain’s naturally gluten-free and nutrient-rich nature (those nutrients being complex carbohydrates, protein, fiber, antioxidants, and more than 15 vitamins and minerals) are just a few of the reasons for its popularity.

In an ode to the grain and its growers, Caryl Levine and Ken Lee, founders of Lotus Foods, showcase how to use rice for easy meals in their book, “Rice is Life: Recipes and Stories Celebrating the World’s Most Essential Grain.” Following a journey 25 years in the making, Levine and Lee filled “Rice is Life” with a vast assortment of dishes inspired by places all over the world—including those featured here—and the people who grow the rice we eat today. Along with those stories, the two work to instill intention into the average person’s interactions with rice by introducing lesser-known rice varieties and flavors, and hope to encourage people to choose rice with as much care as fresh produce, considering how it is grown, and the livelihoods of the farmers who grow it.

–samantha johnson