How to Be a Conscious Eater

10

ARSENIC AND RICE

A

rsenic. The poisoner’s weapon of choice. Around the

world, the most common cause of arsenic poisoning is

actually contaminated drinking water. The issue is par-

ticularly notorious in Bangladesh, for example. But here in the

United States, it’s rice that should be on your radar.

Remember the periodic table of elements from high school

chemistry class? Arsenic is a natural element found in the

mineral content of the earth’s crust. It seeps into the air, water,

and soil.

Arsenic is a serious toxin, according to almost every gov-

ernment agency that has a say on the matter. Some other crops

absorb arsenic, but rice is an especially hazardous vehicle for it

because of the way rice is grown, which is by flooding rice pad-

dies. The roots of the rice crop absorb arsenic that gets released

from the soil and store it in the grain. Rice contains anywhere

from ten to twenty times as much arsenic as other cereal

grains, according to a report from the British Broadcasting

Corporation (BBC).

Rice is a staple around the world for many reasons, and

most of us don’t need to worry too much about the arsenic

issue. Infants and young children are of greatest concern,

though, because of the relative concentration they can con-

sume in instant rice cereal, which can be dangerously high

proportional to their body weight. The main health concerns

of too much exposure are increased risk of heart disease; skin,

bladder, and lung cancers; and compromised brain devel-

opment and immune systems in children (from exposure

as infants or in the womb). According to tests conducted by

Stuff that Comes from the Ground 39