The problem with rice no one is talking about

Half the world eats it. One-fifth of our calories come from it. But rice has a dark secret: It pumps pollutants into the air and is vulnerable to extreme weather. So how can we grow rice better?

Credits
Reporter: Ajit Niranjan
Camera: Florian Mettke
Video Editor: Nils Reinecke
Supervising editor: Joanna Gottschalk, Michael Trobridge, Kiyo Dörrer

We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Our new channel Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. Every Friday we'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.

#PlanetA #Rice #Climate

Read more:
Alternate wetting and drying:

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:47 Background
02:30 Draining fields
05:49 Burning waste
08:06 Growing less
10:14 Conclusion

[supersonicslicer]

What you forgot to consider or mention is that on a weight basis, rice has more calories than wheat or potatoes. In these densely populated regions, getting the most carbs out of each gram of food is vital to sustaining the populations, which rice does the best job hence. Hence why rice and not wheat is the staple in Asian countries.

[eliassuzumura]

I feel like the intentions of this guy weren't bad, but he's so disconnected from the reality of countries that has rice on it's core diet (like Brazil, where I'm from) that he ends up underestimate what this would mean to billions and billions of people.

[fleurdewin]

I live in south east Asia near the equator, rice is the only viable crop compare to others like wheat and potato . Wheat and potato production requires colder climate around 20~24C which is not an option for many countries near the equator. No way we would give up our rice to please climate cultists. Our food security is at stake. Imagine if rice consumers switch to wheat, how crazy wheat prices would have been since more people will be competing for wheat in the international market, which is already at lower stock level due to Russia-Ukraine war.

[jabudubu]

No one wants to help poor people out of poverty, but everyone wants to teach them how to work even harder to save the planet

[prashantjha]

The West can lobby as much as it wants, Asia is not giving up on rice, it's beyond food, it's part of our culture, tradition and a vital food source from the poorest to the richest. Yes, cultivation practices can be improved.

[vivekra]

How about doing an episode on the Environmental impact of toilet paper?

[shemaths]

Here we go, blaming small issues instead of dealing with the underlying issue. Over consumption, literally we eat fast food 3 times a day, use single use plastics, constantly buying any and everything to self soothe..
But yeah it's the rice...🙄

[chrysllerryu]

I am from philippines, we try to grow potatoes here. you have no idea how small local grown potatoes compare to western ones. they also expensive. they are barely last a month without cold storage.

[usagi]

Rice fields produce so much food sources, like fish, crayfish, fresh water prawns, crabs, snail and many more . After harvest, the hay and grain shells are used for feeding farm animals . And rice literally feed half of the population . Because we only need water and fire to eat rice . A poor family survive only eating rice balls with salt . The problems you've mentioned are small compared to the benefits it brings .

[wakyIIsr]

At the end of the day, when you look at which countries have the world's highest historical CO2 & methane per capita -- they're not from the rice producing nations.

[kelvinnkat]

A correction: Corn has not been a staple food in the Chinese diet for thousands of years. It's not even a native plant, it was only introduced in the 1500s.

[icontrolmyownguns]

When you start saying that growing food causes climate change, you have totally flipped your lid.

[champCats]

Rice field is not just for growing rice, farmer also use it for fish and duck.

[gcvrsa]

We'll just ignore the wild disparity in energy consumption between the countries where rice is commonly grown and the industrialized nations like the one that is home to Deutsche Welle. This video is incredibly hypocritical. Germany needs to stop producing automobiles before we even begin to think about rice production in Southeast Asia.

[aafreenkhan]

Correction: rice is not bad for climate… greed is

[distrologic]

I am pretty sure there are bigger factors to climate change than rice. The main reason why the total emissions for rice are so high is that so many people eat it. But there are other things which many people use that cause more pollution, and we would gain more by making those things more efficient, like traffic, heating, cooling and manufacturing. But foods are of course very important aswell.

[agginmariajames]

In many places in India like Kerala we dry the rice plans to make hay. And this hay is used year round to feed cattle. It is simple and effective.

[edgarbuenavente]

What a hypocritical take on rice production. You talked about rice without even mentioning the IRRI (International Rice Research Institute). FYI, they already produced rice varieties that are drought-resistant, submergence-resistant, toxic soil resistant, among others. These varieties are already being planted and eaten by MILLIONS of ASIANS. A quick look on their website or even an interview from them could have remedied some of the misconceptions on this video. You also mentioned the greenhouse gas emission of rice production but you never discussed the humongous difference between the greenhouse gas yields between rice production and industrial machineries that power the west's economies. A little introspection could have help you arrive with the idea that MAYBE, the amount of greenhouse gas pumped by industrialized countries are EXPONENTIALLY FAR GREATER than that of rice production.

[freedom]

One thing that's also overlooked: rice field has their own ecosystem. And in the past decades, rice farmers are far less dependent on artificial fertilizer compared to what they used before the year 2000. In East and South East Asia, there are more than just crops in the field. There are fishes, toads, snakes, and even crayfish. Much more live in the field. Most of these are attracted to pests that can disturb or even fail the rice growth, such as locusts, rats, and snails. Even the farmers learn to double their earnings by raising ducks, which easily sweep every inch of the field from pests and in return give the field a healthy natural fertilizer.

[eddybukayo]

A western man telling asians how to plant rice??! Hahaha thats funny, , ,