anyone eat much rice?

[PlaxMacaws]

For a number of years now, arsenic levels in rice and rice products have been a concern by food scientists. Rice readily absorbs inorganic arsenic from the ground while growing. Product testing has revealed that arsenic levels in many rice products are disturbingly high. While the US Government limits the levels of arsenic that can be present in drinking water, there are no federal restrictions on the levels of arsenic that can be present in most commercially sold foods.

Does anyone here eat much rice? And if you do, are you concerned about arsenic levels?

The explanation and product test document is available at the following link:

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[The Pinkertons]

Seems that most everything on this planet, land, sea and air, our waterways, our forests, everything! are suffering from our so-called civilized culture. Very grim indeed :'(

[PlaxMacaws]

Seems that most everything on this planet, land, sea and air, our waterways, our forests, everything! are suffering from our so-called civilized culture. Very grim indeed :'(Indeed. And the lack of food safety restrictions is driven predominantly by corporate greed :(

[spiritbird]

Is there rice in bird food?

[The Pinkertons]

Is there rice in bird food?
Yes I believe so...in the pelleted food

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I think I am going to leave this for the scientists to worry about, the Daily Mail has not posted a headline about "OMG rice is going to kill us" so we are probably well safe.

[Mare]

Well, yes, we do eat a lot of rice around here, brown rice. It is also a staple part of all my bird's diet, the cockatiels especially enjoy it :(

[mdg1109]

For a number of years now, arsenic levels in rice and rice products have been a concern by food scientists. Rice readily absorbs inorganic arsenic from the ground while growing. Product testing has revealed that arsenic levels in many rice products are disturbingly high. While the US Government limits the levels of arsenic that can be present in drinking water, there are no federal restrictions on the levels of arsenic that can be present in most commercially sold foods.

Does anyone here eat much rice? And if you do, are you concerned about arsenic levels?

The explanation and product test document is available at the following link:

[Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]

We do not eat much rice at our house. I am an insulin dependent diabetic and rice is on the very occasional list. When we do eat rice, which is probably less than twice a month we eat organic brown rice. We eat a lot of quinoa because of the health benefits.

I am extremely concerned about arsenic being present in anything we or our animals consume.

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I think I am going to leave this for the scientists to worry about, the Daily Mail has not posted a headline about "OMG rice is going to kill us" so we are probably well safe.

Jean-Pierre you never know what tomorrows headline might be lol :th_biggrin:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Margaret has just informed me that I am not allowed to eat fish more than twice a week because of mercury polution. My friend in France (who's fridge was always a biohazard) always said "you've got to eat a peck of dirt before you die" meaning (I think) that a bit of nastiness helps the body build resistance. I know this doesn't count with heavy metals which build up in the body.
They've got rid of the item at the top of the list - lead in petrol and water pipes and now they are working their way down the list of toxins.

[PlaxMacaws]

A fair amount of rice is consumed at my home. It's always brown rice and is usually organically grown. One point I will mention is that the brown, wholegrain variety of rice absorbs the highest levels of arsenic. White rice contains noticeably lower levels. I think the science is there to confirm that the arsenic element is present in most rice products. But I don't think scientists are yet sure how arsenic from various produce items metabolizes within our systems. I know that much of the world consumes more rice as a main stable than any other crop food. My question would thus be: are there more instances of cancer or other health complications attributable to assimilation of arsenic within countries that are the greatest consumers of rice? And if there are not, why? Could it be as Jean-Pierre speculates, that folks who consume more of a toxic element may naturally build a resistance for it? I found some speculation on a possible reason that there may not be more illness from heavy rice consumption among those counties... it's a theory that certain nationalities may be more naturally (genetically) immune to the negative effects from arsenic than others. But as stated, that's unfounded. Since the presence of arsenic in produce -especially in rice products- is well documented, I have to say that I am rather concerned about it. I don't feel that science can stay ahead of food safety concerns in many cases. And I certainly don't trust congress and our government to enact and enforce the safest legislative responses for health risk issues that science has in fact revealed. Money and profit seem to always take priority :(

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

There were a lot of deaths from arsenic poisoning in the 19th century due to it being used in the manufacture of green ink used for wallpaper.
I quote Jessica Charlotte Haslam BSc (hons):

Despite the increasing body of support for campaigns to ban the
production of such papers, parliament ignored the public health scandal choosing instead to
favour the huge profit arsenic mining brought by it.

Que sera sera.

[PlaxMacaws]

Yes... que sera sera. But that doesn't mean we have to like it or remain silent about it. Also, sometimes a good deal of protest noise for an extended period can lead to positive developments. Not always. But sometimes. If we merely accept the status quo, it will surely remain unchanged.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Yes, it worked on that occasion - the government did nothing but the general public stopped buying the toxic wallpaper in favour of "arsenic free" brands.

[The Pinkertons]

A fair amount of rice is consumed at my home. It's always brown rice and is usually organically grown. One point I will mention is that the brown, wholegrain variety of rice absorbs the highest levels of arsenic. White rice contains noticeably lower levels. I think the science is there to confirm that the arsenic element is present in most rice products. But I don't think scientists are yet sure how arsenic from various produce items metabolizes within our systems. I know that much of the world consumes more rice as a main stable than any other crop food. My question would thus be: are there more instances of cancer or other health complications attributable to assimilation of arsenic within countries that are the greatest consumers of rice? And if there are not, why? Could it be as Jean-Pierre speculates, that folks who consume more of a toxic element may naturally build a resistance for it? I found some speculation on a possible reason that there may not be more illness from heavy rice consumption among those counties... it's a theory that certain nationalities may be more naturally (genetically) immune to the negative effects from arsenic than others. But as stated, that's unfounded. Since the presence of arsenic in produce -especially in rice products- is well documented, I have to say that I am rather concerned about it. I don't feel that science can stay ahead of food safety concerns in many cases. And I certainly don't trust congress and our government to enact and enforce the safest legislative responses for health risk issues that science has in fact revealed. Money and profit seem to always take priority :(
Yes I agree ...

Could it be as Jean-Pierre speculates, that folks who consume more of a toxic element may naturally build a resistance for it?

[Mare]

Although we do eat a lot of brown rice, quinoa works just as well for us. I just need to get the birds on board. My belief..and I know this may sound like a cop out..is that we are all going to die, no matter what. My dad is 91yrs. old and ate terrible junky fast food for a lot of his life. The government is not going to take control, we as individuals need to take control of our destiny.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I agree with taking control of our destiny because there is too much nanny state but we still need the scientists to keep us informed about stuff that is bad for us so we can boycott it. The media are very good policemen, if a little over-excited at times.

[Lady]

Wish I could believe the media in my country, their all bought and paid for so we have to watch our own backs and do the research!