The Rice Bible by Christian Teubner et al.
First impressions: Very thorough, very comprehensive, very pro-genetic engineering. What he says about finding and developing “Rice 2000” (slated for around 2008) makes some sense, especially for the neediest countries, but I’m rather disappointed he didn’t go into the possible cons of genetically engineered rice. Sure, he makes a good case for disease-resistant, pest-resistant, perennial rice seed — but I would have been more interested in what he had to say about gene-mapping and hi-tech hybrids if he/they had at least mentioned why organic practices — vermicomposting, companion planting, use of predator pests — would be undesirable or less efficient in rice-producing countries. A discussion as to why arguments about pest and disease adaptation should be ignored would have been welcome as well. At least give us the facts so we can come to a better informed conclusion.
I am glad he does cover brown rice and its nutritional benefits, although I was hoping he’d make a firmer suggestion that more people consume brown rice, as that would certainly cut down on production costs and time.
Pleasantly surprised to learn that parboiled rice is almost on the same level nutritionally as brown rice. Excellent discussion and graphics on this topic. I’ve never given parboiled rice more than a cursory glance at the shopping aisle before, dismissing it as “rice for those who don’t know any better”. I was obviously wrong. Need to do more research on this.
New dilemma: How much of this do I include in the cookbook? *I* think it’s highly relevant even for the average consumer, but would people really want this information in a Filipino cookbook? Hmmmn.
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