Why is rice so popular? - Carolyn Beans

Translator: Karina Ip Reviewer: Aubrey Cheng

If you were to place all the rice consumed each year on one side of a scale,

如果將每年食咗嘅稻米放喺天秤嘅一邊

and every person in the world on the other,

世界上嘅所有人放喺另一邊

the scale would tip heavily towards rice's favor.

天秤會明顯傾向稻米嗰邊

This beloved crop contributes over 20% of the calories consumed by humans each year.

稻米每年佔人類吸收嘅卡路里超過兩成

Korean bibimbap, Nigerian jollof, Indian biryani, Spanish paella,

韓式拌飯、尼日利亞燴飯、 印度炒飯、西班牙海鮮飯

and countless other culinary masterpieces all begin with rice.

同無數烹飪佳餚都係由稻米開始

So how did this humble grain end up in so many cuisines?

樸素嘅稻米係點融入多國菜式呢？

The roots of rice go back thousands of years to when early farmers

稻米嘅起源可以追溯到幾千年前

in Asia, Africa, and South America each independently domesticated the crop.

亞洲、非洲同南美洲早期嘅農民 分別都各自培植稻米

First came Asian rice,

首先出現嘅係亞洲稻米

which many plant geneticists believe originated in what's now China.

好多植物遺傳學家認為佢源自而家嘅中國

Over 10,000 years ago, nomadic hunters in the region

一萬幾年前，嗰個地區嘅遊牧獵人

began gathering and eating seeds from a weedy grass.

開始收集同食用一種野草嘅種子

Then, around 9,000 years ago, they started planting these seeds,

大概九千年前，佢哋開始種植呢啲種子

prompting nomadic hunters to settle into farming communities.

等遊牧獵人喺農業社會安頓落嚟

With each harvest, growers selected and replanted seeds

每次收成，米農會精挑細選出

from the rice plants that pleased them most—

最滿意嘅稻米植物，重新種植佢嘅種子

like those with bigger and more plentiful grains or aromatic flavors.

佢哋偏好大粒、量多，或者有香味嘅植物

Over millennia, thousands of varieties of Asian rice emerged.

幾千年之間，有數千隻亞洲稻米出現

A relative of the same weedy grass was also domesticated in Africa

同時呢種草稻嘅親戚，亦都喺非洲培植

around 3,000 years ago.

時間大概喺三千年前

Today, its growth is mostly limited to West Africa.

而家，佢主要喺西非生長

South American growers also domesticated rice around 4,000 years ago,

約四千年前，南美洲嘅米農都培植咗稻米

though the crop was lost after the arrival of Europeans.

不過喺歐洲人抵達之後，稻米就消失咗

Asian rice, however, spread widely,

但係，亞洲稻米廣泛傳播

and is now a cornerstone of diet and culture in Asia and beyond.

佢係亞洲同其他地區飲食同文化嘅基石

In India and Nepal, many Hindus mark an infant's transition to solid foods

喺印度同尼泊爾， 好多印度教信徒用「食物儀式」

with a ceremony known as Annaprashan,

嚟代表嬰兒開始食固體食物

where the baby tastes rice for the first time.

喺儀式入面，嬰兒第一次試食稻米

in Japan, rice is so central to diets that the word "gohan"

喺日本，稻米對飲食非常重要， 所以「御飯」呢個詞

means both "cooked rice" and "meal."

有「熟飯」同「用餐」嘅意思

The global expansion of rice cultivation was only possible

稻米耕作之所以可以擴展到全球

because the plant can grow in many climates—

係因為呢種植物喺好多氣候下

from tropical to temperate.

都可以生長，由熱帶到溫帶氣候

As a semi-aquatic plant, rice happily grows in submerged soils.

稻米係半水生植物， 喺水底嘅土壤悠然生長

Many other crops can't survive in standing water

好多其他農作物喺積水入面生存唔到

because their root cells rely on air within soil to access oxygen.

佢哋嘅根細胞要靠土壤中嘅空氣嚟攞氧氣

But rice plants have air channels in their roots that allow oxygen to travel

但係水稻嘅根部有氣道

from the leaves and stems to the submerged tissues.

等氧氣由樹葉同莖部傳送到水下嘅組織

Traditionally, growers plant rice in paddy fields—

傳統上，米農會喺水田入面種稻

flat land submerged under as much as 10 centimeters of water

約莫有十厘米深嘅水浸喺平坦嘅土地上面

throughout the growing season.

喺生長季節期間

This practice returns high yields since many competing weeds

呢種做法會帶嚟好高嘅產量， 因為好多草本植物

can't hack it in the aquatic environment.

喺水生環境生存唔到

But the technique is also water intensive.

但係呢種技術需要大量嘅水

Rice covers 11% of global cropland,

全球嘅農田有 11% 係種稻米

but uses over a third of the world's irrigation water.

用水佔咗全世界灌溉水至少三分之一

This form of rice production also pumps out

呢種形式嘅稻米生產仲會

a surprising amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

排放大量嘅溫室氣體

Flooded fields are the perfect breeding grounds for microorganisms

而灌滿水嘅田地就非常適合

known as methanogens.

甲烷菌呢啲微生物繁殖

These microscopic lifeforms thrive in environments lacking oxygen,

呢啲微生物群喺 缺乏氧氣嘅環境下茁壯成長

because they evolved when the Earth contained little of this gas.

因為佢哋係喺地球冇乜 氧氣嘅時候演化出嚟

Methanogens are the only organisms known to produce methane—

已知嘅生物入面，得甲烷菌會產生甲烷

a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide

呢種溫室氣體係二氧化碳嘅廿五倍

at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

以大氣層困住熱力喺入面嘅能力嚟講

Cows, for example, are infamous for burping out methane

乳牛因打嗝會排放甲烷而臭名遠播

due to methanogens in their stomachs.

正因為佢哋嘅胃入面有甲烷菌

In a flooded paddy field, methanogens set to work eating away at organic material

水稻田內嘅甲烷菌會開始 吸食底層嘅有機物質

in the submerged soil and multiplying rapidly,

跟住快速繁殖

all the while releasing copious amounts of methane.

同時釋放出大量嘅甲烷

The result: rice cultivation contributes around 12%

結果每年由人類造成嘅甲烷排放

of human-caused methane emissions each year.

有 12% 嚟自稻米耕種

But there's good news.

但有好消息

Rice doesn't actually need to grow in continuously flooded paddies.

稻米其實未必要喺水稻田度生長

Researchers and growers are exploring water management strategies

研究人員同米農探究緊水分管理策略

that can cut the methane while keeping the yield.

希望可以減少甲烷，同時維持產量

One promising technique is known as alternate wetting and drying.

一個可觀嘅技術係乾濕交替

Growers periodically let the water level drop,

米農會定期令水位下降

which keeps methanogen growth in check.

嚟到控制甲烷菌嘅生長

Alternate wetting and drying can cut water use by 30%

乾濕交替可以令用水量減少三成

and methane emissions by 30 to 70% without impacting yield.

甲烷排放減少三成至七成，仲唔影響產量

Greenhouse gases come from many— sometimes unexpected— places.

溫室氣體嚟自好多你估唔到嘅地方

Making rice growing more sustainable is just one of the many challenges

所以，我哋要面對嘅好多挑戰之一

we'll need to face to avoid catastrophic warming.

係避免災難性嘅暖化發生，先可持續種米

Today, many rice growers still flood fields all season long.

好多米農一年四季依然喺水田灌滿水

Changing millennia-old practices requires a major mindset shift.

要改變長久以嚟嘅做法， 心態上要有好大轉變

But going against the grain could be just what we need

我哋要嘅正係反其道而行

to keep our planet healthy and our bowls full.

嚟確保地球嘅健康同我哋嘅溫飽