Agriculture, Food, and Food Security - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 123

scoop to symbolize fertility . Folk dances still repli-
cate stages in rice production, and rice motifs are
frequent in weaving and basketry . T Temples, god-
desses, and gods are devoted to rice. It is integral to
marriage, birth, and groundbreaking ceremonies.
The importance of rice in Asian society can be
summed up by a Balinese religious belief: “rice is
the soul of man.”

Rice and Society

“Without rice there is nothing doing.” (Malay
Proverb)
The Malay proverb above signifies the impor-
tance of rice in much of Asian society . In Chinese and
some Southeast Asian languages, “to eat” is the same
as “to eat rice.” Japan became known as Mizumono
Kuni —the “Land of Luxurious Rice Crops.”
The planting of rice in Japan has an intimate bear-
ing on Japan' s indigenous religion— Shintoism —
which makes a virtue of subordination of the
individual to the group. Scholars believe that this
may stem from the traditional labor-intensity of rice
cultivation in which all village members were
required to participate. Rice is the foundation of
culture. It is requisite for survival and integral to
daily , weekly , monthly , and yearly routines and
permeates both secular and sacred worlds.
Rice is highly digestible and nutritious when
eaten with its bran intact and/or with vegetable and
fish supplements. Claims of dietary deficiencies due
to rice are simplistic. It is polished rice that has re-
duced protein. As part of modernization, rice mills
are increasingly common, and rice is polished to a
glaze. Thoroughly devoid of bran, the nutritional
value of the grains is reduced.
Rice wine, beer, and liquor are widely con-
sumed. Japanese saki is distilled from rice wine. In
some places, a common container emphasizes the
role of rice as a social locus. On several occasions,
I have been invited to share the rice wine pot. Sip-
ping out of one of several reed straws protruding
from large clay containers, I experienced a sense of
unity with my Lao and White Tai hosts.
Rice husks are fed to animals. In the Mekong
delta, rice bran is fed to fish on fish farms. Rice bran
oil is a basic ingredient of soap and many insecti-
cides. Noodles and cosmetics are made from rice
flour. The straw provides bedding for livestock and
can serve as a low-grade feed. It also is the medium
for cultivation of straw mushrooms.
Aside from its practical uses, rice permeates
ceremonial and ritual activities. For instance, there
is an annual event in Bangkok, attended by the Thai
king, called The Royal Ploughing Ceremony that calls
for bounteous rice harvests. When Japanese Em-
peror Akihito was married in 1959, he carried a rice

FARMING IN THE CITY
According to the United Nations, one-seventh of the
world' is food is produced in urban environments. Mil-
lions of city residents, most commonly in Asia, cultivate
small garden plots on the ground, in garbage dumps, and
even on rooftops. They also breed chickens, pigs, and
other animals in backyards, and raise fish in small ponds.
Not only are these entrepreneurs feeding their own fam-
ilies but they also are able to sell some of their products
in local markets without the costly expenses of storage,
spoilage, and long-distance transportation.
At least 60 percent of Bangkok' is metropolitan area is
cultivated. There you can find garden plots along klongs
(canals) and in sois (small, crowded residential areas).
Large metropolitan regions in China incorporate suburban
agricultural areas that supply fresh produce to urban resi-
dents. Many city farmers have no other source of income.
There are both positive and negative environmental
consequences of urban agriculture. City waste can be
used as fertilizer or to feed animals. This recycling re-
duces the cost of wastewater treatment and solid waste
disposal. Planting sloping banks of rivers, streams, and
canals prevents soil erosion. In Kolkata (Calcutta), In-
dia, city sewage is dumped into some 7,400 acres
(3,000 ha) of lagoons that produce around 6,000 tons
of fish a year. More than 20,000 Kolkata residents farm
the city' s garbage dumps converting waste and rotting
food to nutrition.
The downside of urban agriculture is that it exposes
people to untreated waste such as human and animal
feces, along with fly-covered and mosquito-infested rot-
ting refuse. Consequently , handlers are exposed to often
deadly diseases such as cholera and hepatitis. Moreover,
when chemicals, such as pesticides, are applied indis-
criminately by untrained users, water supplies can be-
come contaminated. Diversion of water for irrigation can
reduce the water supply for other city residents. For ex-
ample, when groundwater intended for apartment
dwellers is diverted elsewhere, pressure is reduced so