Q: What’s the historic secret of China’s success?
A: Rice.
The world’s second-most-important cereal crop and the focal point of culinary culture in both Asia and India, the cultivation of rice is a tricky business—it can only be grown in regions with high rainfall.
Unlike wheat and barley, the cultivation of rice requires comparatively little agricultural land—meaning that a large population of non-rural workers can be fed. This led to urbanisation on a massive scale and diversification of the labour market, transforming ancient China’s political system and bureaucracy into a slick, well-oiled machine.
It’s no surprise that rice grew alongside such socially-complex cultures, the likes of which gave Europe inventions as wide-ranging as the printing press, the compass, and gunpowder. These sophisticated governments could afford to heavily invest in all facets of rice’s labour-intensive cultivation—from canal building to the deployment of sprawling armies of agricultural labourers.
In this 7th episode of the Trading Places podcast, we’re talking about the past, present and future of rice—the food that inspired cultures.
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Host: Rachel Williamson
Guests: 1. Dorian Fuller – professor of archaeobotany at the UCL. He studies the plant remains preserved on archeological sites discovered during excavations of past human settlements.
2. Dr Gurdev Singh Khush – an agronomist and geneticist who received the 1996 World Food Prize for his achievements in enlarging and improving the global supply of rice.
3. V Subramanian – Vice President, Asia at The Rice Trader, an analyst is the global rice trade.
Producer: Sonny Sanjay Vadgama
Showrunner: Sergey Faldin
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