I started to wonder if I should begin hoarding rice......
THE PRICE IS RICE
By Varinthorn Christopher
My grandmother in Thailand always made sure that she had at least 100 kilos of rice hidden in her storage. It’s a habit she developed during World War II. She had 10 children to feed so I don’t blame her for hoarding. But my naiveté led me to think that her practice was wasteful. Now, five year after she passed away, I stood at the other side of the world looking at an empty glass jar I brought from IKEA. I used to keep it filled with Grade A jasmine rice. It costs me about $10 to fill up the jar which usually lasts a couple of months thanks to my husband’s love of pizza and bread. With the recent increase in the price of rice, I started to wonder if I should begin hoarding it just like my grandmother; maybe a couple of jars instead of 100 kilos. But I don’t have children and I fear that engaging in hoarding will verify my self-view as a selfish person (which I probably am).
According to the NY Times, half of the world population relies on rice as their staple diet. The recent increase in the price of rice and most food prices in general has sparked riots around the world. In Thailand, 3.2 billion baht (about 70 million dollars) worth of rice has disappeared from storage. Thai rice dealers also decided to stop delivering rice to prisons, arguing that the price of rice is now higher than the original bid. The government has further started reminding rice farmers not to sell all their rice when it is in high demand and to stock up their seed for next year. In the Philippines the government also ordered investigators to track down rice hoarders.
Will I be arrested in the future as a rice hoarder? Considering that I live in a free country and the amount that I might hoard, probably not. Recently, Vietnam, Philippines, Egypt, and India have limited their rice exports, but not Thailand. Although there is now a national debate as to whether Thailand, the world’s largest rice exporter should start to follow suit. Whatever the decision, it won’t do much help the population that is impacted most by the price increase - the poor people who could barely afford to buy rice even before the price jump. Why? Because those people, and in fact the majority of Thais do not eat the rice we export.
If you grew up in Thailand you know that nobody really eats "Grade A Jasmine" or "New Crop" rice because it is mostly exported to the United States. Both have too much gluten, which results in wet, dense rice when cooked. Older rice requires more water to cook but it expands more when cooked. Essentially, you can feed more people with the old crop than the new. But as many chefs will tell you, new crop rice provides a more fragrance and a softer texture.
As I fill up my jar with "Rabbit Brand’s Extra Super Quality Soft Scented Thai Jasmine Rice" I remember what my grandfather told me when I prepared to leave for America: "If you get too addicted to the rice there, remember that curry is always better at home".
Varinthorn Christopher is an MFA student with a Social Practice emphasis at Portland State University. The Social Practice program was established in the Fall of 2007 by the well-known artist and Portland
State University professor, Harrell Fletcher.