Brown rice can cut rice imports?

It sounds too good to be true. But if it is, it would be bad news for those syndicates at the NFA and their friends in the Divisoria rice cartel who milk government rice import subsidies. Their happy days are over… if and it’s a big IF…

According to Science Secretary Mario G. Montejo, we don’t have to import rice if we shift our preference from white to brown rice. This is because, Montejo also told Malaya’s Paul Icamina, “in milling the palay to brown rice, you get 10 percent additional yield as compared to white rice, which is equivalent to the country’s rice production deficit.”

That’s an interesting idea. In fact, I am proud to say that I have long shifted to brown rice even if it costs more than white rice. In fact, when I do the grocery shopping on weekends, I only get white rice for the house helpers. For some reason they prefer white to brown rice, white sugar rather than brown. Social psychology must be able to explain the root of this behavior.

I shifted to brown rice for health reasons. Aside from being more nutritious, it also has a lower glycemic index so the energy release is slower, making me feel fuller for longer. I googled for a more comprehensive explanation of why this is so and this is what I got:

“In terms of digestion, the brown rice takes a longer time in the pit of the stomach to be absorbed. It means that in the metabolism of carbohydrate in the digestive system, it doesn’t force the release of insulin onto the pancreas, thereby not putting any burdens to the normal function of the pancreas.” It is claimed that studies have shown eating brown rice instead of white could significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

It was further explained that because brown rice is slowly digested, the increase in glucose or sugar level in the bloodstream is gradual compared with white rice. In white rice, carbohydrate is more rapidly absorbed and this causes a sharp rise of the blood sugar level. In other words, the brown rice maintains the normal function of the pancreas while the white rice abuses it. This makes a crucial difference in whether a certain person really develops the diabetes or not, the website warns.

Brown rice is unpolished whole grain rice that is produced by removing only the hull or husk, Mr. Icamina explains in his Malaya article. The remaining bran gives the brown color to the grain. It becomes white or polished when the bran layer is stripped off in milling, the whitening process.

The added steps to turn brown rice to white also remove the nutrients. Bran contains several items of major importance such as fiber and essential oils. Fiber is not only filling, but is recommended in the prevention of major diseases such as certain gastrointestinal diseases and heart disease. The oils that are present in the bran help to lower the risks of heart disease by decreasing the levels of serum cholesterol in our bodies.

Brown rice is more environmentally friendly and for a poor country like ours with a serious rice supply problem, the difference between eating brown or white rice could more than offset annual rice imports. As part of a general program to encourage a shift to brown rice, the Philippine government is supposedly ready to do a number of things.

For a start, Mr. Icamina reports, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will develop ways to lengthen the shelf life of brown rice which is shorter than that of white rice. “We are now developing a process, which will be completed next year, to solve this disadvantage,” Montejo said.

And yes, they plan to remove the price disparity. “We should put brown rice on top of the food pyramid,” he added. “Its price must be comparable to that of white rice.” Because of the low demand, brown rice is currently more expensive and not available in many markets.

According to Icamina, brown rice was popular among Filipinos until about the early 1950s. The Asia Rice Foundation (ARF) concedes that brown rice has a darker grain surface, takes a little longer to cook and has a different taste and texture from white rice.

According to the Brown Rice Advocates (BRADS), a coalition of government and non-government institutions that wants to change consumer preference, because brown rice is not metabolized and digested as quickly as white rice, a person feels full and does not get hungry easily. This could also mean a lower per capita rice consumption, hence reducing the national requirement for rice.

According to Emil Q. Javier, president of the National Academy of Science and Technology, brown rice production reduces the power demands of milling by as much as 65 percent. The fuel savings in milling is 50-60 percent because the polishing and whitening steps are eliminated, explains ARF’s Dr. Rogelio V. Cuyno. “The milling time is also shortened; labor is less; and the cost of equipment, if the mill is dedicated to brown rice, is much lower because the miller doesn’t have to install polishers and whiteners,” he explains.

Brown rice also contains nutrients like magnesium, manganese, and zinc. In its natural state brown rice is a better source of several nutrients such as riboflavin, folate and iron. Manganese helps in the synthesis of fatty acids that are important for a healthy nervous system.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition estimates that one cup of brown rice provides 88 percent of the daily value for manganese, the trace mineral that helps produce energy from protein and carbohydrates.

So it makes a lot of sense to shift to brown rice. Now comes the most difficult part: Convincing our people to change their habit. Maybe, in the same way that enlightened business entrepreneurs have embraced green practices, the change can start with trendy restaurants and popular fast food outlets giving their customers a choice. The process will take some time but we have to start somewhere.

Maybe, if such established food outlets like Jollibee start offering the brown rice option and run a good marketing campaign to support it, the shift in preference could come a little more quickly. And because the assured market for brown rice increases with the support of restaurants, the price is also going to go down to reflect the savings that comes out of less processing at the rice mill.

Brown Rice. It is good for our health. It is good for our economy.

Tourism

It was great to hear from Rollie Gosiengfiao, a successful finance professional based in Hong Kong. Rollie and I were in UP together many years ago.

Hi Boo.

Actually the best thing that’s happened to Philippine tourism are cheap budget airlines and AXN. Now I see a lot of our young adventurous people visiting Boracay, Palawan, CamSur, etc. The volumes keep our local budget airlines, hotels, and restaurants very much alive. Local tourists keep the businesses thriving as they come in volumes with no seasons.

If you look at successful tourism spots around the world, over 70 percent of their visitors are always local. You can’t have spots purely for tourists as they invariably become ghettos with unfriendly touts and high prices.

Let’s not pander to “dollar tourism” as we don’t need the dollars anymore. We need consistent pleasant volumes much of which locals and overseas Filipinos can provide.

Foot loose

This was sent by Jose Villaescusa.

To prove his love for his wife, a man climbed Mt. Everest, swam the Pacific Ocean, and crossed the Sahara desert.

In the end, she divorced him anyway...

 because he was never HOME!

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]