Paragould soliphone. (Paragould, Ark.) 1918-1950, 1921-11-25
WORLDS GREATEST
FOOD is RICE
(By Frederic j. Haskin)

lected by the American people.
You will probably be surprised
to learn that this food is rice. 1t
deserves the title of greatness in
that it is the staple food of about
one-half of the human race, and
that more people depend almost ex-
clusively on rice for their food than
depend on any other one thing.
It's wide use is justified by the
fact that it contains about as much
nourishment as any of the other &C.
reals, and is one of the most easily
digestible of all foods. In the south
ern part of this country, rice Is
appreciated at it's true value, ap-
pears on almost every dinner table,
and is prepared in dozen appetlz-
ing ways But it is prepared in
ways that are not calculated to make
it attractive.
Rice, therefore, deserves to be
boosted, and especially unpublished
VI UlOW IL Hug, WA1Sll LOO iAioNS 'Sb
appearance in a few grocery stores
only recently, but would be obtain
able everywhere if there were de-
mand for it.
Rice shares the fate common to all
grains in civilized countries of be-
ing milled in such a way that some
of it's most important food elements
are cut away from it and fed to
cattle The things in which our
diet is apt to be deficient are min
erals, roughage, and the recently
discovered elements known as vita
mines. These are the very things
which the milling process takes
away, not only from rice, but from
wheat, corn and barley. Experts
contend that many of our character
istic civilized diseases are due to the
shortage of these elements. The
outer coatings and the germs of
grain contain these necessary ele-
ments. They are removed by the
mills primarily because they impair
the keeping quality Of the product,
and so make them harder to handle
in trade. Furthermore, the people
have become accustomed to these
highly milled cereals, SO that there
is little demand for the whole
grain products. Much has been writ
ten about how the manufacturers
and retailers are starving us by
selling us these highly milled foods.
AS a matter of fact, they are mere
ly giving us what we demand. If
the people could be made to under
stand the value of whole grains,
and to like them, so that demand
could be created, they would be sup
piled by the trade. This is al
ready taking place to some extent
in the case of rice, which is. an in
structive example in many ways.
The whole rice grain contains
protein, fat, starch, sugar, mineral
matter, fiber and one Of the most
of the vitamines. BY re-
moving the bran coat and the germ
in milling, parts of the protein, fat
and mineral matter, and practically
all of the vitamines are lost What
is mostly starch. Expert
ments in the tropics have shown
that persons fed almost wholly on
polished rice contract the dread dis
ease known as beri-beri The pub
LEGATION of this fact has caused
some people TO fear polished rice
as food. AS a matter of fact,
polished rice is an excellent food to
furnish the starchy elements in a
mixed diet. 1t is no more dangerous
to eat that wheat flour, as long
as other foods are eaten with it,
The point is simply that brown rice,
from which only the busk has been
removed, leaving the germ with its
vitamine content, the mineral sub
stance and the fat, is a vastly more
valuable food than polished rice.
1t would tend to supplement many
of the characteristic deficiencies of
our diet. 1t would be great thing,
il the use of brown rice
could be made popular.
The trade seems to be ready to
supply any demand there may be.
There are three grocery stores at
least in Washington where brown
rice may be bought from fall until
spring. 1t is not kept in the sum
meF, because, as one grocer put it,
it becomes ''weevilly." 1t can be
bought in this city, however, at
least eight months in the year.
Doubtless it can be bought at large
grocery stores in other cities. In
smaller places it is not obtainable
simply because there is little or no
demand for it.
1t is a surprise to find that the
retail stores here also have for sale
the wild rice of North America.
This is grain, somewhat distainly
related to the true rice, which grows
in many of our swamps and marshes
1t is the fayorite food of wild fowl
1t was a staple of the American In
dians, who used to paddle through