Wheat is grown in large part for livestock but the majority of the world population survives on rice as its main food source.

There are thousands of varieties of rice preserved at the International rice research institute. (IRRI). There are potentially 120,000 cultivated rice species of Oryza sativa the grass that produces rice.

The IRRU Heirloom Rice Project is an initiative in the Philippine’s Department of Agriculture (DA).  The project aims to enhance the productivity of and enrich the legacy of heirloom or traditional rice handed down for generations.

China India and Indonesia are the largest producers by weight and the biggest consumers. Thailand is the biggest exporter of rice as a food.Most production is done by transplanting seedlings to give plants a head start over weeds. Dwarf rice has been bred as part of the doubling of yeilds over the last 25 years. It is the shiny white kernel and embryo that is left after the milling has scraped the layers of bran from the seed hull. The bran has a range of uses including cattle feed, cooking oil, soap and pharmaceuticals and medication.

As well as sushi and sake rice is used in American brewing like Budweiser