Rice: The World's Food

Rice provides 25 to 85 percent of the calories in the daily diet of 2.7 billion Asians. 520 million metric tons of rice are harvested in 1 year. For human beings it is the number one food crop. Large portions of the world's wheat and corn crops go to feeding livestock whereas rice is mainly for human consumption.

There are as many as 120,000 varieties of cultivated rice. It's uses range from main ingredient in a beer like Budweiser to courtship ceremonies all over the world. Still, despite it's tenacity as a crop, rice will have to be redesigned by scientists in order to keep pace with the with the world's rising population.

Join photographer Robb Kendrick as he explores the significance and labor involved in harvesting and using this essential crop.

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