Within Those Husks a Poison is Stewed

The rice in the field is a staple food,

For near half of the world’s population;

But within those husks a poison is stewed,

Causing hair loss and life termination.

 

Growing new crops with low arsenic content,

Should soon give us a long-term solution;

But what can we do right now to prevent

All those lives arsenic takes through pollution?

 

Any proposed solution must be cheap,

A cinch to use and easy on the eye;

So some researchers made the quantum leap:

Let’s percolate the rice to purify.

 

With eighty five per cent of arsenic gone,

This new method has brewed and now looks strong.

Rice: delicious but deadly
Rice: delicious but deadly

This is a Shakespearian Sonnet, written about new research that has found a low-cost and effective way of removing inorganic arsenic from rice.

1 thought on “Within Those Husks a Poison is Stewed”

  1. that’s some scary shit, isn’t it? I was reading an arcitle from the atlantic and it’s not just plain rice, it’s being found in lots of rice products like baby food and rice crackers too! Just goes to show what companies will do if they think they can get away with it!they’re saying it’s from past use of arsenic based pesticides, totally the result of failing to test pesticides properly before using them on a wide scale. I love rice and now I’m worried about buying it

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