Rice (oryza sativa) is the staple food for about one half of the world’s population. This grain has origins going back to about 3000 B.C in India, and grew along the rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates circumscribing the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia. Rice is the staple food of East and Central Asia, the islands of the western Pacific and much of Latin America. These eastern nations are today the main rice-producing countries; places such as China, India, Japan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand and Burma. Rice is much more than a grain; it has fueled economies, been subject to science, and traveled the globe due to world trade.