The Biography of Rice

John Abbott is a professor of history at Laurentian University’s Algoma University College. He is the co-author of The Border at Sault Ste Marie and The History of Fort St. Joseph.

These large-format, profusely illustrated books are written by different
authors, each of whom has taken a particular commodity and examined it
from many different disciplinary perspectives. Students are encouraged
to think deeply about the staples that constitute so common a part of
everyday life that we have forgotten their exotic origins and taken them
for granted. We are also often ignorant of the true costs of producing
them.

The “biographies” share a common format. After explaining what the
particular substance is, the authors describe the places where it is
grown, its cultural requirements, and some of its interesting
peculiarities. Then they deal with processing, transportation, the
organization of the trade, and the marketing of the commodity. At every
stage, from clearing the vast tracts of land required for mass-produced
and -marketed commodities, to the organization of the labour supply, to
the consumers at the end of the chain, the authors describe the impact
of commoditization on the natural and human environment. Every volume
contains a glossary and an index.

The authors do not hesitate to use technical terms (black sigatoka,
moko disease, and nematodes in the case of fungal infections and worm
infestations of the banana plant), but explain them clearly and explore
the different costs of combating them. The existence—indeed the
necessity in many cases—of employing child labour (in cacao culture,
for example) is recognized but not sensationalized. Where ameliorative
measures are in place (such as fair trade practices in the cacao trade)
readers are alerted to their existence, and put in position to make an
informed choice. Students doing projects in social studies will find a
wealth of information here, skilfully presented, sympathetically
illustrated, and multidisciplinary in nature. All of the books in this
series are highly recommended.