Rice in Europe

[The Lawspeaker]

If rice can grow around Sapporo then I think it would grow fine in Holland.

Exactly. That's what I was thinking too.

[Crossbow]

Yes, it also requires a fair amount of heat to grow, this is why it is only grown from the tropics to the warmer parts of the temperate regions.
Until an extremely cold hardy variety of rice is developed, wheat, barley and oats will remain the staple grains of the north country.

And I think that'll do. Personally, I'm not so fond of rice, and aside from the above mentioned you could add buckwheat and millet. But I guess I am a minority here.

[Albion]

Rice has been grown in Italy for centuries.

Would it be desirable and possible to spread it throughout other parts of Europe in order to become more self-sufficient ? And where would it be possible ?

Well I'm not sure how hardy it is, likely we'd have to find hardier strains from China and then develop them even further.
Generally speaking it is not a good idea, it uses massive amounts of water and would need more southern areas of Europe to thrive - the drier areas. It would also require terraces and paddies to be constructed.

On the plus side, many fish species thrive in rice paddies. If our native species would is debatable, many of the species in Asia have adapt to be able to breath oxygen when water levels are low (i.e. Siamese Fighting Fish).

The perfect place for it is the Danube Delta if you'd be ready to destroy one of the most important wetland habitats of Europe.

Yes. But not in any really significant quantities and we have to import a lot and since we have the problems with French farmers I thought: well.. what it would be possible for those in the South to look for new crops like rice ?

Anything to ween them off the tit of the European Union.

Problem is it's cheaper to just import it from Asia.

[The Lawspeaker]

Problem is it's cheaper to just import it from Asia.

Maybe for now but European countries should really work on being more independent from foreign imports.

[arcticwolf]

Oops my bad! I thought this said Race in Europe. I shouldn't be smoking weed and posting.

[Albion]

Maybe for now but European countries should really work on being more independent from foreign imports.

Indeed, but I need to find some statistics. We really need to be growing staple foods on a large and efficient scale. Staple crops which can output a lot of food and plenty of calories and nutrients are what is needed.

All other crops should play second fiddle to staples, staples are what people survive on, the rest are ones people just like to eat.
So really what I'am saying is that we need to be outputting large amounts of staple crops and we should be favouring them over less efficient crops.

If I was starving in a famine I'd actually be much more pleased to come across an acre of potatoes or wheat than a acre of strawberries or tomatoes. An acre of potatoes can output 25 to 30 tonnes (on average) of potatoes, tomatoes and especially strawberries would be much lower.

Maybe this is the survivalist part of me speaking but we really need to become as self-sufficient nations as possible. If we can be self sufficient in staple crops and nothing else then that is good enough for me. Britain is (wheat, other grains, potatoes, most meat).
Non-staples are important too, but not the priority.

Rice is a staple crop but I'm not sure about its efficiency, output, calories or cold hardiness so I'll have to look into it.
It does have the potential for secondary products as well though, in Asia they often farm fish alongside the growing rice.

Rice is also bad from an environmental point of view, it takes up wetlands and releases a lot of "swamp gasses" (mostly methane and CO2) from the rotting matter in the water. On saying that, rice paddies would probably create more wetlands in countries such as this where so many have been drained.
A potential site for it would be the Somerset Levels. This was reclaimed like Fenland but not as well and subsequently floods every winter. It is only useful for seasonal pasture and will likely be abandoned to the rivers in the future. Rice farming would be the perfect use for it and would create nice breeding grounds for fish.

[2Cool]

Portugal has always produced and consumed rice since rice is part of the traditional gastronomy here. Its one of the few crops where there is some degree of self-suficiency. There are only 3 relatively small rice-growing areas in Portugal all in the lower flood plains of 3 rivers.

Portuguese rice dishes:






Portuguese rice cake:

Yup. Portugal is by far the begins consumer of rice in Europe.

[The Lawspeaker]

I still think that we should look for places in Europe where we could grow more rice so we become less dependent on imports and it could be fantastic if the countries of Europe would actually become exporters.

[Talvi]

I still think that we should look for places in Europe where we could grow more rice so we become less dependent on imports and it could be fantastic if the countries of Europe would actually become exporters.

Europeans arent meant to eat huge amounts of rice.

Oh and not Europe but I heard a lot of Japans rice comes from the US.
In Japanese the US is written with the symbols rice and country.

[The Lawspeaker]

Europeans arent meant to eat huge amounts of rice.

That's right.. but we could always export it. You know: pecunia non olet. I think that the Common Market should try to know America's competition on the side.

Oh and not Europe but I heard a lot of Japans rice comes from the US.
In Japanese the US is written with the symbols rice and country.

And that is because the US has ample space while Japan hasn't. So they have to import. Now we should try to knock America on the side and take over. up