AND NOW PLASTIC RICE?

A bowl of rice- my kitchen

Are you saying it is an unbelievable header? I agree with, it is an unbelievable header that is if it is true.  I first heard of plastic rice through a WhatsApp message I got from my brother-in-law on November 19, 2016. What on Earth are earthlings up to now? Ingenuity or perversion? Those are some of the questions that run through my mind on reading the message from my brother-in-law. The story of the making of plastic rice for human consumption has been going round for the past several years albeit. The country being linked to the manufacture of plastic rice is China. The plastic rice is said to be already spreading from China to other countries.  The main inputs for plastic rice are a hybrid of organic and inorganic materials. The organic material is potato, and the inorganic material is synthetic resin or poisonous plastic. That plastic rice is being manufactured and marketed in the world has been denied though.

But then let us look at the making of artificial foods in general. I am going to look at it from the angle of artificial fertilizer. Artificial fertilizer is used in growing foods throughout the world. Artificial nutrients are put in the soil to feed plants for growth. Some nutrients plants need for growth are hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, phosphorous, potassium and oxygen. When artificial fertilizer is used in growing plants, the nutrients the artificial fertilizer gives to the plant are nutrients manufactured in the laboratory. One such nutrient, nitrogen, is derived from oil or natural gas. Artificial fertilizer, as opposed to organic fertilizer like manure, is a chemical compound made by man to act as natural nutrients (minerals and elements) plants need for growth.
  

Some artificial- fertilizer-grown foods: Tomatoes, Cucumber, Pepper and Corn.

Some vegetables- Koala Supermarket, Osu- Accra, Ghana

   

My area of interest in this matter, which will be the focus of this post, is the impact of the making of artificial food on the natural environment. By the natural environment I mean the natural state of water, air, land, flora, fauna, microbial and humans put together as one unit, and in the right balance. The use of artificial fertilizer in growing food impacts the natural environment negatively in the following ways:

KILLS IMPORTANT MICROORGANISMS IN THE SOIL

Soil treated with artificial fertilizer loses some microorganisms important for the processing of plant and animal remains into natural nutrients for plants. Take ammonium sulfate for example. Ammonium sulfate is a form of nitrogen in artificial fertilizer. The chemical compound undergoes chemical reaction (reacts with water) in the soil to form sulfuric acid. This sulfuric acid is a toxic that kills microorganisms in the soil.

CHEMICALS RUN OFF INTO WATER BODIES

Chemicals (phosphate) in artificial fertilizer put in the soil seep into groundwater, and in a run off enter rivers and other water bodies to poison them, and create disorder in ecosystems. Depending on the type of chemical, the river may be deprived of oxygen, threatening aquatic life.   

FOODS PRODUCED CONTAIN TOXINS

Some of the chemicals in the artificial fertilizer find their way into the food produced by the plant. An example of such a chemical is toxic nitrate which causes respiratory problems in consumers. Excess use of artificial fertilizer produces foods lacking in carotene, protein and iron, for example.  Repeated use of artificial fertilizer leads to a buildup of toxins (arsenic, uranium) in the soil that can be transferred into fruits and vegetables that come to your table.

EXTRACTION OF OIL AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

I have mentioned that the artificial nitrogen in artificial fertilizer is derived from oil or natural gas. From the foregoing it means artificial fertilizer is made from a source that is depletable, that is it cannot be renewed. Extraction of oil has sometimes resulted in oil spillage polluting water bodies, and killing some aquatic life forms. The use of oil is a source of carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere. As you may know, carbon dioxide is a major greenhouse gas. It is the accumulation of these gases in the atmosphere that is causing global warming.

PARTING SHOT

The story of the manufacture and marketing of artificial rice continue to spread on the internet and other media though the story is being denied. However artificial food generally has been with man for a while. Artificial fertilizer has been one way of growing artificial food. Artificial fertilizer when put in the soil act like a natural nutrient for plant growth. An example of artificial fertilizer is artificial nitrogen. Artificial fertilizer facilitates quicker growth and larger produce.

The down side of artificial fertilizer is that it kills important microorganisms in the soil, organisms engaged in the natural processing of plant and animal remains as nutrients for plants. In the use of artificial fertilizer toxins leech into the soil polluting groundwater. In the application and use of organic fertilizer like nitrogen for example, there is no seepage of toxin into the soil. Organic fertilizer do not do so.  Foods grown with artificial fertilizer may have toxins in them, toxins that result in respiratory problems for consumers. That is not the case with foods grown with organic fertilizer. Artificial fertilizer is derived from oil or natural gas, and you know the environmental problems associated the extraction of those resources.

The inclination then is for you, as one who cares about putting the natural environment into a shape to sustain itself and posterity, to identify foods grown with artificial fertilizer and shun them and gravitate towards organically grown foods. Some shops label organically grown foods as such; be on the lookout for them when you go shopping and patronize them.   

Reference:

https://www.reference.com/home-garden/artificial-fertilizers-4414528100a7dfef

https://www.todayshomeowner.com/debate-over-organic-chemical-fertilizers/