Rice Bugs - Organic & Sustainable. Is "Vegan Rice" Just an Idea to Pacify Us?
View this post on Hive: Rice Bugs - Organic & Sustainable. Is "Vegan Rice" Just an Idea to Pacify Us?
View this post on Hive: Rice Bugs - Organic & Sustainable. Is "Vegan Rice" Just an Idea to Pacify Us?
I've never met a better rice-washer than you
Aaawww... careful or the kittycats will get jealous! They like, want and demand ALL of your affection and attention! :)
Living in Thailand has helped me get used to all sorts of bugs and spiders and fun gifts from nature. Bugs in the food can be a hard one to deal with, but I've picked many an ant out of my nuts and peanut butter and coconut oil. Thanks for the reminder that it is not too big a deal to just wash the rice beforehand, and know that sometimes, a few bugs may need to lose their lives in the circle and balance of life.
Yup - there is a sort of serene-buddhist-thing that creeps in here in Thailand about the circle and balance of life. Thank you for the support @rainbowrachel - just about to go off and upvote your #introducemyself and give it a resteem for you. :)
Weevils started showing up in our rice and beans here in Canada a few years ago. It never occurred to me that this was a good thing, so I appreciate your post for changing my perspective. : )
We deal with it by throwing them in the freezer as soon as we get them home from the grocery store and that seems to work. However, I also understand that everyone having large refrigerators as we do in North America is not a sustainable solution.
Another great post!
Putting it in the freezer works, but you're right - it's NOT sustainable to use huge amounts of electricity to basically hide the bug problem. Cos they're still they're and the rice, even frozen, still isn't vegan. It's the illusion of vegan that somehow needs to be broken. In my humble opinion. And the focus shifted back to organic and sustainable. Thank you for your consistent support. :)
Yes! I have been having this discussion with friends for literally decades. You eat a plant, the plant is dead. You kill bugs, and other 'pests', they are dead. The idea that needs to be diminished from our society is cruelty , and lower meat and animal product consumption can help alleviate demand and allow us to get in line with be as least inhumane as possible. Eating less meat can better utilize resources. But please stop drawing a line in the sand on sphere and pretending you've found the exact balance of what is 'ok' to kill and what is not. I actually wrote a poem that I got the first line from thinking about how far down consciousness went and that maybe O2 molecules were 'whole' beings' and everytime we breathed we 'killed' them lol. How do we know? I assume everything has consciousness at this point and do the best I can. xo
Cruelty free. Yup. 100% agree. "I assume everything has consciousness at this point and do the best I can." Yes. 110% were I'm at too. Following you from Chiang Mai, Thailand and look forward to more balanced, insightful exchanges. Thank you. :)
hahaha this is funny to me. I didn't see that post you were talking about but dang it I can only imagine...
I eat organic so some bugs are appreciated. That means it's not blasted to death.
When I see some worms on organic lettuce it's not that big of a deal.
We eat brown rice and we soak it overnight (it's better) so whatever dirt is in it goes on top, throw it away then rinse and cook.
You soak the rice overnight to make it softer and cook faster?
Yes, it cooks faster. I'm not sure where I read that it's better for digestion as well if you soak the rice overnight.
But you cook in the soak water, right? Or do you rinse and cook in fresh water?
We soak overnight and throw the water out, rinse and cook in fresh water.
We do the same for oatmeal.
Resteemed. A perfect post. I think sometimes there are thoughtful vegans who understand balance and those that don't really get it. I'd never moan if I had a dead bug in my rice - surely, as you say, dead frogs etc are the reason you eat totally bug free unblemished 'perfect' western food.
I guess if people grew their own food and understood about the intricacies of that, natural webs and so on, maybe they wouldn't have a hissy fit in a world they are very, very far removed from.
Thanks for the resteem LURVE @riverflows :) Yes, it is the dislocation from the natural world that creates all this upset and lack of understanding. Enjoyed our interaction today. :)
things is really killing it. I am not against vegan or not. but as you said to survive, we have to kill a living orgamism. if being a vegan just because you don't want the animal to die, then you should do the same to the plant right?
Exactly @ekavieka ! Plants and animals are both conscious, sentient beings. Gratitude for your ongoing, wonderful support of my ramblings. :)
no problem, happy to hear you rumble, at least I am not the only one thinking that way. : )
My take on this is;
If bugs are doing no harm i dont kill them or harm them. If they are invading my personal space.. or food.. I am ethically ok with either eating them or killing them.. it is unavoidable in rice and hence ok and u are still vegan friendly!
You're gonna be FINE to eat at our house when you are next in Chiang Mai. :) Cos we support organic and cruelty free but we're def NOT vegans. But very, very, very vegan friendly and often choose to eat that way. :) Thanks for your support @eco-alex :) x
Oooh cool! Thanks for the invite!! Me same like u!
Me too... Mosquitos don't have a chance in my bedroom
Oh Chang Mai! The world is so small! I lived there for some months in Dtown Appartments :)
haha... yup... a tiny weeny global village, really!! Coffee when you are next back in the CNX neighbourhood? :) Following you to stay abreast of your travels and journeys. :)
Where were you born? arthem means breathing in some language?!
It will be some time before I ever go there again as I have dogs now! :) Following you to
Born in den Haag in Holland and moved to Melbourne, Australia as a child. :) Thanks for the Follow. :)
Ah cool ! I love Holland :) and ill most likely never get to Aus before everywhere is smart citys ect and humanoids run the planet lol
Freeze your organic rice. Problem solved.
Thanks for the input. It APPEARS to solve the problem, if you are rich enough to have a huge freezer and a budget for the electricity. But it still doesn't make the rice vegan. Cos the frozen baby bugs still end up cooked in your dinner. The fact that they're barely visible to the naked eye? Detail. :)
Maybe heat them in an oven to kill them. I have zero problems with bug murder LOL! I disposed of about 50 pounds of rice from the asian market before I understood this, because of the bugs.
So, do you think they can be microwaved successfully? Maybe they will pop like popcorn.... :)
haha... I simply wash the rice - highly effective. Microwave?? Nope. I haven't had one in over 20 years - they destroy the nutritional structure of food, not to mention the rays that go streaming out into your kitchen.
Yup, a regular oven running the rice up to say 350 degrees before storage might do it too.
True - but damage the important oils and flavenoids in the rice. So I'm gonna stick with the centuries-old Asian rice wash technique. :)
Yes, I wish I had known this before I threw away all that rice, LOL! :)