USDA Aims To Grow White Rice With All The Nutrients Of Brown Rice
Checking the Rice Researchers examine rice plants. Geneticist Shannon Pinson is in the foreground. Photo by Stephen Ausmus The rice would help those who suffer from mineral deficiencies in developing countries, but the agency hopes U.S. shoppers will bite, too. In Malaysia, there grow four types of rice with more molybdenum-a mineral that helps rice plants deal with acidic soil-than any other rice on Earth. In other parts of world, different varieties of rice are naturally richer in calcium, potassium, iron and other minerals people need. At the U.S. Department of Agriculture, scientists have tested 1,643 types of rice from around the world to find the ones that are the most nutritious. "It's like, where in the world are the genes we're looking for?" Shannon Pinson, a USDA geneticist, tells Popular Science. In the future, the USDA hopes such knowledge will help breeders create rice varieties that may help with mineral deficiencies...