Why do most people eat almost nothing but rice?

Answer 1

Rice is cheaper than most other carb sources and usually easier to prepare. Also, portions swell after cooking (1 cup uncooked rice = roughly 3 cups of cooked rice) making it convenient for larger families.

Rice can also be cooked in many ways, and the fact that it absorbs the water it boils in means that it can have many different flavor depending on what you cook it with.

Answer 2

Everywhere in the world, there is something that all people have in common. We all find ourselves a staple commodity. This "staple" is something that grows in abundance and it can be done relatively cheaply. It is usually a complex carbohydrate or a starch. The reason for this is that it provides our bodies with a lot of energy and gives you that "full" feeling when you eat it. Here are some staples from around the world. You might recognize some of them.

Corn, Wheat, Potatoes, Rice, Beans, and other Legumes.

In the United States and in Canada, our staple is corn. We consume it a lot more than we realize. It is in our chips, our candy bars, and our soft drinks in the form of high fructose corn syrup. Farmers grow a lot of it for us and they even grow it to feed our cattle. Now, we are even thinking of making automotive fuel from it too. Soon, you may be pumping alcohol that comes from corn into your car at the gas station.

In Europe, potatoes are an important staple today. Did you know that many Americans that have Irish ancestry came from there when potatoes had stopped growing in the farmlands? Also, did you know that the Russian drink, vodka is made from fermented potatoes?

In South America, corn, beans, and rice are all important staples that have come together from the different civilizations that were there before and after the Europeans came to the shores.

Likewise, in India ,China, and their surrounding countries, rice is a very important part of the diet as it has grown their for millenia.

Also, in some regions of India, rice isn't consumed at all except for at special occasions. Instead a flat bread called chapati is made from flour that is derived from wheat, which is eaten at every meal of the day.