Rice is one of the most important and widely consumed cereal grains in the world. For many cultures, it's not just a grain, but a staple food. Rice is also the most important grain with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans and the grain with the second-highest worldwide production, after corn. For over a half of the world's population rice is the predominant dietary energy source. Three of the world’s four most populous nations (China, India, and Indonesia), with nearly 2.5 billion people together, are rice-based societies. Rice provides 20% of the world’s dietary energy supply, while wheat supplies 19% and maize (corn) 5%.

Rice is grown throughout the world, especially in Asia, with 87% of the world's total rice production. The majority of all rice produced today comes from China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Korea and Japan. Most rice is consumed in the country where it is produced and only 5% of the world’s total rice production is exported. Thailand ships the most: about 5 million tons a year. The United States is second with nearly 3 million tons, and Vietnam third, with 2 million tons.

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or Oryza glaberrima (African rice). There are many varieties of rice (more than 140,000 varieties of cultivated rice in the grass species Oryza sativa alone are thought to exist), but no one really knows for sure the exact number. More than 90,000 samples of cultivated rice and wild species are stored in trust in the International Rice Genebank for use by researchers around the world.

Rice is gluten free, sodium free, cholesterol free nutritious food with approximately 100 calories per 1/2 cup cooked serving. It's an energy food supplying complex carbohydrates that our body and brain need, contributing over 15 vitamins and minerals.

The variety of rice you probably buy most often is standard white rice. Standard white rice is polished down to remove the bran and germ, leaving just the white rice kernel. There is also brown rice, which includes the bran and germ and is considered whole grain. Rice also comes in three basic types, which are: short grain, medium grain, and long grain.

Many dishes from around the globe are made with rice and culinary preferences usually vary. Most people are familiar classic dishes made with rice such as: Japanese sushi, Italian risotto, Spanish paella, Asian stir-fry recipes, Southern dirty rice, and much more.

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