When Rice Shakes The World: The Importance Of The First Grain To World Economic & Political Stability

by Milo Hamilton

Overview

For millennia, rice has sealed the fate of dynasties and kingdoms in Asia but has only remained a cultural curiosity to Western financial markets. Today the food and agricultural markets of India and China are in motion. The history of agricultural change is littered with hunger, poverty and failure. Will that curse pass itself on to this Asian generation? Or is there a brighter future ahead of us? Now China is rapidly becoming the wealthiest country in the world. China's water shortages and its rice market are fault lines that finger their way beneath the surface of the world economy. These fault lines are sending out tremors that could shake the entire world in the next few years. Rice is a little grain but a big deal in Asia. The Great Wall of China is cemented together with sticky rice. It uses up to 70% of the water resources of China. Rice's 200,000,000 farms feed 3,000,000,000 people. Yet it is grown on an area the size of France. Rice is the social cement of Asia and the rice farms of Asia may crack that ancient cement. This book explains the ancient yet curiously modern story of rice that binds feudal farms to the new super cities across China. At the center of this story is the rice farmer, whose backbreaking labor feeds millions. In the next 15 years,
millions of farmers must transition from landless serfs into modern business people skilled in all the technologies and versed in market risk. The rice world lies on the dark side of this digital earth. But that world is turning rapidly towards the light.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599323985
Publisher:	Advantage Media Group, Inc.
Publication date:	12/20/2013
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.36(d)

About the Author

MILO HAMILTON, Starting about three years ago, the author of this book grew concerned about the global impact of change from the rural rice markets in Asia. His concern as a world expert on rice led him to write this book; so others might know what could happen and what should happen as the East and the West collide.

For three decades Milo Hamilton has covered the world of rice for his customers. For 18 years he bought rice for Uncle Ben’s Inc., a Mars Incorporated company. For the last 14 years, his company, Firstgrain.com, has published a weekly newsletter that advises sophisticated rice firms and farmers on the market and its relationship to everything else. He has travelled throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Milo Hamilton lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Jan, and his little Pomeranian, Penney. He is surrounded by his children and their families.

Table of Contents

The Purpose of This Book 15

About the Author 19

Introduction: Shadows Yet to Come 21

Part Ground Zero: Rice and Water, Joined at the Hip 33

Part 1 Trade Route to a Better Future 53

Chapter 1 Rice Farmer As Business Person 53

Chapter 2 Why This Matters Now 67

Chapter 3 The Current System Is Failing 73

Part 2 As Goes Rice, So Goes China 87

Chapter 4 An Ancient Market 87

Chapter 5 Technology's Promise 99

Part 3 The Tricks of the Trade 111

Chapter 6 The Visible Hand of Price Control 111

Chapter 7 The Futures of the Past and Present 127

Part 4 "You Can't Fail" 133

Chapter 8 Getting Started 133

Chapter 9 Stepping from the Shadows 143

Chapter 10 The Prosperous Farmer 147

Conclusion: Time for Reflection on What This All Means 153

Pertinent Links 159

Acknowledgements 163

Editorial Reviews

Starting about three years ago, the author of this book grew concerned about the global impact of change from the rural rice markets in Asia. His concern as a world expert on rice led him to write this book; so others might know what could happen and what should happen as the East and the West collide.

For three decades Milo Hamilton has covered the world of rice for his customers. For 18 years he bought rice for Uncle Ben's Inc., a Mars Incorporated company. For the last 14 years, his company, Firstgrain.com, has published a weekly newsletter that advises sophisticated rice firms and farmers on the market and its relationship to everything else. He has travelled throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Milo Hamilton lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Jan, and his little Pomeranian, Penney. He is surrounded by his children and their families.

From the Publisher