English Lessons

Climate Change and Rice: A Toxic Connection

Rice is a staple food for over half of the global population, but recent findings show that climate change may increase the levels of arsenic, a naturally occurring but harmful chemical, in rice. Arsenic can accumulate in the soil of paddy fields and enter rice grains, raising serious concerns for public health. Even small amounts of this carcinogen in food or water can lead to health problems such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. The amount of arsenic found in rice varies, but higher levels could become more common as the climate continues to change.

In a long-term experimental study, researchers grew 28 types of rice under different conditions and discovered that warmer temperatures and higher carbon dioxide levels caused more arsenic to build up in the plants. A leading epidemiologist involved in the study warned that these changes could result in millions of additional cancer cases if current rice consumption continues without action to reduce emissions. Although the research focused on China, the effects could be global, as arsenic is found in rice grown in many parts of the world.

I. Matching Type: Match the words on the left with their correct definitions on the right.

II. Fill in the Blanks. Use the words from the vocabulary matching list

staple, arsenic, accumulate, climate change, harmful, health problems, experimental, carcinogen, epidemiologist, consumption

1. Rice is a __________ food for many countries in Asia.

2. Scientists are worried that __________ could make rice more dangerous.

3. The rice fields can __________ harmful chemicals from the soil.

4. __________ like arsenic can enter our food and harm our health.

5. Eating food with even small amounts of __________ can lead to cancer.

6. A(n) __________ studied how arsenic in rice may affect people’s health.

7. The study was done in __________ conditions to test different rice types.

8. The increase in arsenic could cause more __________ worldwide.

9. A(n) __________ is a chemical that causes cancer in humans.

10. The __________ of rice daily by many people makes this a serious issue.

III. Open-Ended Questions. Discuss your answers with your teacher.

1. What do you think people can do to stay healthy if arsenic in rice becomes a bigger problem?
   
   

2. How might climate change affect other foods we eat every day?
   
   

3. If you were a scientist, how would you try to reduce arsenic in rice?
   
   

4. What would happen if we stopped eating rice and changed to a different grain?
   
   

5. Do you believe governments should do more to stop climate change because of food safety? Why or why not?

Thank you!

Source: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250417-how-climate-change-could-affect-arsenic-in-rice