Rice is the one of oldest domesticated cereal crops. Once humans started planting rice they started to settle in places. This wasn’t always for the best. Disease became more of an issue as people couldn’t wander off from sickness.

Throughout south-east Asia, people re-shaped the landscape to improve rice production. For some people this was the start of the Anthropocene. The controversial Ruddiman Hypothesis states that it was methane emitted from early paddy fields that started man-made climate change. A small boost in temperatures at the right time might explain why the Earth hasn’t slipped back into another Ice Age. However it is possible that estimates of methane emission from paddy fields are too high.

Rice might also be the plant of the future. Currently the Golden Rice project is testing a new variety of rice with added beta carotene, a source of vitamin A. If it works it could prevent millions of children going blind. However some organisations are opposed to releasing a genetically-modified crop, and fear a successful release might open the door to other genetically-modified crops.