Yuanyang, southwest China.
( / Google maps )
Rice is responsible for feeding half the world, or more than 3.5 billion people. In other words, rice is important. A tweak to how the grain is grown, sold or eaten can send ripples through the world economy. Take Thailand, which supplies 30 percent of the world's rice. Government subsidies there threaten to raise the price of putting dinner on the table in Mexico. GlobalPost takes a closer look at a tiny grain with a giant footprint.
Yuanyang, southwest China.
( / Google maps )A look at Asia's rice fields from satellite images to stunning valleys.
For such a small grain, rice feeds an awful lot of people — 3.5 billion of them to be exact. Take a look at the grandeur of the rice paddies where this crucial grain comes of age. The following series of photographs are paired with aerial satellite views of their locations. After visit GlobalPost's ongoing look at a tiny grain with a giant footprint: Rice 2.0.
