Enrich Foods, a subsidiary of Columbia Grain International, introduces nationally available climate-friendly rice from U.S. farms, marking a significant stride in sustainable agriculture. Distributed under the Great River Milling brand, this rice, certified as climate-friendly, now graces grocery store shelves across the nation. Notably, this product is the maiden consumer item funded by the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative to enter retail circulation, with far-reaching implications for American agriculture. Cultivated and processed in the heartland of America, climate-friendly rice heralds a transformative breakthrough in sustainable farming, spanning from funding to cultivation to distribution to consumption.
Explore the attributes of Great River Milling Long Grain White Rice and Long Grain Brown Rice at Expo West (Booth #4790), which not only offer quality but also align with retailers’ corporate sustainability endeavors. Adding to its distinction, Great River Milling’s Long Grain White Rice has been selected as a finalist for the 2024 NEXTY award by Expo West, the world’s largest natural products exhibition.
Jeff Van Pevenage, President and CEO of Columbia Grain International, expresses pride in pioneering this USDA-backed initiative, collaborating with AgriCapture, an agricultural technology firm dedicated to climate change solutions, to bring 50 million pounds of domestically grown Certified Climate-Friendly rice to households nationwide in 2024.
“Economic and environmental sustainability are intertwined,” remarks Jim Whitaker, a fifth-generation rice farmer and recipient of the USA Rice Sustainability Award, whose TED Talk “A Cleaner World Could Start in a Rice Field” inspires.
Conventional rice farming, characterized by flooded paddies, contributes to high methane emissions. However, by optimizing water usage while maintaining product quality, farmers can mitigate these environmental impacts significantly.
The Climate-Friendly Certified by AgriCapture™ growing process:
- Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 60-95%
- Decreases water usage by up to 33%
- Enhances soil health and encourages carbon sequestration
- Lowers heavy metal content (common in traditional rice cultivation)
- Climate-Friendly Rice exhibits 33% lower inorganic arsenic levels compared to conventional rice (Source)
Tyler Hull, President of AgriCapture, emphasizes that this growing process not only benefits the planet but also supports farmers, who receive a 10% premium per bushel of rice compared to conventional pricing.
