Arsenic and lead in US rice imports

If you live in US [may be Canada too, what is the difference yeah?]  and consume lot of rice, you may want to read this. When it comes to buying rice, you can buy either rice produced in US or imported from some other part of the world. US imports only 7% its rice from Asia, Europe and South America, remaining is produced in several parts of US including Louisiana, Texas and California.
Whether the rice you buy is imported or not, they pose some series health problems.

1. Rice that is produced in US has high levels of arsenic. - FDA & Consumer Reports
2. Imported rice has lead that is 10 times more than recommended level. See these links. American Chemical Society & BBC

FDA classifies arsenic into two different categories, organic and inorganic and also states that arsenic is a naturally occurring element in soil and water. ““natural” does not equal safe”. Its still cancer causing group 1 carcinogen. Read this report from Consumer Reports.

But “natural” does not equal safe. Inorganic arsenic, the predominant form of arsenic in most of the 65 rice products we analyzed, is ranked by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as one of more than 100 substances that are Group 1 carcinogens. It is known to cause bladder, lung, and skin cancer in humans, with the liver, kidney, and prostate now considered potential targets of arsenic-induced cancers.
-  Arsenic in your food by Consumer Reports

Lead is bigger evil than arsenic particularly for babies and kids. It affects central nervous system along with other organs. When you buy a home that is built before 80’s, lead test is recommended. Back then paint were made with lead and lead was used in plumbing in homes. So lead is a bad news in any form.
It seems rice is more susceptible to these kind of contaminations because it needs lot of water and ironically brown rice is more contaminated than white rice. So in a way, brown rice is bad for you than white rice. Feels wired to write it.
Rice is a staple food among Asian and Latino communities in US. So can we do anything to not to poison ourselves and our babies.
There are several suggestions,

1. Diversify your diet. Consume other types of grains too.
2. Try to buy rice that is produced in US and particularly from California and other than “southern states”. It may also help California come out of their debts .
3. Basmati rice has lower levels of arsenic than other kind. Arsenic in Rice – FDA.
4. Limit brown rice consumption.
5. Chicago Tribune suggests several easy things like rinse the rice before cooking, cook and drain your rice. Bad news for you pressure cooker.

Wired thing is my grandma and mom used rinse and drain the rice they cooked. They didn’t need a FDA report to tell them. Not that I am claiming they knew about arsenic and lead poisoning.  Too bad we are too busy to be mindful, healthy and happy.