White vs. Brown Rice

First, I just have to say that I haven't been blogging lately--except for work, but that's different--and I've been missing it. So I'm reviving this blog. Let's see how that goes. Now on to the substance of the post.

Last month I read a fascinating book about North Korea, aka the Hermit Kingdom, called "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea." In this book, Barbara Demick chronicles the history of the country since World War II, integrating the stories of a number of defectors to really personalize the truly horrible situations North Koreans have lived through. Demick's an award-winning journalist, so it's not surprising that this book read so well; however, it's a rare non-fiction title that is such a page-turner.

Of all the things I learned about North Korea and North Koreans, the one that keeps coming back to me is the disdain for brown rice and the luxury status held by white rice. Having grown up with a health nut who non-verbally guilt-trips anyone with whom she dines who has the audacity to order white rice, I found this point most astonishing. I feel fairly certain that the brown rice they did have wasn't nearly as good as what I was eating as a kid (given all of the sanctions and government restrictions in place), but the rapturous descriptions the defectors gave of their first bowl of white rice outside of North Korea surprised me.

Brown rice may be healthier, but I will never take white rice for granted ever again having read this book.