A typical yield for organic rice is 60/cwt or 6000 pounds per acre. The organic material/straw residue that is returned to the soil is about 10,000 pounds per acre. Rice wetlands preserve a web of life and an inter-dependent set of ecosystems developed over geologic time; that include migratory and non- migratory birds & shore birds, land, sea & aquatic animals; amphibious animals and aquatic insects, invertebrates and mollusks.

Rice paddies erupt huge invisible plumes of oxygen into the atmoshere while seqestering carbon into the soil.

They both put the figure for rice at 1.2 - 1.4 pounds of CO2 equivalency per pound of rice– far less than beef, but more than soy, eggs, chicken, or turkey, and about the same as cheese or pork. Considering other grains can (and often are) grown in a carbon neutral manner, rice still has quite an environmental cost.

I apologize for any confusion my earlier post caused.

In fact, estimates of CO2 equivalency for methane emitted from rice production range from 0.6 (much lower than beef) to 35 pounds (much higher than beef) per pound. This does not include the N2O emissions. And it’s a ridiculously large range, though scientific research by IRRI does indicate that rice-related methane emissions can vary by more than 100-fold depending on soil, temperature, and cultivation methods.

I am still trying to get at the truth of the matter, and have contacted several experts. When I have a better answer, I will provide an update.