Should I worry about arsenic in my rice?

Interesting article for sure, but unless you are consuming vast amounts I'm not sure I'd be too worried. So many foods naturally contain arsenic or cyanide....apple seeds, green potatoes, brussel sprouts, almonds...the list is a long one.

The article says: "Eating a couple of portions of rice a week isn't putting an adult like me at high risk, but Prof Meharg is concerned about children and babies."

And apparently soaking the rice first helps, too.

How does arsenic get into rice?

These are great questions Margi.  The video I posted a link to is only one part of a series concerned with arsenic in rice.  It was mostly concerned with agribusiness's, American agribusiness's contribution to the problem.  Other vid's in the series discuss other rices from different countries and the degree of arsenic associated with them.  With rice, it pays to read labels. 

I must disagree with you in regard to the Japanese.  It is only the Japanese living in the Okinawa archipelago who are the longest lived.  At least for now but that may be changing.  The Okinawans are not  enormous eaters of rice. Their diet is based largely on sweet potatoes.  Rice is only 12% of the Okinawan diet and the arsenic levels are probably much lower there as they are in most Asian countries.

Much is broken in American food production and processing methods as is to be expected wherever profit eclipses health and safety.  A one week's viewing of Food Safety News is enough to illustrate the point.

The arsenic/rice connection is so strong on US soil rice is now the primary food source of arsenic exposure in a non seafood diet.  Tells you something about the state of our oceans.  Rice is also the largest contributor of inorganic arsenic exposure in Southeast Asia and China where rice is a staple food.

It matters where the US produced rice one eats is grown.  Rice grown in south central US, in former cotton fields where arsenic containing pesticides were heavily used should be avoided.  The practice of using arsenic containing pesticides was known as dangerous in the 1920's but the practice was not banned until 1987.  This area is so heavily contaminated with arsenic rice will not grow well there.  The industry's response was to develop strains of rice that would grow well in the infected areas.  Rice grown in these areas carry the heaviest concentrations.