More often than not, people are defined by our acts of consumption and in the commodities we utilize in our day to day ordinary lives. However, half of the time we fail to realize or give thought to the origin and descent of where these commodities come from. An anonymous philosopher once said, "Your car is Japanese. Your beer is German. Your wine is Spanish. Your democracy is Greek. Your coffee is Colombian. Your tea is Chinese. Your vodka is Russian. And then you complain that your neighbor is an immigrant?" (Sharma). Essentially the philosopher is letting his audience know that the commodities we enjoy every day have their own story and origin. The fact of the matter is that most people forget that these commodities we use come from all over the world. One of the most famous of these commodities is rice, specifically Basmati Rice. Basmati Rice is a variety of long grain rice which is traditionally from North India and Pakistan, and has been cultivated for thousands of years at the foothills of the Himalayan mountain ranges. The word "Basmati" is derived from the Sanskrit word "Vasmati" which means fragrant or aromatic. In order to obtain the correct flavor and aroma of the Basmati Rice, proper ageing is necessary to reduce its moisture content. The rice receives its moisture through the Sutluj and Yamuna rivers which irrigate the Basmati paddy fields in Punjab and Haryana correspondingly (Harper). Despite the origin of Basmati Rice, there must be a reason why and how this commodity is able to reach our shores of America from more than eight thousand miles away. Basmati Rice is a popular commodity in the U.S. which originates from India, however its commodity chain is a strenuous one that encompasses certain environmental conditions, labor conditions, and exploitation of the rural class of India. .
The first company to bring Basmati Rice to the western world was none other than Tilda.