I love anything with wild rice in it — wild rice soup, wild rice salad, and especially wild ice casserole, er, hotdish. I enjoy the crunchy texture; the deep, earthy taste, and the warm feeling I get from eating something so truly Minnesotan.
So, I took note this morning when an email arrived in my inbox under the headline: " Last Chance for wild rice hotdish."
The email came from the Minnesota Environmental Partnership, which is concerned that a proposed Senate environment budget bill would remove sulfate emission standards for wild rice waters, thus, apparently, threatening the extinction of wild rice. Or, at least that's what we're led to believe by the headline.
Some background: In 2009, environmentalists pushed the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to enforce a 40-year-old state law that restricts sulfate emissions, a byproduct of the taconite and copper mining process, because they theorized that sulfite emissions had led to lower wild rice harvests in recent years. That cause and effect hasn't been proven, but to play it safe the PCA has heeded those concerns and has begun enforcing sulfate emission restrictions.
Now, some lawmakers, presumably at the request of mining company officials who contend the new standards are costing them a ton of money, are pushing to have the sulfate regulations rolled back.
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The big concern among environmentalists is that there are several mining expansions and construction projects planned for northern Minnesota that could lead to even greater sulfate emissions and potential harm to lakes, streams and wild rice beds. But proponents of the rollback contend that strict enforcement of the sulfate guidelines could cause companies to abandon their "job-creating" expansion and construction plans here.
It might be hyperbole to suggest that a rollback of the state's sulfate regulations would lead to the extinction of wild rice and, by extension, wild rice hotdish. But it is a cute and pretty harmless way of drawing attention to the issue, so I don't have a problem with it.
The Minnesota Environmental Partnership is suggesting that folks send their legislators their favorite wild rice hotdish recipe in an effort to draw their attention to this issue. I'd suggest they take it a step farther if they reallywant to catch the attention of individual lawmakers. Drop off an actual hotdish at their homes this week while they're back in their districts for Easter break. They're probably famished.
P.S. This blog post has made me really hungry for wild rice hotdish. Anyone got a good recipe?
