Real, living threat of cadmium in rice

“Itai! Itai!” This is Japanese for “it hurts! It hurts!” It is also the name of a disease that emerged in the early 20th century in the Toyama area (prefecture) of Japan, due to cadmium poisoning, writes Oliver Moore.

Itai-itai disease was the name locals gave to severe spinal and joint pains. Though locals didn’t know it at the time, cadmium poisoning can cause softening of the bones and kidney failure. It came about due to two neighbouring, interconnected practices: Mining and rice irrigation.