But then one day, when my friend and I were eating a dish of som tam talee (seafood papaya salad), I asked her where the little crabs and shellfish in it had come from. Were they shipped in from a distant seashore? Actually, she told me, they are harvested from the local rice fields! Since rice grows in water, the flooded fields are also home to tons of little creatures like snails, shrimp and even larger fish. So, while farmers are growing rice, they can also be raising lots of other food in the same space at the same time. This is great for earning extra money and maintaining the local ecosystem!
