foodstuff

[Do228]

Which terms can be used here?

Rice is the most eaten ....................... on this planet. Earthlings eat more than 500 million tons of it every year.

foodstuff
article of food
nourishment
aliment
tack
nosh

 

[jutfrank]

food

 

[Do228]

Why not "foodstuff"?

 

[Raymott]

plant, staple.

 

[GoesStation]

Which terms can be used here?

Rice is the most eaten ....................... on this planet. Earthlings eat more than 500 million tons of it every year.

foodstuff
article of food
nourishment
aliment
tack
nosh

None of the listed terms work, though the first two are not completely impossible.

In Yiddish, a nosh is a little snack—pretty much the opposite of a staple food.

 

[Tdol]

Why not "foodstuff"?

Of the poor choices, this is the least worst. In the next sentence you have earthlings- was this really written by an alien? It's not a good test item.

 

[GoesStation]

I'm pretty sure Do228 comes up with these questions on his/her own.

 

[emsr2d2]

Unless it's part of a science fiction text, I find the whole thing very unnatural. As a human being (or an "earthling" as Do228 is so fond of calling us), I would write:

Rice is the most eaten food on earth/on the planet/in the world. We eat more than 500 million tons of it every year.

 

[Skrej]

Ems, it's painfully obvious you've only lived on this one planet.

Once you've spent some time planet hopping around the universe, I think you'll find yourself in the habit of referring to the locals by their planetary demonym, too. Especially if you're frequently changing planets - it's really a convenient way of remembering where you currently are.

And if you stay on one planet for more than a few decades, it's a subtle self-reminder not to go too native.

 

[emsr2d2]

I shall brush off my copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy forthwith in readiness for some planet-hopping. I will remember to refer to myself as an earthling wherever I go but I fear I'm not going to be able to find so much as a grain of rice, let alone 500 tons of it.

 

[Skrej]

As long as you have a towel, you'll manage.

 

[Tdol]

Ems, it's painfully obvious you've only lived on this one planet.

And you are saying that to someone with a sci-fi username.

 

[jutfrank]

Why not "foodstuff"?

We don't generally use that word when talking about agriculture, as you possibly are. You might also use crop if this is in fact the case. As has been mentioned, your sentence does not have a natural context and so it's hard to decide which register of vocabulary is appropriate.

I'd say that foodstuff is most often used in food science.