In the 1800s, the slaves that harvested the rice had it bad. That rice grew sharp leaves to try to protect itself from birds, and would cut up humans, too.
The water would reflect the Sun, causing eye damage, not to mention the heat would effectively be around 120F, sterilizing both males and females.
During the colonial period Georgia and South Carolina owned the lion’s share of rice production.
Fast forward.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_production_in_the_United_States#/media/File:2010_US_rice_production.svg
The biggest problem on the rice and indigo plantations in swampy coastal regions across the south was mosquito-borne disease, malaria primarily.
