Why you should know:
Arsenic is a carcinogen and has various other negative health effects; enough to warrant exposure limits in various jurisdictions. A five minute boil-and-discard step before cooking is a simple way to reduce your exposure, especially if you eat a lot of rice.
Details are in the study, linked in the title of this post. Here’s a diagram from the abstract:
Well, if you were previously throwing anyone who ate the rice in the garbage, then yes, not doing that would be safe.
sorry, I ^couldn’t ^ resist. yes, it’s safe to eat rice without throwing out the first batch of water. see rest of this thread for nuance.