Once upon a time, quinoa was an obscure, humble ingredient from the Andes. A basic food staple for Peruvians and Bolivians, it occasionally appeared at hippy potlucks and week-long yoga retreats. But no more. This healthy, high-protein seed is now having its time in the spotlight, and some say the unintended consequences of this popularity aren't good for Bolivians and Peruvians who rely on this super healthy food as a part of their diet. In short, the world demand has driven the price so high that some can no longer afford it.
According to recent articles in The Guardian, NPR, and The New York Times, world-wide interest in quinoa means that it "now costs more than chicken" in places like Lima, Peru, making this once accessible high-protein food now out of reach for most poor people. The price has tripled (and some say quadrupled) since 2006, which has also caused farmers to create quinoa monocultures on lands that once grew a more diverse set of crops.
Of course, the situation is a little more complicated. Alter Eco, a food company that imports and sells quinoa (among other items), points to one of their farmers who can now send his seven children to school because he is growing quinoa for the world market. The company also says that many Bolivian quinoa famers are now no longer among the poorest in rural Bolivia. In a letter responding to these articles (link below), Alter Eco defends their practices and offers a point of view which is based on their years of hands-on relationships with quinoa farmers:
"For once, we see an opportunity where market growth and demand can actually be the solution for getting some of the poorest of the people of the planet out of poverty. Yes, there are still many challenges farmers face, some of which are brought on by the growing demand for quinoa, and yes, their community is impacted and development will take time, but no one can deny the opportunity that the growing global demand in quinoa offers them."
How about you? Are you a quinoa lover? Have the NPR and New York Times articles changed your mind about quinoa? Do you seek out quinoa that is imported by socially responsible companies?
Read More About Quinoa in the News:
• Quinoa's Global Success Creates Quandary at Home (NYT)
• Quinoa Craze Inspires North America To Start Growing Its Own (NPR)
• The Unpalatable Truth About Quinoa (The Guardian)
• Edouard's Response To Attacks on Quinoa (Alter Eco)
Related: 10 Satisfying Recipes Made with Quinoa
(Image: Alter Eco Foods)
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Another useful perspective to read before jumping on the hot "eco" topic of the week: http://bearwitnesspictures.blogspot.ca/2012/11/an-open-letter-to-npr-regarding-quinoa.html
It's true the farmers are being helped a lot by it becoming more mainstream in the US, but the average person in Bolivia trying to buy food isn't being helped much!
There is local quinoa available.. or at least more local than Bolivia and Peru.. It is the creation of monoculture agriculture and just because one company says their farmers are "getting rich" do we trust corporations to be honest with us? Also is "sending a child to school" important culturally to them or to us?
http://www.whitemountainfarm.com/ is one of the places you can get US grown Quinoa.
Quinoa is also grown in Colorado's own San Luis Valley! http://www.whitemountainfarm.com/
Everyone should read about Agroforestry. This is what the article mentions as "a more diverse set of crops". We need to eat a more diverse diet and find out how to avoid monocultures. Agroforestry provides habitat for animals, reduced carbon dioxide and crop failure is very rare.
This is such a complicated topic that academics and the popular press have been discussing for years in Bolivia and the United States - why is it only now that it has become fashionable to discuss this? As noted, this is not as simple as are Bolivians being priced out of a staple food product (they certainly are) versus can Bolivian farmers now feed there families? Question of cultural relativism, economic imperialism, and food justice really need to be addressed when discussing this issue.
@ Emmi Yess!!!!! Monocultures/crops is such a huge problem that needs to be addressed
I'm hoping the word on this gets out, @katinnl. NY Times did a good story on it and more media attention would be great. ;)
Similar issues with bananas, fair trade coffee and chocolate?
@MadameP Cacao and coffee farms rarely have this trouble if they're grown in the shade. See Chagga home gardens or Coffee and Conservation blog.
http://rd.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4020-5208-8_9
There are several farms in the US growing Quinoa. Know your farmer and what your impact on the world is. Cheap is not better, eat better food and less of it!
Ok, I'm off my soap box now ;)
@clicre1 I buy quinoa from that farm all the time. It's all about reading labels people! Know where your food comes from!
@dandylyon, thanks for that link to the excellent article about quinoa farmers written by someone who lives among them and speaks to them on a daily basis.
QUOTE: "Also is "sending a child to school" important culturally to them or to us? "
Them IS us, ultimately... be it sooner or later. In the end, when 'they' come for us, there will be no one left standing to help if we look the other way and refuse to step up the the plate now. .
*step up to the plate*
Thanks for sharing dandylon- I knew there had to be more to it than was being shown.
There is always IS, particularly where npr is concerned. I've come to rely on only first hand accounts. There's no truth in the news and no news in the Truth.
If you have the space to garden, you can grow your own. Victory Seeds sells a couple different seed packets for quinoa: http://www.victoryseeds.com/quinoa.html
@Daigan, while I respect the sentiment, I've never met anyone of any income level living anywhere in the world who didn't see the value of educating their children and wouldn't do so if they could. There are exceptions, of course, especially those who don't believe in educating girls just on principle, but I'd be surprised if the majority of Bolivian and Peruvian farmers fell into this category. I think it's fantastic that more rural Bolivian children are going to school thanks to quinoa, if that's true.
That said, it's obviously a very complex topic. I do what I can--buy local, don't waste, eat low on the food chain--but man, it's depressing how many ways there are to exploit vulnerable people and the environment.