Quinoa’s Global Success Creates Quandary at Home

In recent years, quinoa, a traditional Andean crop rich in amino acids and other nutritive properties, has become popular in health-food stores of the developed world. Foreign-aid organizations encouraged Bolivian farmers to take advantage of increased demand and grow more of the crop for export. As prices tripled over the past five years, local farmers earn more and fewer Bolivians immigrate. But thanks to rising exports, the one-time staple is no longer affordable to Bolivians. Even in farming communities, young consumers increasingly prefer the taste of low-cost processed foods that don’t pack quinoa’s nutritional punch. Malnutrition is declining in the country as a whole, yet is on the rise in quinoa-growing areas. The Bolivian government has launched nutrition programs to re-introduce the nutritious seeds to diets of soldiers, schoolchildren and expecting mothers. The climbing prices also discourage purchases in wealthy nations, notes a quinoa marketer. High prices for nutritious foods discourage consumers in rich and poor nations alike. – YaleGlobal