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Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

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Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#11

Post by bagels »

YokoZar wrote: post #6
rosser wrote: post #4

A particular concern with quinoa, given its narrow (native) growing area, and the poverty endemic to that area, is that worldwide demand for the crop has out-priced its growers' and their communities' ability to afford it in order to feed themselves . A select few brands set aside some of each harvest specifically for that purpose (and also put some of their profits back into improving the farms, sending the farmers'…

Why is this a problem? If quinoa sprouted literal diamonds we wouldn't be upset that the farmers were selling them instead of making their own jewelry. Having your crops be too valuable to eat is a good problem to have; these farmers incomes have more than sextupled. That easily lets them sell the crop and buy other food like everyone else.

The concern isn't just for the farmers, but everyone that lives near them that used to have affordable local food.

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#12

Post by wslh »

cgh wrote: post #5

Isn't quinoa technically a fruit? One problem with it is when you cook it, unlike say rice, it's tough to refrigerate or store it without it turning into a gelatinous mess.

I've never seen the gelatinous mess I use http://www.naturecrops.com/ and I can put the precooked one in the refrigerator.

What's your recipe?

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#13

Post by mathattack »

rosser wrote: post #4

A particular concern with quinoa, given its narrow (native) growing area, and the poverty endemic to that area, is that worldwide demand for the crop has out-priced its growers' and their communities' ability to afford it in order to feed themselves . A select few brands set aside some of each harvest specifically for that purpose (and also put some of their profits back into improving the farms, sending the farmers'…

Every farmer has a decision: Eat the grain, or sell the grain. They sell it if the money has more value to them than eating it. Unless they're indentured servants or slaves, they are doing this for their own benefit. If they'd starve as a result, they just wouldn't sell the crop.

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#14

Post by jsnk »

mc32 wrote: post #8
jsnk wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unlike vegetable and fruits, how quinoa looks probably doesn't matter to consumers at all. Given this is the case, selection criteria will focus more on nutrition numbers which they can advertise easily (20g OF PROTEIN!!!) than looks.

How does that explain white rice vs. brown rice preferences, or glutinous rice vs longgrain, etc. People have preferences for some characteristics in something which would seem to be very ordinary. Maybe quinoa is different, but who knows, at this point. Maybe it's like oats. Oats are oats are oats, for most people, I think (except for the cutting vs rolling process)

I am not attempting to explain why every kind of food is selected for certain criteria for whatever reason. I am not also saying that you either select to for looks or nutrition. It's a matter of degree and compromise between different criteria. For quinoa particularly, I think it happens to be a type of food that largely guides people's preference based on nutrition rather than looks.

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#17

Post by jessaustin »

aaronblohowiak wrote: post #10
YokoZar wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is this a problem? If quinoa sprouted literal diamonds we wouldn't be upset that the farmers were selling them instead of making their own jewelry. Having your crops be too valuable to eat is a good problem to have; these farmers incomes have more than sextupled. That easily lets them sell the crop and buy other food like everyone else.

>That easily lets them sell the crop and buy other food like everyone else. [citation needed].

Did you miss the part where they make six times their previous income?

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#19

Post by jff »

[deleted] wrote: post #16

[deleted]

That was my question coming out of the article: why exactly do we want quinoa? The native Americans stopped growing it because it didn't yield well enough. Modern farmers have had trouble growing it here in the US. And I've never found the taste astounding, so I find myself wondering why we don't stick to rice, soy, lentils, beans, corn, and wheat?

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#20

Post by cgh »

wslh wrote: post #12
cgh wrote: post #5

Isn't quinoa technically a fruit? One problem with it is when you cook it, unlike say rice, it's tough to refrigerate or store it without it turning into a gelatinous mess.

I've never seen the gelatinous mess I use http://www.naturecrops.com/ and I can put the precooked one in the refrigerator. What's your recipe?

Add quinoa to water (ratio: 1:2), bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer for ~20 mins.

I should have added a time parameter to my storage comment. We typically make a bunch of rice, like 6 cups uncooked and keep it in a big container for the week. With quinoa, by the end of the week it's pretty gross, kind of a big blob.

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