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

washingtonpost.com

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

#81

Post by sliverstorm »

jff wrote: post #19
[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?

Quinoa is popular for the same reasons greek yogurt is now popular. It has a bit more protein than the alternatives, so health nuts decide they must have it at any cost.

Never mind that nobody wants to eat plain greek yogurt, so it winds up with the same or greater sugar content, and really only has a little bit more protein than regular yogurt.

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

#82

Post by mjn »

lena wrote: post #73
pqqqqq wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It contains a good amount of all of the essential amino acids (ie the amino acids that your body cannot produce adequately itself). It also has calcium and iron. It's a pretty awesome nutritional food. EDIT: to emphasize, the key advantage of quinoa is that it has a lot of all of the essential amino acids, which is very very rare among plants. I believe the only other plant with all essential amino acids is soy.

It's not very rare at all. It's rare if you compare it to grains, and while quinoa is not a grain, it is usually used instead of a grain. Many beans (e.g. white and black) and vegetables have a complete amino acid profile.

Even potatoes have a complete animo acid profile. Not in the most optimal ratio, but 10 potatoes/day gets you enough of all the essential amino acids. In fact you can live exclusively on potatoes if you add in a source of Vitamin A (like carrots).

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

#84

Post by capkutay »

mikestew wrote: post #51

"Quinoa is a low-calorie, gluten-free, high-protein grain that tastes great ." (emphasis mine) I'm a vegetarian, high-mileage distance runner who has every reason to enjoy quinoa. "Tastes great" is not one of the reasons I eat it. I choke it down as best I can because it's good for me.

I'd say its pretty close to rice in terms of texture and flavor. Just depends how you prepare it.

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

#85

Post by CCs »

kevinconroy wrote: post #79

For anyone looking to add a nutritional grain to their diet at a low cost, I highly recommend millet. It has similar nutritional value to quinoa but because it isn't trendy (and thus doesn't have the same supply issues) it can be 80% cheaper than quinoa in most stores.

It is better than oatmeal or wheat?

It looks a lot like white flour to me:

http://skipthepie.org/cereal-grains-and-pasta/millet-flour/c...

Some say goitrogens in millet is bad for you (if you eat large quantity)

http://www.womentowomen.com/hypothyroidism/goitrogenicfoods-...

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/beware-of-millet/

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

#86

Post by zobzu »

scythe wrote: post #80

Quinoa, famous for protein and fiber content, still contains less protein and fiber than, say, oatmeal. It's okay - hyperventilating paleo bloggers have raised concerns about saponins -- but the whole "superfood" frenzy about quinoa is just a tad off base. It's okay, not bad for you, probably better than white rice or processed food, but most of what quinoa has going for it is simply that it is real and unmodified. I…

Surprisingly down to earth and insightful.

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

#87

Post by etler »

mikestew wrote: post #51

"Quinoa is a low-calorie, gluten-free, high-protein grain that tastes great ." (emphasis mine) I'm a vegetarian, high-mileage distance runner who has every reason to enjoy quinoa. "Tastes great" is not one of the reasons I eat it. I choke it down as best I can because it's good for me.

You might be cooking it wrong. You need to rinse it a bunch to remove its bitter taste.

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

#88

Post by TylerE »

artsrc wrote: post #48
lukasb wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember seeing a headline in Thailand "rise in rice prices hits small farmers hard". I've seen similar things in Kenya: "high maize prices devastate small farmers." It turns out many subsistence farmers (of which there are roughly a billion) are net consumers of their staple crop. In order to survive, the poor diversify across a variety of agricultural products. Large industrial farming operations are growing the…

> farmers consume more quinoa than they sell, and suffer when prices go up. Unless there are other foods they can buy which are cheaper. Then they benefit from the higher prices and don't pay them.

Shipping costs, which are significant when dealing with bulk products.

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

#89

Post by lukasb »

dbecker wrote: post #78
lukasb wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason staples are staples is because they're cheapest per calorie. There probably are not replacements that are as cheap per calorie. Remember that subsistence farmers tend to be geographically isolated so you can't assume they have access to the same food products you do.

If they are net consumers of the staple, they must be net producers of some other crops. If the price of the staple increases dramatically, can't they shift towards eating other crops (that they were previously net producers of)?

"If they are net consumers of the staple, they must be net producers of some other crops."

Again, those other crops are likely more expensive per calorie. That means there is no mix of consumption that will get them the same amount of calories they previously consumed, which for subsistence farmers will often mean malnutrition if not starvation.

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

#90

Post by icebraining »

rosser wrote: post #27
mathattack wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

What about the broader community?

How broader? ;)

The local community loses cheap quinoa, but gains with the influx of money from abroad.

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