I thought that this article was very interesting. It was floating around my facebook today:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...e-truth-quinoa

It says, "there is an unpalatable truth to face for those of us with a bag of quinoa in the larder. The appetite of countries such as ours for this grain has pushed up prices to such an extent that poorer people in Peru and Bolivia, for whom it was once a nourishing staple food, can no longer afford to eat it. Imported junk food is cheaper. In Lima, quinoa now costs more than chicken. Outside the cities, and fuelled by overseas demand, the pressure is on to turn land that once produced a portfolio of diverse crops into quinoa monoculture."

I know that I definitely eat quinoa.

However- I think I will order my next bag from right here in my state- Colorado:
http://www.whitemountainfarm.com/

What are your thoughts on this?

ETA: Boo...I can't change my title. It's supposed to say, "Another reason to eat local/native." I have no idea what toocal means.

I don't eat quinoa (even though I think it's DELICIOUS) but if I did I would definitely look for a local/domestic source in light of this information.

lol @ toocal, thought it was some fancy new diet term!! So of course I raced right in!!

I never had quinoa before, what does it taste like? Rice or barley or something different? Do you just boil it and eat it or it needs flavoring or spice? Sorry to go OT.

That website is too generic for me to ever order from (I know they are probably a small company so the website isn't their first priority). I would try to find local in my stores if I couldn't actually make it to their farm/location.

I'm intrigued by quinoa now!

Quinoa tastes more like pasta to me than anything. Think cous-cous, if you've tried that.

Somebody was just telling me about quinoa today for the first time. Thanks for the info about buying local. I would not have thought about that, but definitely will now!

I will be sure to buy local, because I enjoy quinoa and I have found some yummy recipes to try with it. Thank you for the article, that is great to know, so let's keep spreading the word!

I really appreciate the post. I visited Peru last May and we rarely saw quinoa on the menu because it was so popular in the States, which did make me think about it. Agriculture in the high Andes was very traditional and basic - crops harvested by hand, really hard work.

While Lima was as modern as anywhere in the world.

I'm a vegetarian and do try to buy local. I have a local source for some dried beans and for organic tofu and tofu burgers, for cheese and milk.

I actually found the bit about the Peruvian asparagus even more interesting. I've purchased asparagus lately and noticed it was from Peru - never really realized how much water it needed. Amazing: the western coast and western spine of the Andes are all desert, essentially. Water insecurity must be terrifying when you are also dealing with the impact of grinding poverty.

I don't buy asparagus out of season all that often, but now I'll think two or three times about it, for sure. Thank you!

I'm so glad that you all found this post as interesting as I!

Here is one more thing to speculate- I've read that some people think that we are provided the foods that we need during a particular time/season. Coincidence that citrus is in season during cold/flu season when we may need a little extra vitamin C?

Someone mentioned that they saw this article linked on 3FC and although I read this article, I figured those interested in quinoa might want an update. This article was heavily criticized for falsifying information especially since quinoa production has brought a lot of economic freedom to quinoa producers in Bolivia/Peru. Just 2 days prior to the Guardian article linked above, the Guardian had put out an article about how quinoa was bringing economic prosperity to the Andean region.

There have been a bunch of articles since this one talking about quinoa production and it's effects on local peoples. This is a more recent article:
http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/...ry?id=18643075

Canada is actually a large producer of quinoa and other countries are jumping in on the popularity of quinoa. This is actually a concern of those in the Andes as they fear price competition and a falling prices due to the competition.

So obviously not a black/white issue.