By Martin Zorrilla and Sonia Gregor

For years Quinoa, the Andean pseudocereal, enjoyed a growing fan base and positive press for its nutritional benefits. During a short time in 2013 that changed.

In January of that year the Guardian posted an opinion piece titled “Can vegans stomach the unpalatable truth about quinoa?” The article repeated a concern that had been raised by the New York Times in 2011 pointing to ‘chronic malnutrition’ in Quinoa growing regions. The Times reported that the ‘super-food’s’ skyrocketing popularity among Western nations was raising the price of Quinoa such that the people who produce it were not able to consume it.

The Guardian piece caused an internet uproar as journalists and angry bloggers seized the story.  At the time, Martin  was part of a student team writing press review on the issue for the organization Bioversity International. The Quinoa issue revealed a world of complexity as well as striking contrasts between debaters and the subjects of their debate. On arriving in Bolivia this summer we decided to revisit the issue, to ask what if anything, did the international community learn about Quinoa?

In truth, few of those exposed to the Quinoa debate received anything near a complete picture of the issue. This is partly because few bloggers or traditional reporters conducted research beyond that done by the Times in 2011. Most, such as the Yahoo News (“How Many Bolivians Are Dying Because Foodies Love Quinoa?“) aimed to sensationalize.

The student press review also found that almost all publications failed to included the opinions from the Latin American press, academic or government sources. A key omission, since the issues of food security at stake were primarily domestic concerns of Bolivia and Peru, the largest Quinoa producers. And Latin news sources had plenty to say on the subject. Articles in El Diario and the Agencia Americana de Informacion explored Quinoa production from a social and environmental angle, critiquing policies that encouraged rapid mechanization and large scale production in the fragile Andean plateau, or Altiplano, where Quinoa is grown. Others pointed out that overall consumption of Quinoa in Bolivia had actually increased, tripling between 2009 and 2013.

That statistic was later echoed by a handful of well-researched press pieces, and UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). As it turns out nutrition studies and Western demand have helped to popularize a crop that was traditionally considered peasant food in Bolivia and Peru. And while quinoa farmers’ diets may have decreased in nutrition as the Times reported, that may have more to do with increased income than prohibitive prices. Farmers benefiting from Quinoa’s rising price were more likely to incorporate western foods into their diet, substituting a range of nutritious foods that make up traditional high Andean diets with processed foods and carbohydrates. The FAO has pointed out that increased access to nutritious food often makes up for the dietary shift, but few of these benefits reach the poor in areas that don’t grow Quinoa.

While many Western writers eventually caught on to these complexities, their proposed solutions to problems, imagined or otherwise, remained drastically different from those of writers in Peru and Bolivia.

Western opinions on how to ‘fix’ the Quinoa quandary most often turned to consumer choice. Of 42 press articles reviewed in 2013, 17 called for decreased consumption of the Quinoa among Western Consumers. Many of those also advocated growing Quinoa in the US and Canada as a way to bolster production and therefore lower prices. These courses of action may seem reasonable, unless you are Bolivian or Peruvian.

No Latin American opinions suggest eating less Quinoa. Instead writers in Andean nations outlined a number of legal and social changes that could be made to boost food security during a Quinoa boom. They included incorporating Quinoa in school lunch programs (something that has been implemented in Bolivia and Peru), working with grower associations to encourage traditional practices of reserving part of the harvest for local consumption, and subsidizing its consumption for vulnerable groups. The differences point to cultural distinctions between Andean countries, traditionally favoring collective action, and the U.S with its free market fatalism and emphasis on individual choices. It also hints at the complexity those closest to Quinoa production areas are forced to live with.

Part of this complexity lies in the who and how of Quinoa production. The pseudocereal can be grown on poor soil, with a high salt content and little organic matter.  Most quinoa crops are found in the Altiplano of Peru and Bolivia, a high altitude windswept plateau. Quinoa has been, and remains, primarily a product of small family farms. Due to the harsh conditions and lack of access to resources, farmers in the Altiplano were among the poorest of Bolivia and Peru. The sudden popularity of one of their many native food crops has contributed to the survival of many rural communities. In Bolivia and Peru Quinoa production supports 70,000 and 60,000 Quinoa producers respectively . In Bolivia the average producer has only 1 hectare of Quinoa, and many of the new Quinoa farmers were formerly members of rural communities who had moved to cities.

Despite this promising baseline, Quinoa production in the Andes is increasingly moving away from small scale traditional production and towards conventional large-scale farming. These are often monocultures of white quinoa, rather than the colorful varieties seen on small farms.  This process is most striking in Peru (overtaking Bolivia to be the largest exporter of Quinoa in 2015), where intensive cultivation techniques and high rates of pesticide use have garnered criticism from neighboring Bolivia. Bolivia claims this lower-priced Quinoa from Peru is increasingly being moved across the border and sold as a Bolivian product, decreasing the price and value of Bolivian Quinoa Real. 

Also important to Latin writers is the history of how Andean food crops have spread around the world. The list of crops domesticated in the Andes is long, and include global staples such as peanuts, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and chocolate. But by and large, the people of the Andes have seen few rewards for this worldwide popularity of their crops. For example coca, traditionally consumed in non-damaging quantities throughout the Andes, was used to make the world’s most sold product (Coca Cola) and its use in cocaine fueled decades of bloody drug wars. The potato quickly became a staple crop in 18th century europe, where some argue it fueled Western progress and dominion. The exchange was one-sided, the Andean cultures who had domesticated thousand of potato varieties did not benefit from its popularity in Europe and North America. In the US, Idaho potatoes are famous, Bolivian potatoes are not. So when writers in the US in 2013 suggested growing quinoa in North America to lower prices, Bolivian writers invoked this history, warning of a  loss of national heritage.

So should Quinoa be produced only in its Andean homeland? Not exactly. As some may recall 2013 was also the UN declared International Year of Quinoa. The designation, adopted at Bolivia’s urging, aimed to promote the crop as a tool for food security across the world. Quinoa’s handy adaptation to poor soil, arid conditions, and even sea-water tainted land makes it an ideal crop in drought and famine stricken areas of the world (FAO). The challenge becomes how to use quinoa to boost Food Security for the world while conserving Food Sovereignty in producing nations.

As for the original nutrition question, since 2013 some quality work has been invested in clarifying the issue. This year a group of scientists at the University of Minnesota among others published a much needed analysis of nutrition and Quinoa consumption in Peru (the same data was not available in Bolivia). The authors essentially confirm that Quinoa has had a net positive impact on nutrition, in regions that produce it. However, few in the Andes are rejoicing at the news, (not that they ever doubted it). 2016 brings its own issues including a dramatic drop in Quinoa prices thanks to intensified production.

The challenges of industrialized agriculture in the Altiplano are a reminder that Andean farmers have long grappled with Western influences more complex than food fads.  The concern leveled at Bolivian producers does show how much people care about the impact of their food choices. But to understand a crop like Quinoa we will need to think  beyond consumer choice, we need to listen to those with stake in its production and expect complexity.