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While its leaves are edible, quinoa is harvested for its seeds. In the pre-Columbian era Quinoa was honored as the Mother Grain. It was so central to the Inca and Aztec civilizations that the conquistadors outlawed its cultivation as they strove to weaken and re-educate these people.
The best quinoa is grown at over 12,500 feet on the Altiplano - a vast, arid, cold, and windswept plateau in the Andes Mountains. Quinoa is native to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, and Chile. Cultivated for well over 5,000 years with corn and potatoes, this whole grain was the fulcrum staple of the Aztec, Inca, Maya, and many other Native South American cultures. In traditional Quechua and Aymara languages of South America its name was kinwa, kinoa, kinua, and la chisiya mama, meaning 'the mother grain.' Quinoa was more than food, it was considered sacred and believed to be a gift from the gods. It was a centerpiece in religious ceremonies. Every year the Inca emperor planted the first quinoa seeds using a golden taquiza planting stick.
The best quinoa is grown at over 12,500 feet on the Altiplano - a vast, arid, cold, and windswept plateau in the Andes Mountains. Quinoa is native to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, and Chile. Cultivated for well over 5,000 years with corn and potatoes, this whole grain was the fulcrum staple of the Aztec, Inca, Maya, and many other Native South American cultures. In traditional Quechua and Aymara languages of South America its name was kinwa, kinoa, kinua, and la chisiya mama, meaning 'the mother grain.' Quinoa was more than food, it was considered sacred and believed to be a gift from the gods. It was a centerpiece in religious ceremonies. Every year the Inca emperor planted the first quinoa seeds using a golden taquiza planting stick.
Colonial Eradication
Colonial Eradication
In 1532 the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro reached the Andes Mountains with an army of 158 men. The lives and culture of the Inca were changed forever. Within one year their emperor had been killed, Incan governance was forced into submission, Inca quinoa-centered religious ceremonies were forbidden, all quinoa fields were destroyed, and quinoa cultivation was outlawed to subvert the culture. The Inca were then forced to subsist on maize and potatoes which resulted in widespread malnutrition and high infant mortality rates. Eventually the Spanish introduced barley and wheat, but the Inca never fully accepted either.
High in the mountains and on the Andean plateau quinoa grew wildly. Hiding from the conquistadors, Native Americans continued to cultivate and eat quinoa. For the majority of people quinoa fell into obscurity until a resurgence of interest in it developed in the 1970s.
While the majority of quinoa grows on the Altiplano of the Andes Mountains, there are over 120 quinoa species. The United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says there are six groups of quinoa varieties defined by where they grow, or the ecological zones they have adapted to: 1.) Dry Valley (Junín) and 2.) Humid Valley (Cajamarca) of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, 3.) Altiplano that withstands cold temperatures, 4.) Salt Flat of southern Bolivia, 5.) Sea Level of Chile that grows in humid conditions and stable temperatures, and 6.) quinoas of the Yunga Zone and Subtropics of Bolivia. FOr more see Eden Foods
While the majority of quinoa grows on the Altiplano of the Andes Mountains, there are over 120 quinoa species. The United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says there are six groups of quinoa varieties defined by where they grow, or the ecological zones they have adapted to: 1.) Dry Valley (Junín) and 2.) Humid Valley (Cajamarca) of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, 3.) Altiplano that withstands cold temperatures, 4.) Salt Flat of southern Bolivia, 5.) Sea Level of Chile that grows in humid conditions and stable temperatures, and 6.) quinoas of the Yunga Zone and Subtropics of Bolivia. FOr more see Eden Foods
A few years ago this become the latest ‘super crop’. The answer to what we’d been looking for. A nutritious crop, that had just about all we needed.
Unlike wheat or rice, quinoa is a complete protein - containing all eight of the essential amino acids. It has been recognised by the United Nations as a supercrop for its health benefits: packed with dietary fibre, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. It is also gluten-free and easy to digest. The facts suggest it is close to a perfect ingredient as you can get. And picking up a crisp/chip packet made of quinoa, I was reminded that this is just about as ‘right on’ food’ you can get
/For vegetarians /For Vegans /Gluten Free /No GMOs / etc
But there is no tick against ‘Local People’
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. Read more:
In some ways, it’s quite simple: an increasing public demand for quinoa has led to a need for farmers to expand their lands to cultivate the protein-rich seed. Traditionally, quinoa was grown in the Andean highlands where the climate is cool enough for the plant to thrive.
However, as consumption has increased, farmers have expanded its area of cultivation, forcing out other crops grown in the region. In effect, quinoa has become the world’s new monoculture, joining corn and soy which dominate cropland in the U.S., most of which are grown to feed livestock. In Bolivia, quinoa production increased by 40 times from 2000 to 2009. The U.S. imports 52 percent of Bolivian quinoa.
With numbers like these, the situation gets a bit more complicated. Sure, these South American countries now have a highly sought after food product to bring to market, but at what cost? Specifically, we must examine how quinoa’s monoculture status is affecting the ecosystem that surrounds it.
But others says the price of quinoa has gone up 4X in last few years and is a lifeline to manyu small farmers. Unlike many other crops grown in the South for Northern consumption, it is mainly grown by small farmers rather than on plantations. The highlands do not lend themselves to plantations See More
British Quinoa Company
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