Nutrition Politics in the Quinoa Boom: Connecting Consumer and Producer Nutrition in the Commercialization of Traditional Foods

Abstract

In the past decade, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) has transformed from a local "Indian food," produced and consumed almost exclusively in the Andean highlands, into a global consumer "super food" lauded for its amino acid, vitamin, and mineral content. While popular press articles have criticized quinoa commercialization for provoking a price surge that left small farmers unable to afford eating this nutritious staple, this paper critically examines evidence supporting this argument and investigates the complex and contradictory nutritional politics of the quinoa boom. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in the Peruvian high lands, this paper argues that quinoa consumption simultaneously symbolizes a "traditional" past while heralding an economically prosperous future for farmers and the nation of Peru. It demonstrates that changing relations to quinoa consumption are the result of complex individual and family-level negotiations about ideas of bodily health, tradition, and modernity. The article uses the quinoa boom as a case study to point to broader trends and challenges with commercializing traditional nutritional staples. Given the surging demand for super foods, novel foods with exceptional nutritional profiles that are often linked to traditional peoples, this research is prescient and should inform future efforts seeking to leverage demand for super foods for rural development.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.): An Overview of the Potentials of the “Golden Grain” and Socio-Economic and Environmental Aspects of Its Cultivation and Marketization

“…In Peru quinoa is a core part in the populations' diet and Macedo illustrates within a study conducted in Lima how the usage of quinoa is more prominent in households of lower socioeconomic classification [81] (p. 222). McDonell analyses consumption in Peru before the boom and highlights the fact that it resulted in increased purchasing power, leading farmers to be able to buy new type of food products [82]. Furthermore, the opposite trend taking place in urban settings is also underlined, where the increasing price made it difficult for people with low-incomes to continue purchasing quinoa [82].…”

“…McDonell analyses consumption in Peru before the boom and highlights the fact that it resulted in increased purchasing power, leading farmers to be able to buy new type of food products [82]. Furthermore, the opposite trend taking place in urban settings is also underlined, where the increasing price made it difficult for people with low-incomes to continue purchasing quinoa [82]. Stevens provides an in-depth analysis of household nutrition and rising prices in Peru: these prices are just among the many factors, which can influence consumption trends [83].…”

Who is eating quinoa?: How consumer characteristics and beliefs affect the expenditure on this functional food versus traditional staple items

“…Quinoa has been regarded as a functional food because of its high protein, mineral and antioxidant content, and balanced concentration of essential amino acids (Maradini Filho et al, 2017; McDonell, 2016; Stevens, 2017). In addition, this “ancient grain” has been found to potentially help in cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases (Ludena Urquizo et al, 2017).…”

“…In addition, this “ancient grain” has been found to potentially help in cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases (Ludena Urquizo et al, 2017). As more people become aware of its properties, there has been an increase in international trade and consumption of quinoa across the world; however, prices have increased in the last decade, with a negative impact on consumers in the Andean region (FAO & CIRAD, 2015; Gamboa, Schuster, Schrevens, & Maertens, 2020; McDonell, 2016; Nosi, 2020; Stevens, 2017).…”

Simulating Growth and Development Processes of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.): Adaptation and Evaluation of the CSM-CROPGRO Model

“…Furthermore, the annual dicotyledonous, herbaceous crop of the Amaranthaceae family produces gluten-free cereal-grain-like achenes, which show considerable concentrations of high-quality proteins (containing all essential and semi-essential amino acids) and nutritionally favorable lipids [8,17,18]. Due to these healthy nutritional properties, the world-wide demand for quinoa has grown rapidly in recent years, which was accompanied by rapid price increases [19,20]. Thus, quinoa could also be used as a cash-crop by European farmers to compensate for financial losses caused by the upcoming yield variability of traditional crops.…”