The Ethics of Eating Quinoa

A great deal of media attention has focused on how rising prices due to international demand are making quinoa unaffordable to those who produce it.  I was recently asked by a journalist to comment on the ethics of eating quinoa.  As I sat down to answer her questions, the entire global food provisioning system flashed before my eyes.  By examining the ethics of eating quinoa in Australia, many of the issues we all face when we sit down to dinner come to light.  Internal factors such as taste, price, and nutrition compete with external factors such as social justice and environmental integrity.  Here, I offer a few bites of information to consider when making an informed decision about eating quinoa.

Why I'm not boycotting quinoa

First I'd like to refute the claim that those of us in the "developed" world should not eat quinoa because it is making quinoa unaffordable for those in the "developing" world who grow it.  In fact, I think it's fantastic that underutilised native and indigenous crops such as quinoa have been gaining worldwide attention as both sources of concentrated nutrition and providers of local livelihoods. As a recent Food Tank article acknowledges, this trend has positive implications for biodiversity, human nutrition, and community building.  But unfortunately quinoa has been promoted for the market without fully taking into account social and environmental consequences of such a rapid increase in production.  Consequences have included decreased local consumption of quinoa and increased consumption of pasta and rice, as well as degradation of land where quinoa is now being cultivated commercially.  

To say that Andean farmers can no longer afford to eat quinoa, however, is not completely accurate.  While consumption of quinoa among Bolivian growers has dropped dramatically, their incomes have also tripled since 1995.  Studies show that these farmers may be choosing starches such as pasta or rice not only because of their more affordable price but also because of their relative ease of preparation and their social prestige.  This is a common pattern as those in the developing world enter the cash economy, and not a story unique to quinoa.  A research organisation called PROINPA (Promocion e Investigacion de Productos Andinos) are promoting a small mechanical dehuller to make cleaning and dehulling quinoa easier for famers, so they can consume it more readily.  I think that interventions that make consuming quinoa easier and more desirable for the growers, that promote more sustainable agricultural practices, and that put more economic control in the hands of primary producers are more constructive solutions than a widespread boycott.

How to be a socially responsible quinoa consumer

I don't think that boycotting quinoa completely is a wise solution.  For better or for worse, quinoa growers are now enmeshed in the same global economy as consumers.  But that doesn't render consumers powerless in shaping more socially equitable and environmentally sustainable quinoa production networks.  Consumers can buy quinoa from companies who work in partnership with grower organisations of small scale quinoa farmers, such as Alter Eco.  They can also support social and research organisations working for improved food sovereignty in South America.  For example, PROINPA works with growers to promote more sustainable and economically viable smallholder agriculture, and they also conduct food sovereignty tours in Bolivia.

If managed properly, quinoa's rising popularity can work to benefit small farmers, healthy consumers, resilient environments, and ethically-oriented companies.  But this means a move away from cheap commodity quinoa, sold generically and without a traceable history.  If you choose to buy imported quinoa, look for certifications such as fair trade or certified organic. Partnerships focused on empowering growers through cooperatives, such as the relationship between Alter Eco and the Bolivian growers association ANAPQUI, help to keep profits in growers' hands and to ensure a quality product grown with environmental sensitivity.  Researchers such as anthropologist Andrew Ofstehage are also pushing for a quinoa denomination of origin status - a recognition of a regionally specific food, such as Pargmigiano-Reggiano - for high quality varieties of quinoa like the quinoa real of the high Andes.

Or buy local

In Australia, we're lucky because we now have high quality, organically grown quinoa from Tasmania (from Kindred Organics) available throughout Australia.  Quinoa is not always quinoa - it comes in different varieties, sizes, and qualities.  Having tried many different kinds of quinoa, I find the Tasmanian quinoa to be very high quality and tasty, with large, tender grains.  Australian grown quinoa also carries fewer food miles than quinoa imported from the Americas.  As our global food provisioning system becomes increasingly tenuous in the face of social inequalities and environmental degradation, it is more important than ever to foster local food production networks.