The other day I came across a report that distressed me. It was about quinoa, the only ‘grain’ in the world that is a near perfect source of protein and one that has sustained the Andeans since the time of the Incas. Now it seems that due to the popularity of quinoa in the Western world and the consequent price hike attached to the ensuing demand, the very people who depend on it can no longer afford it.
This is not the first time these peoples have had their food source threatened. Surely, in this day and age, we’d know better. It occurred first when Columbus, in the throes of conquering the New World, declared quinoa and another staple grain, amaranth, to be sacrilegious and forbade them from being grown. (Highly prized by the Incas they were used for non-Christian worship). Instead, they were forced to grow wheat.
So the same situation has reared its head again, albeit for different reasons. It is feared that gluten-free quinoa (which is really a seed, rather than a cereal grain) will be replaced by white bread or rice and that problems of obesity and other issues associated with consumption of wheat-based foods will ensue.
Already we conquer nations for oil, strip the forests of others in order to produce palm oil, turn the world’s natural ecology upside down to grow enough corn to make bio-fuel or ‘new’ plastics, kill off the bees through the use of insecticides and over-fish the seas, threatening the livelihoods of many. Now we can add creating a new food ‘trend’ that causes detriment to others to the list.
We need to learn to share, in much the same way as a child must learn. There’s no reason why we in the West shouldn’t be able to enjoy the great taste and benefits of quinoa occasionally, or for those who need a gluten-free option, but it needs to be done in a fair and equitable way. I do wonder though if that is even possible in our current world.
It seems that what the West wants the West gets; if it’s not proffered willingly then it is simply taken. For a world as sophisticated as the one we live in today you would think we’d find a more intelligent way.
I love the history of food and in particular the Americas. After all, it is this vast region that gave the rest of the world some of our best foods: potatoes (3000 varieties), plus tomatoes, corn, chillies and capsicum, sweet potatoes, squash, beans, avocados, pecans, peanuts, watercress, pineapples, papayas, tapioca, maple syrup, wild rice, berries, salmon, lobster, turkey, chocolate and vanilla.
For more than 4000 years, on the terraced mountains and in the valleys of the Andes, the Incas cultivated a vast number of different foods. Experimenting to achieve optimum yields, they sought diversity in colour, shape and texture in all that they grew especially their three staples of potatoes, corn, and grains. The steps of the ancient Peruvian city, Machu Picchu, hold evidence of a sophisticated agricultural programme which once sustained large populations.
Further north, the Native American Indians knew how to grow three vegetables that, eaten together, formed a near perfect food. They grew maize (corn) in carefully tended fields, on evenly spaced mounds. Up each corn plant grew a bean and underneath grew a squash. These 'three sisters' as they are called, were inseparable, both for cultivation and nutrition. Grown together the corn provided a stake for the bean and below, the squash kept the ground moist and the weeds at bay.
Corn took the place of wheat, something the Indians did not have. It was used in a great variety of ways, from thickening soups and stews to making tortillas or tamales steamed in corn husks. Dried and ground corn became grits, or when parched and boiled it was called hominy.
On the subject of things disappearing, don’t miss Taggart Siegel’s new docu-movie Queen of the Sun. As something we have long taken for granted, or conversely been afraid of, the rapid depletion of the world’s bee population is threatening the entire global food supply. If it sounds far-fetched watch the movie and then get a beehive. Visit queenofthesun.com to find out where to see it.
On a brighter note I’d like to share with you the three new ‘food rules’ chosen by Michael Pollen from over 4000 contributions which will appear in his new book Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, due out later this year. I just love the positive spin attached to these:
Place a bouquet on the table and everything will taste twice as good. – Gisbert P. Auwaerter, Cutchogue, NY
Love your spices. They add richness and depth to food without salt. – Claire Cheney, Jamaica Plain, MA
When you eat real food, you don’t need rules. – Mandy Gerth
