Quinoa, a pseudocereal native to Bolivia, is growing in
popularity, although TPP still thinks it has a grassy sort of non-descript
taste that he can’t get excited about. However its popularity in North America is driving up demand and prices
such that growers in the Andes make more money selling it as an export
crop. This means the price is too
expensive for farm workers who would be harvesting this crop and eating it as a staple food. Until this situation has improved, TPP
resolves not to buy any more quinoa.
If a variety that grows well in North America is found that may solve this problem, and since it was probably domesticated from a weed, this might not be too tough. Years ago TPP found a similar situation in southern India, a region
where cashews were grown. Oh, yes,
cashews at the local producers price! But cashews were such a valuable export crop you could not find any for
sale anywhere right where they were being grown! This gives you some idea of how the global
commodities market doesn’t work for people at the low end of the
economic scale.
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