The Mother Grain

Inca Power Fuel, Soul Food of the Andes, The Mother Grain, Andean Dream, Ancient Harvest, Fair Trade, Organic,

Supergrain

Objective Carbon Zero. These are just a few of the labels found on packages of quinoa products on shelves of a local grocery store . For some, looking at the labels perhaps makes them part of a larger world with a deeper history, conjuring images of Incan Warriors, shamans or snowcapped peaks. Still others might see the environmental justice, social equity or nutritional factors which these labels portray. While the packaging may tell one story, another narrative exists.
Often thought to be a grain, quinoa is a seed, born in the South American highlands at the base of the Andes Mountains. To those who live there and have depended on this food for the past five thousand years, it is known as chisiya mama or mother grain (National Research Council, 1989). Looking at the nutrition content it is no wonder why it has earned this monicker: according to the USDA, quinoa contains a set of complete amino acids, high fiber, and both vitamins B and E. In part, the nutritious nature of this food has helped it to reappear on the shelves of supermarkets and health food stores across the United States and Europe. The anxious consumers that await this food are inspired by the recent ‘real’ food movement, promoted by such prominent authors as Michael Pollan and Wendell Berry . With this surge in popularity, farmers in the highland plains (or altiplano) of Bolivia have made the rapid transition from production for subsistence and domestic use, to the expanded production for the export market (P. Laguna, n d; P. P. Laguna, 2000). The integration of these once isolated farmers into the global economy has come with panoply of impacts. From the neoliberal perspective, Bolivian’s new participation with the global economy has given the rural poor new access to capital which can be used to purchase a wider variety of foods or luxury goods that were once inaccessible (Godoy et al., 2011). However, Bolivia’s recent trade of non-traditional agricultural commodities is seen by others as a double edged sword; while trade provides capital, it also undermines indigenous sovereignty and makes Andeans once again dependent on unstable northern markets (Cook, 2004; P. P. Laguna, 2000).
Looking back at the packages of quinoa, the following paper has three purposes. It will trace this seemingly innocent food from the supermarket shelf to its origins in the Andes in an attempt to demystify and reveal its true character. Then, it will problematize our consumption of this food and reveal how our actions as consumers have fetishized quinoa and furthered the marginalization of those who have produced it for the past 500 years, examining the ways in which the identity that encapsulates lo andino has been homogenized and appropriated by northern dominance. Finally, it will analyze how the trade of quinoa has recreated the colonial domination and dependence of the south by northern powers, and jeopardized the long term food sovereignty of Bolivians.