Despite Our Best Intentions...

Earliest Spring Flowers

Sometimes, despite our best intentions, things just don't work out the way we intended. For instance, this past Saturday was an idyllic day before the official start of spring, and so Josh and I went for an epic walk around town. I'm not a camera carrier nor a photo documenter, but a good part of me wants to be for the sake of this blog so I even brought my camera and took a few photos of the flowers popping up in yards all over. The plan was to use these as the basis for a "Welcome to Spring!" post on Sunday (the first day of spring). Of course, as you've probably induced by now, that didn't happen, and here we are two days past the official start of the season, with me anticlimactically offering - oh, by the way - happy spring. Here's a photo. 

Obviously, this example is fairly harmless. Unfortunately, however, our failed attempts at good-doing are not always so benign. Take for example the United States' relatively new and increasing love for quinoa. Though people will debate how it's pronounced, it's hard to find anyone health savvy who won't support an overwhelmingly positive nutritional analysis of this near wonder food. In fact, NASA even posits that with its "exceptional balance of amino acids, quinoa... is virtually unrivaled in the plant or animal kingdom for its life-sustaining nutrients."

Quinoa

In addition to great nutrients, quinoa is also fairly versatile. Related to beets and spinach, quinoa isn't a grain, but it can be used like one, replacing other carbohydrate fillers like rice and potatoes. And what's not to like about this, right? We live in a country with a growing obesity problem that also loves meat and potatoes. This food can actually help us get more out of our food without sacrificing a texture that we love. Great!

Well, my friends, turns out that it's great for us and our European friends who have also embraced the food. It's not so great though for the Bolivians who can no longer afford this staple crop grown in their country and are now, ironically, turning to the processed foods that increase the risk of obesity and malnutrition at the same time.

So, a quinoa lover myself, I am now working my way through our remaining supply of quinoa (and savoring every bite of it) because I will buy the delectable specimen no more. 

Ultimately, this is just another argument for localization. The facts are:

• We don't need quinoa in our diet. Though it has great nutritional value, in Michigan we are at no loss for healthy and plentiful crops to eat.  

• We can't grow quinoa.  If we want it on our plate, we have to import it from Bolivia, increasing our carbon footprint through transportation. 

• By purchasing quinoa, we increase the demand for it and, consequently, its cost. As a result, Bolivians who do depend on quinoa for basic nutrition can't afford to purchase this product grown in their own country as a staple of their diet. Seems like a huge and preventable social injustice to me...

Living in such a relatively prosperous nation, many of us have choices when it comes to what we eat and it falls upon us to make choices that are good for us and good for our local, national, and even global community. So, in sum, whenever possible eat local so our global friends can simply eat.

(Information in this post taken from "Quinoa's Global Success Creates Quandary at Home,"  an article in the March 20, 2011 edition of The New York Times. Thanks Josh for being such a diligent newspaper reader.)