Monday, June 19, 2017

Book idea - The story of quinoa

I have been debating what I want to do with this blog.  I have not been very dedicated to posting, as the few of you that check have noticed.  I had an epiphany that I would update from my phone instead of logging in to the computer and writing, but blogger I do not think is Google's top priority. They cut the iphone app and even cut sharing links from youtube and google+.  I have thought about cutting over to a different provider or paying to get a dedicated website, but for now I will leave it as it is, because that is the lazy way?

Meanwhile, I have thought about what things I would be more dedicated about writing about and what people may be interested in reading.  I wondered this morning if it would be worth trying to get the framework of a book about quinoa written here.  I studied the genetics of quinoa for my masters degree in 2000-2002 at BYU.  Quinoa was not a superfood then.  You couldn't buy it at the supermarket or eat it on a salad at Panera.  It was an orphan crop of interest to the Benson Institute at BYU and to indigenous farmers in Bolivia, Peru and Chile.

But, the foundation was there for it to become a food fad.  Production was increasing thanks to the almost solitary efforts of  Alejandro Bonifacio and a few others in Bolivia that had rescued the germplasm collection from destruction and developed improved varieties with decreased saponins - bitter soapy chemicals on the outside of the seeds, and increased yields.  PROIMPA was starting to promote it and other "superfoods" were talked up on Oprah and other talk shows.


Friday, June 16, 2017