It's an interesting disconnect between eating healthy and eating locally - something that often is portrayed as going hand-in-hand.
this is a terrible article and here is why
The Andean Information Network (a non-profit org) wrote a response to the initial articles (excerpt): The impact of rising food prices is complex and encompasses food security and sovereignty debates, issues that are difficult to address thoroughly in brief articles. Until a comprehensive study provides insight into rising quinoa prices, it is difficult to make strong affirmations. The impact of quinoa production and export must be understood both within the framework of global food security issues and specific local contexts. While these articles presented some important issues, challenging local conditions that affect quinoa consumption and production also substantially affect income generated by this crop. Quinoa fetches a guaranteed high price affording farmers economic stability. This economic power has also translated into political power though producers’ associations and cooperatives. Since the 1970’s, these organizations have worked toward greater producer control of the market, spurring other political actions such as blockades and protests for greater economic and environmental rights in quinoa-growing regions.
[...]
Experts on food issues point to the need to consider the multiple hierarchies of power involved in food production and prices in order to understand how positive changes can be made. The [New York] Times published a letter to the editor that asserted: “While I appreciate being able to find such a nutritious and satisfying product on the shelves of my local supermarket, I’d gladly give it up to ensure that Bolivians can afford to eat it. Having foods from around the world is a convenient luxury so long as others are not paying a hefty price for it." Foreign consumers of quinoa can stop buying the grain, but this change would actually intensify existing poverty and malnutrition by taking away Bolivian producers’ steady source of income. True food and economic security must be achieved simultaneously. (http://ain-bolivia.org/2011/05/bolivian-quinoa-questions-pro...)
Thanks for the excellent article. In my Western experience, quinoa is already three to five times more expensive than rice here. I'd consider it a luxury food already, regardless of the situation in South America. Quinoa might be expensive by local standards, but Bolivians are still paying far less for their quinoa than any American could hope to. I guess the key challenge is to return as much of the American retail price to the South American growers as possible, unlike with many other crops.