Here we go a grain: Swetha Sivakumar on the origins and superpowers of quinoa

It can grow in saline soil, survive flooding and drought. But quinoa was once very unfashionable. How did it become a global trend? Take a look.

Quinoa is not a true grain. It is technically a pseudo-cereal.

Once associated with ‘backwardness’, quinoa has only recently been rebranded as ‘proud Inca food’ in the Western world.

Unlike wheat, rice and barley, which are grains that grown on grasses, quinoa is the seed of a leafy plant of the same name in the amaranth family.

Still, just as grains have done in various civilisations, it has quietly sustained indigenous farmers. High in the Andes, it became a dependable, hearty source of nutrition about 5,000 years ago, surviving in regions where most other crops shrivelled away.

In the Inca civilisation, which stretched from the 12th century until the arrival of the Spanish in the early 1500s, it was so revered that it was nicknamed Chisaya Mama (Mother of all Grains). The Inca ruler would ceremonially plant the first seeds of the season himself.

When the Spanish showed up, they took to quinoa too. They used the leaves in soup, and learnt to rely on the seed.

Then they began to ship in their own produce, and quinoa began to be looked down upon as “Indian food”, tied to indigenous identity and the new concept of poverty.

Colonial prejudice baked a class divide into the geography of it too: the more accessible coastal regions of Peru became associated with wealth and modernity while the rural, “remote” Andes were seen as backward zones. Quinoa, eaten daily by mountain communities, became part of that stereotype.

It would take nearly 500 years for the seed to shake off this prejudice.

Its superfood status comes from the fact that the quinoa seed is 11% to 19% protein, and contains all nine essential amino acids (wheat, barley and even soy do not). It is 49% to 64% carbohydrates and 7% to 9% dietary fibre (though this can drop a bit after processing). It is gluten-free, and rich in minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc.

It is also a bit of a superhero in the plant world. It can grow in salty soils and survive amid flooding, drought and high temperatures. Scientists have traced its impressive tolerance of salinity to tiny hair-like “bladder cells” on its leaves that trap excess salt and keep it from affecting the plant.

Amid these findings, quinoa was rebranded “proud Inca food” and, by 2010, had become a global food trend. Then the UN declared 2013 the International Year of Quinoa. Diplomats, chefs and farmers worldwide felt compelled to take to it. There were quinoa cooking contests and harvest ceremonies in cities ranging from Delhi to Rome. There was talk of how the boom could help small farmers everywhere.

By 2014, prices were peaking, and hope set in in rural Andean communities. But global demand meant that traditional farming systems had to change. Centuries-old crop rotations, designed to protect the soil and hedge against frost and hail, were abandoned in favour of varieties crossbred for high yield and more-efficient processing.

Then, just as quickly as it had climbed, the market collapsed. By 2015, quinoa prices were falling. Production outpaced demand. Small farmers faced dwindling profits and an altered landscape in which they now faced stiff competition from quinoa farms in the US, Canada, Europe and China.

All the fluctuations even changed consumption patterns in the Andes, making quinoa less accessible to the communities that had nurtured it for millennia.

Emma McDonell, an anthropologist and author of The Quinoa Bust: The Making and Unmaking of an Andean Miracle Crop (2025), points out that this story is part of a larger pattern. Whether it’s quinoa, acai, millets, coffee or cacao, global food trends often follow a cycle of hype, boom and bust. The quinoa market has stabilised for now, she warns, but the fad has wreaked its havoc, and local crops in various other parts of the world may now be headed down a similar path.

(To reach Swetha Sivakumar with questions or feedback, email upgrademyfood@gmail.com)