oops. Sorry africa. That wasn't supposed to happen...it's just so tasty...

This article in the Guardian UK has reported something I've been wondering about for a while now. I love quinoa, but it doesn't love me so I don't eat it much anymore. Many vegetarian friends of mine do and do so often and its gotten so popular you can buy it at places like Costco. Sadly, our demand for quinoa here in a land where we already have more food than we know what to do with has driven the price of it up so much that those who live in the poorer countries that actually grow it can no longer afford it. Where it used to be their dietary staple, now it is more expensive in some places than chicken. The people who grow the food can't afford to eat it...they get crappy junk food instead.
THAT is messed up.
True, this article is very biased and a bit antivegan, but things like this make me wonder just how ethical our desires are to be healthy are. We see something on Dr. Oz (though, personally I can't stand the guy) and go jump on the latest healthy bandwagon, without realizing how our consumer demand could impact others or the environment. I personally thought the profit from the food would be a good thing and never thought about it beyond that...and it is in some ways I suppose, but it just ends up causing another problem instead.
I admit I splurge on food now that I can. I do eat meat and when I do it's from ethical local farmers. After reading this, it forces me to look at some of my other dietary foods and supplements to see what I might be inadvertently doing to the world and health of others while I try and improve myself. I hope that we all can look for other highly nutritious foods and supplements that are local so that we don't completely screw up our world in other ways. I wouldn't say people are putting the lives of animals over our fellow humans, as things are much more complicated than they seem on the surface...but it makes you think doesn't it?
In this world of plenty we need to think about how our life choices effect each other. I know I'll be looking at things a bit differently in the food world from now on.