Murdoch et al.(2000) suggest that transformations in the nature of food demand have led to
the incorporation of new territories and groups of producers who did not participate in the
technically based production systems typical of the Fordist period. This has been the case
for Bolivian peasants who grow “Real Blanca” quinoa, a specialty product whose
characteristics can only be obtained when grown in the agricultural areas of Oruro and
Potosí in Bolivia. Previously marginalized production systems have been transformed into …

This chapter discusses the response of the actors in the Andean quinoa value chain to the
growth in international markets for this traditional subsistence crop. The chapter begins with
a brief history of the changing position of Andean quinoa. It analyses the early links between
quinoa producers and European alternative and Fair Trade markets which led to the
adoption of new quality criteria for quinoa, including organic production. The increase in
demand for quinoa in the 1990s attracted new actors (particularly French retailers) to what …