Quinoa, crop for the future

Quinoa is a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium) grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal as it is not a grass. Its leaves are also eaten as a leaf vegetable, much like amaranth, but the commercial availability of quinoa greens is currently limited.

Overview
Quinoa originated in the Andean region of South America, where it has been an important food for 6,000 years. Its name is the Spanish spelling of the Quechua name. Quinoa is generally undemanding and altitude-hardy, so it can be easily cultivated in the Andes up to about 4,000 meters. Even so, it grows best in well-drained soils and requires a relatively long growing season. In eastern North America, it is susceptible to a leaf miner that may reduce crop success; this leaf miner also affects the common weed Chenopodium album, but C. album is much more resistant.
Similar Chenopodium species, such as Pitseed Goosefoot (Chenopodium berlandieri) and Fat Hen (Chenopodium album) were grown and domesticated in North America as part of the Eastern Agricultural Complex before maize agriculture became popular. Fat Hen, which has a widespread distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, produces edible seeds and greens much like quinoa, but in lower quantities. Caution should be exercised in collecting this weed, however, because when growing in heavily fertilized agricultural fields it can accumulate dangerously high concentrations of nitrates.
Chenopods were also used in Europe as greens.

Wild distribution
Chenopodium quinoa (and a related species from Mexico, Chenopodium nuttalliae) is most familiar as a fully domesticated plant, but it was believed to have been domesticated in the Andes from wild populations of Chenopodium quinoa.[1] There are non-cultivated quinoa plants (Chenopodium quinoa var. melanospermum) which grow in the same area where it is cultivated, which probably are related to the wild progenitors, but which could instead be the descendents of cultivated plants.[2]

History and culture
Top Quinoa Producers - 2005(thousand metric ton) Peru 26.0 Bolivia 25.1 Ecuador 27.2 World Total 78.3 Source:UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO)Actual figures from FAO
The Incas, who held the crop to be sacred, referred to quinoa as "chisaya mama" or "mother of all grains", and it was the Inca emperor who would traditionally sow the first seeds of the season using 'golden implements'. During the European conquest of South America quinoa was scorned by the Spanish colonists as "food for Indians", and even actively suppressed, due to its status within indigenous non-Christian ceremonies.
Quinoa is considered by many Jews to be kosher for Passover, if properly processed.

Nutritional value
Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato, and followed in third place by maize. In contemporary times this crop has come to be highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete food. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered as a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights.

Saponin content
In its natural state quinoa has a coating of bitter-tasting saponins, making it unpalatable. Most quinoa sold commercially in North America has been processed to remove this coating. Some have speculated this bitter coating may have caused the Europeans who first encountered quinoa to reject it as a food source, since they adopted other indigenous food plants of the Americas like maize and potatoes. However, this bitterness has beneficial effects during cultivation, as the plant is unpopular with birds and thus requires minimal protection. There have been attempts to lower the saponin content of quinoa through selective breeding in order to produce sweeter, more palatable varieties. However, when new varieties were introduced by agronomists to native growers in the high plateau, the native growers rejected the new varieties, despite their 'magnificent' yields. Because the seeds no longer had a bitter coating, birds had consumed the entire crop after just one season.


Preparation
Quinoa has a light, fluffy texture when cooked, and its mild, slightly nutty flavor makes it an alternative to white rice or couscous.
The first step in preparing quinoa is to remove the saponins, a process that requires soaking the grain in water for a few hours, then changing the water and resoaking again, or rinsing it in ample running water either in a fine strainer or in cheesecloth. Boxed quinoa typically has been pre-rinsed for convenience.
A common cooking method is to treat quinoa much like rice, bringing two cups of water to a boil with one cup of grain, covering at a low simmer and cooking for 14–18 minutes or until the germ separates from the seed. The cooked germ looks like a tiny curl and should have a slight bite to it (like al dente pasta). Alternatively, one can use a rice cooker to prepare quinoa. To that end, one volume of quinoa should be combined with two volumes of water.
Vegetables and seasonings can also be added to make a wide range of dishes. Chicken or vegetable stock can be substituted for water during cooking, adding flavour. It is also suited to vegetable pilafs, complementing bitter greens like kale.
Quinoa can serve as a high-protein breakfast food mixed with honey, almonds, or berries; it is also sold as a dry product, much like corn flakes.
Quinoa flour can be used in wheat-based and gluten-free baking. For the latter, it can be combined with sorghum flour, tapioca, and potato starch to create a nutritious gluten-free baking mix. A suggested mix is three parts quinoa flour, three parts sorghum flour, two parts potato starch, and one part tapioca starch. Quinoa flour can be used as a filling for chocolate.
Lastly, quinoa may be germinated in its raw form to boost its nutritional value. Germination activates its natural enzymes and multiplies its vitamin content. In fact, quinoa has a notably short germination period: only 2-4 hours resting in a glass of clean water is enough to make it sprout and release gases, as opposed to, e.g., 12 hours overnight with wheat. This process, besides its nutritional enhancements, softens the grains, making them suitable to be added to salads and other cold foods.

Cultivars
'Cahuil' A medium-size, light green seed with some variation[183]. Suitable for lower elevations, it produces well in Washington State in USA[183] and is therefore potentially suitable for the cooler, damper climate of Britain[K].
'Dave' The medium-size seed is yellow-brown in colour and ripens mid-season[183]. It has very colourful orange and pink seed heads[183]. A very short-season, high-yielding Chilean cultivar, adaptable to high or low elevations[183]. It grows up to 1.8 metres tall[183]. It has produced yields in excess of ½ kilo per square metre on our trial ground in Cornwall[183].
'Faro' A small, yellowish-white seed[183]. The plant grows 1.2 - 1.8 metres tall and has a light-green foliage[183]. A mid to long-season type, it performs well at lower elevations[183]. A good-yielding, adaptable cultivar - coming from southern Chile, it should be suitable for growing in cooler temperate climates and was the highest-yielding of 16 cultivars tested in northwestern USA[183].
'Isluga Yellow' Medium-size yellow seeds produced in attractive golden-yellow to pink seed heads[183]. An early maturing, high-yielding, somewhat taller variety, it has grown consistently well in a variety of Western mountain and coastal sites in the USA[183].
'Linares' A golden-yellow, medium-size seed, its coat is high in saponins and it has a distinctive flavour from commercial cultivars[183]. It ripens mid-season[183]. Plants grow to 1.8 metres tall, they yield well and have performed consistently well in both maritime and Rocky Mountain sites in western USA[183]. It originated in Chile at sea-level around a latitude of 36° south[183].
Multi-Hued' Produces flowering heads ranging in colour from red through orange and yellow topurple and mauve[183]. The plants grow to 1.8 metres tall and are very productive in northern latitudes[183].
'Temuco' Very palatable small white seeds, ripening in mid-season]183]. The plant has yellow-green seed heads (with some golden)[183]. The plant grows to 1.8 metres tall and bears abundant crops[183].Coming from a latitude of 38° south in Chile, it is one of the best choices for maritime sites in the Pacific Northwest of the USA[183], and should therefore also be suitable for growing in Britain[K]. It also grows well in the southern Rockies[183].

Links
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/quinoa.html
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19940015664_1994015664.pdf

Koldioxidkompensation?

Koldioxidkompensation innebär att man binder samma mängd koldioxid i växter som man har frigjort i atmosfären genom andra aktiviteter, en sk. kolsänka. Idag finns ännu ingen erkänd standard för att beräkna en sådan kompensation, bara ungefärdiga mått.

Att köpa träd för att kompensera koldioxidutsläpp är inget avlatsbrev med absolution för alla utsläpps-synder och ingen lösning på alla problem. Det är bara ett av många sätt att minska atmosfärens koldioxidinnehåll – men en mycket bra komponent i en åtgärdsmix!

Ingen åtgärd påverkar så direkt människors liv på ett positivt sätt som trädplantering därför ska den definitivt ingå i ert åtgärdspaket - om ni tar den globala uppvärningen på allvar! I

Dina träd betyder något för dig imorgon och för dem redan idag.

Den första koldioxidneutrala staten

I omvärlden har Vatikanstaten under de senaste potifikaten kommit att förknippas med utpräglad värdekonservatism. Därför kom 2007 års deklaration om att göra Vatikanstaten till det första koldioxidneutrala landet i världen oväntat för den som förknippar traditionella kristna värderingar med ointresse för miljöfrågor.

Åtagandet skall, från Vatikanstatens sida, ske genom koldioxidkompensation. Vatikanstatens Klimatskog finns inom Bükk National Park i Ungern och är dimensionerad för att kompensera Vatikanstatens koldioxidutsläpp. Man ser det som en rent symbilsk handling i syfte att uppmuntra jordens dryga miljard katoliker att göra mer för att skydda vår planet. Dessutom kommer Paulus VI:s audienshall att få taket täckt med solpaneler. I sin adress inför det nya milenniet betonade den tidigare påven Johannes Paulus II nödvändigheten av miljöskydd: ”Hur kan vi förbli oberörda inför hotet om en ekologisk kris som kommer att göra vidsträckta områden av vår planet obeboerliga för mänskligheten?”

We challenge you!

200 trees have been planted this week! I did a security planting around the boundary of a possible goal for assault. These trees act as an extra wall, far more attractive than the usual walls and fences. This technique has been used in several countries with similar security problems, with good result. One Acacia from Australia is called Wait-a-little-bush: If you get stuck there. you stay for a while!
Due to many factors is a cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture not possible. But since the administration provides many other ways to proceed I believe that we have during January and February planted more trees than the dept. of Forestry has done under this period.

In this noble competition for the well fare of Kurdistan: I hereby challenge the dept. of Forestry to with their own resources plant more than 10.000 trees this year and to have a survival rate over 80% at the end of 2009. We will certainly try to achieve this goal at Trees for Kurdistan.