So while there is no easy solution to the quinoa quandary—much less a solution driven by northern consumers—the issue has generated an important debate about our global food system. At its core, it’s a debate about which strategies are most effective for creating a just and sustainable food system. And consumption-driven strategies, while part of the toolbox for effecting change, are not the only tools. Only by facing the reality that we can’t consume our way to a more just and sustainable world—and examining the full range of political options and strategies—can we start coming up with real solutions.
-"Quinoa: To Buy or Not to Buy... Is This the Right Question?"
Perhaps we need to look more to systems, trade and political power rather than to the power of the purse that accepts our main identity as consumers.