SSyyrraaccuussee UUnniivveerrssiittyy SSUURRFFAACCEE Theses - ALL January 2017 QQuuiinnuuaa oorr QQuuiinnooaa?? TTrraannssffoorrmmaattiioonn,, cceerrttiifificcaattiioonn,, aanndd tthhee ccoonntteessttaattiioonn ooff tthhee ccoommmmooddiittyy cchhaaiinn oonn tthhee BBoolliivviiaann aallttiippllaannoo Andria Maria Aguilar Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/thesis Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn Aguilar, Andria Maria, "Quinua or Quinoa? Transformation, certification, and the contestation of the commodity chain on the Bolivian altiplano" (2017). Theses - ALL. 147. https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/147 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract The rise in popularity for quinua in the Global North, known as the quinua boom, has created an incredible transformation on Bolivia’s altiplano. Over a short period of time, quinua has transitioned from a subsistence crop to an international luxury commodity. By placing the boom in a wider historical context, and detailing two distinct commodity chains through which quinua might flow, I show that the “ecological harmony” championed by the organic commodity chain has not delivered all that it has promised. Despite the long list of standards designed to ensure that quinua is grown organically, the quinua boom has changed the metabolism of production, and produced new natures. Additionally, these standards, enforced by distant and powerful private actors in the Global North, create exclusions as producers are unevenly able to comply with norms, and cope with increasing pest populations and issues of soil degradation. Importantly, certain producers and other actors in Bolivia contest this commodity chain and assert an alternative one in the form of a Denomination of Origin. Placing these commodity chains side by side highlights the power asymmetries of transnational organic agriculture. As some producers, along with the state, reject the organic commodity chain, and envision a new system of governance in which local labor practices, ecology, and culture determine the metabolism between society and nature, these actors call into being the ways in which the organic commodity chain reproduces asymmetrical power relations. QUINUA OR QUINOA? TRANSFORMATION, CERTIFICATION, AND THE CONTESTATION OF THE COMMODITY CHAIN ON THE BOLIVIAN ALTIPLANO by Andria Aguilar B.A., Louisiana State University, 2015 Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography Syracuse University May 2017 Copyright © Andria Aguilar 2017 Rights Reserved Acknowledgements I would first like to thank all those who took time to speak with me about quinua in Bolivia, both during formal interviews and casual encounters. The patience they had while speaking with me, their excitement for the subject, and the generosity with their time are at the very heart of what made this thesis possible. This I mean not only in an empirical sense, but also in a personal one. Doing fieldwork alone as a young scholar can be incredibly difficult for a multitude of reasons. Those precious moments shared with others, while speaking about a topic that interested us both, made this research fulfilling, and compelled me to continue even when the field seemed lonely, overwhelming, and exhausting. In this vein, I want to especially thank Paty, whose remarkable influence on this thesis is scattered throughout its pages. Your warm heart and kind family are to thank for much of what is written here. A sincere thank you also goes to my advisor, Tom Perreault, whose dedication to his students does not go unnoticed. You have guided me along what has been an incredible journey: from my first time in your office with ideas scribbled on notebook pages, to the city of Oruro, and back to Syracuse for a steady rhythm of chapter drafts. Your example, feedback, and teaching have imparted lessons I will always return to. Thank you for believing in me from the very beginning. Thank you also to my committee members, Becky Schewe and Farhana Sultana. Your expertise, care, and advice throughout my writing process provided momentum when I needed it most. Thank you to the Syracuse Geography Department for providing iv me with funding during my two years as a graduate student, and for giving me the means to make this research possible. Though I mention it last, in reality, this came first: thank you to my family, partner, and friends. Mom and Tia, your unending support and constant care have cultivated in me the strength that made this project possible. Thank you for being proud of me. Thank you Connor for recharging me with life, laughter, and love. I thank you for always helping me find joy in the process. Last, I thank my closest friend, conspirator, and comrade, Anna. What a journey we have been on, side by side. I thank you, and a dense web of support that includes those both mentioned and unmentioned here, for helping me through the tough moments, for sharing in the good ones, and for always encouraging me to keep going. v Table of Contents List of Acronyms……………………………………………………………………..... viii Figures and Photographs……….……………………………………….………...……... ix Chapter One: Introduction…………………………………………………………….. 1 Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………………. 10 Production of Nature…………………………………………………… 11 Food Regime Theory……………………………………………………. 14 Using Political Ecology………………………………………………… 19 Outline………………………………………………………………………….. 22 Methodology……………………………………………………………………. 25 Chapter Two: Transformation……………………………………………………….. 32 Regional Variation……………………………………………………………… 33 Wider Historical Context……………………………………………………….. 35 The Incas and Spanish Colonialism……………………………………. 37 Republican Era…………………………………………………………. 39 1952 Revolution and the decades after…………………………………. 40 The rise of the MAS……………………………………………………... 45 Shift in Production……………………………………………………………… 48 A Paradox……………………………………………………………………….. 64 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………… 74 Chapter Three: Certification…………………………………………………………. 78 Alternative Agri-Food Networks……………………………………………….. 81 Third Party Certification and Organics…………………………………………. 88 Third Party Certification……………………………………………….. 89 Organic as a conceptual category……………………………………… 95 The case of quinua in Bolivia…………………………………………………. 100 El complejo de la quinua orgánica……………………………………. 103 New centers of knowledge……………………………………………... 104 New forms of control……………………………………………………110 A more stringent market……………………………………………….. 115 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….. 120 Chapter Four: Contestation…………………………………………………………..123 Terroir…………………………………………………………………………..130 Constructing terroir in Bolivia………………………………………………….136 Terroir in the southern altiplano……………………………………….139 Terroir in interviews……………………………………………………142 Terroir in legal frameworks…………………………………………….150 vi Tensions in the construction of terroir……………………………………….…159 Blurring the lines……………………………………………………………….162 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...165 Chapter Five: Quinua or Quinoa?...............................................................................167 Limits to Research and Future Directions……………………………………...172 A final word…………………………………………………………………….174 References…………………………………………………………………………...….175 vii Appendix of Acronyms AAFN Alternative Agri-Food Network ANAPQUI Asociación Nacional de Productores de Quinua, National Association of Producers of Quinua AOBEB Asociación de Organizaciones de Productores Ecológicos de Bolivia, Asociation of Organizations of Ecological Producers of Bolivia APQUISA Asociación de Productores de Quinua Salinas, Association of Producers of Salinas Quinua CECOAT Central de Cooperativas Agropecuarias Operación Tierra CEDLA Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo Laboral y Agrario, Center of Studies for Labor and Agrarian Development CELSS Controlled Ecological Life Support System CSUTCB Confederación Sindical Unica de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia, United Confederation of Peasant Workers Unions of Bolivia DO Denomination of Origin FAO Food and Agriculture Organization (United Nations) FAUTAPO Fundación Autapo, Foundation Autapo GI Geographic Indication INE Instituto Nacional Estadistica, National Statistical Institute MAS Movimiento al Socialismo, Movement for Socialism MDRyT Ministerio de Desorollo Rural y Tierra, Ministry of Rural Development and Land MNR Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario, Revolutionary Nationalist Movement PROINPA Promoción e Investigación de Productos Andinos, Promotion and Research of Andean Products SIC Sistema Interno de Control, Internal System of Control TPC Third Party Certification USDA NOP United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Program WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization viii Figures and Photographs Figures Figure 2.1, map of Bolivia showing northern, central, and southern altiplano……….… 34 Figure 2.2, volume and value of quinua exports…………..……………………………. 57 Figure 2.3, price of exported quinua………………………………………………...….. 58 Figure 2.4, yield, surface area, and production of quinua………………………………. 67 Figure 2.5, fluctuation of pest populations in the southern altiplano ....………………... 69 Figure 2.6, fluctuation of pest populations in the central altiplano…………………….. 70 Figure 4.1, comparing production of quinua in Bolivia and Peru…………..………….124 Figure 4.2, different types of pest control use………………………………………….149 Photographs Photographs 1.1 and 1.2, quinua on grocery store shelves as “quinoa”…………………. 4 Photographs 2.1 and 2.2, the market in Challapata……………………………………... 61 Photographs 2.3 and 2.4, tractors for sale in Challapata……………………………...… 63 ix