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After reading the entire article, what I still don't get is: why quinoa? Especially as regards this quote from owner David Friedberg: "We've got to do two thin

After reading the entire article, what I still don't get is: why quinoa? Especially as regards this quote from owner David Friedberg: "We've got to do two things: get healthy products down to a price point that McDonald’s and Taco Bell are winning on, and offer products tasty enough to disrupt the meat-focussed fast-food business ... We think the way to do it is quinoa." Is quinoa really the best choice for those criteria? This feels more like trying to go a bit more upmarket and tie in to the quinoa hype than really looking for something that can produce McDonald's-level prices and appeal. I mean, the first two things that come to mind when I think of quinoa are "fairly expensive" and "doesn't taste great", so if I were looking for a low-cost-and-tasty staple ingredient, it's not what I'd pick.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
MustardTiger 10y ago
It really makes no sense. Quinoa has no upsides here, it is just fashionable with a small number of faux health nuts.
rogerbinns 10y ago
> "fairly expensive" The higher consumption becomes the more economies of scale are available, leading to cheaper product. > "doesn't taste great" Barely tastes of anything (or mild nutty flavour) are the usual descriptions. But it does absorb flavours during the cooking process so to a certain extent you can make the final dish taste of virtually anything!
- scaryspooky 10y ago
  Plus you get a cute little tail when it is done cooking.
beloch 10y ago
Quinoa has about twice the protein content of white rice, which is why some people like it, nevermind the fact that putting a few beans in your rice gets you the same nutrients for less money. Some people also like the taste (I do). However, just because a meal has one healthy ingredient doesn't mean it's healthy. "The lunch bowls contain as much as thirty-two grams of fat and fourteen hundred milligrams of sodium—on par with a Big Mac-and-large-fries combo, which has twelve hundred milligrams of sodium and fifty-three grams of fat. (Most Eatsa bowls have single-digit levels of saturated fats, however, considerably lower than the levels in the combo meal.)" Why is this stuff basically a deep fried salt-lick? Taste, probably. Like McDonalds, it's not going to kill you if you indulge once in a while, but don't kid yourself that this is something you can eat everyday without there being some repercussions. Marketing this as "healthy" is highly deceptive. "High sodium and fat content, which are associated with heart disease, may counteract some of the health benefits of the vegetable-rich quinoa bowls. But Friedberg is more interested in the grain’s planetary benefits. Animal feed, he noted, supplies the calories for growing the entire animal, not just the meat that’s sold as the end product..." Justifying deceptive marketing of fast-food junk as health-food in order to save precious planetary resources smacks of sophistry. This guy could try to produce cheap, healthy, environmentally friendly food if he wanted to, but he wanted to be profitable instead. That's fine, but convincing people your junk is healthy is a damned scummy way to go about it. It's killing humans to save cows.
- wcummings 10y ago
  Quinoa is low in protein but it is a complete protein. Handy for vegetarians.
  - grenoire 10y ago
    So is white rice and beans. It's a complementary pair.
  - grater 10y ago
    You don't need complete protein, only the 8 amino acids that our bodies can't synthesize. Any plant food contains more than enough of those amino acids.
- pmoriarty 10y ago
  Rice often has arsenic in it.
  - simonebrunozzi 10y ago
    Wow. Source?
    - pmoriarty 10y ago
      Just do a web search for "rice" and "arsenic". There are tons of sources. A few examples: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm352569.htm http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm352569.ht... http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/01/how-much-arsenic-is-in-your-rice/index.htm http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/01/how-much... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9936507 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9936507
strainer 10y ago
Quinoa has thousands of years of history as a staple crop with no known health issues. Its protein content is considered optimal by contemporary medical advice on vegetarian dietary needs. I recall reports of it being able to sustain health in extremely limited diets better than other cereals can - make of what you will, I don't expect those reports were fabricated by alternative food fad scammers. At the very least Quinoa seems a fine (and tasty) staple grain to increase variety with - an aspect of diet which is very widely advised as a positive thing.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

MustardTiger 10y ago

It really makes no sense. Quinoa has no upsides here, it is just fashionable with a small number of faux health nuts.

rogerbinns 10y ago

> "fairly expensive" The higher consumption becomes the more economies of scale are available, leading to cheaper product. > "doesn't taste great" Barely tastes of anything (or mild nutty flavour) are the usual descriptions. But it does absorb flavours during the cooking process so to a certain extent you can make the final dish taste of virtually anything!

scaryspooky 10y ago
Plus you get a cute little tail when it is done cooking.

beloch 10y ago

Quinoa has about twice the protein content of white rice, which is why some people like it, nevermind the fact that putting a few beans in your rice gets you the same nutrients for less money. Some people also like the taste (I do). However, just because a meal has one healthy ingredient doesn't mean it's healthy. "The lunch bowls contain as much as thirty-two grams of fat and fourteen hundred milligrams of sodium—on par with a Big Mac-and-large-fries combo, which has twelve hundred milligrams of sodium and fifty-three grams of fat. (Most Eatsa bowls have single-digit levels of saturated fats, however, considerably lower than the levels in the combo meal.)" Why is this stuff basically a deep fried salt-lick? Taste, probably. Like McDonalds, it's not going to kill you if you indulge once in a while, but don't kid yourself that this is something you can eat everyday without there being some repercussions. Marketing this as "healthy" is highly deceptive. "High sodium and fat content, which are associated with heart disease, may counteract some of the health benefits of the vegetable-rich quinoa bowls. But Friedberg is more interested in the grain’s planetary benefits. Animal feed, he noted, supplies the calories for growing the entire animal, not just the meat that’s sold as the end product..." Justifying deceptive marketing of fast-food junk as health-food in order to save precious planetary resources smacks of sophistry. This guy could try to produce cheap, healthy, environmentally friendly food if he wanted to, but he wanted to be profitable instead. That's fine, but convincing people your junk is healthy is a damned scummy way to go about it. It's killing humans to save cows.

wcummings 10y ago
Quinoa is low in protein but it is a complete protein. Handy for vegetarians.
- grenoire 10y ago
  So is white rice and beans. It's a complementary pair.
- grater 10y ago
  You don't need complete protein, only the 8 amino acids that our bodies can't synthesize. Any plant food contains more than enough of those amino acids.
pmoriarty 10y ago
Rice often has arsenic in it.
- simonebrunozzi 10y ago
  Wow. Source?
  - pmoriarty 10y ago
    Just do a web search for "rice" and "arsenic". There are tons of sources. A few examples: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm352569.htm http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm352569.ht... http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/01/how-much-arsenic-is-in-your-rice/index.htm http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/01/how-much... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9936507 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9936507

strainer 10y ago

Quinoa has thousands of years of history as a staple crop with no known health issues. Its protein content is considered optimal by contemporary medical advice on vegetarian dietary needs. I recall reports of it being able to sustain health in extremely limited diets better than other cereals can - make of what you will, I don't expect those reports were fabricated by alternative food fad scammers. At the very least Quinoa seems a fine (and tasty) staple grain to increase variety with - an aspect of diet which is very widely advised as a positive thing.