Acai berries
Acai berry juice
Posted on 05/18/2009 7:34:01 AM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia
Rising U.S. sales of acai, a purple Amazon berry promoted as a "superfood" on Oprah Winfrey's Web site, are depriving Brazilian jungle dwellers of a protein-rich nutrient they've relied on for generations.
U.S. consumers are turning "a typical poor people's food into something like a delicacy," said Oscar Nogueira, who specializes in the fruit at Embrapa, Brazil's agricultural research company.
Spending on acai-based products by Americans seeking to lose weight, gain energy or slow aging doubled to $104 million last year, according to SPINS, a Schaumburg, Ill.-based market research firm. Since U.S. demand took off early this decade, the fruit's wholesale price in Brazil has jumped about 60-fold, Embrapa data show.
In 2008, exports from Para, the South American country's main producing state, climbed 53 percent to account for about a quarter of output, according to the local government. Production, though, has increased little in the past five years.
Ms. Winfrey, 55, discussed the berry with Mehmet Oz on her TV talk show in February 2008, when the New York cardiologist presented his anti-aging checklist. It includes acai, blueberries and tomatoes.
"It has twice the antioxidant content of a blueberry," said Dr. Oz, 48.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
Note to self: Begin construction of acai greenhouse this afternoon.
PT Barnum was right!
Capitalize on the demand, collect the berries and sell them, instead of eating them. Is entrepenuerism such a mystery to these dolts (the reporters)?
“Note to self: Begin construction of acai greenhouse this afternoon.”
LOL! That’s the entreprenurial spirit! Love it. ;)
I’ve had a bottled water drink that has those ingredients. Of course, it was just once because I had a coupon and it was FREE, LOL!
FWIW, genetics play a HUGE role in how your health is going to play out.
And a lot of hard work, fresh air and sunshine go a long way toward staying healthy, too. :)
(And no whining! Attitude is a large part of your health-life, too.)
Gotta love the ‘Oprahoids’ and their constant string of unintended consequences when trying to ‘do the right thing.’
*Rolleyes*
Excuse me.... Assuming the cause/effect of the acai berry is true and reasonable, then why do the DC wonks and media folks deny the linkage between ethanol and government subsidies for converting corn into fuel?
The government wonks are lost in the maze of inconsistencies.
“...Capitalize on the demand, collect the berries and sell them...” EXACTLY! When I first heard this story I thought: OK! a local crop’s value has skyrocketted and this is bad, why???
Ridiculous story and premise. Nobody is being deprived of anything. If there were truly a shortage they should grow more and make a nifty profit to boot.
Just shows how liberals don’t understand the basics.
What this has done is create a new (and highly profitable) cash crop for the area. They can take their new found wealth and purchase a variety of quality food.
They haven’t been deprived, they have been enriched.
Utter BS. There’s more than enough and before it got so popular these same folks were destroying the tres just to sell the ‘hearts of palm’ for salad garnish. Now, these folks have a viable, renewable source of income, and a great way of preserving the rain forrest.
You can google. Dr. Alexander Schuas. He’s the worlds leading expert on the Acai berry.
Even with the recent rise in global demand, over 90% of the acai fruit in Brazilian floodplains falls to the ground and is consumed by wildlife or simply decomposes. There is a tremendous quantity available. It’s actually the growth in income of the local harvesters that has contributed most to the price rise, not scarcity of the product and that has greatly boosted their local economy.
Another side-benefit has been the reduction in poachers that once cut down the entire fruit tree to harvest the palm heart, which is used as a garnish in expenisve restaurants. The fruit harvesters are now protecting the trees that generate their livelihood. Win-win for capitalism and the environment as far as I can tell... now time for another shot of Acai ;)
LOL!
Acai berry juice
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