Can you think of a good reason to have a war over breakfast cereal?

People in Bolivia can. In fact, Bolivian authorities recently set 23 metric tons of it on fire. That means a lot in a country full of poverty.

Have you ever heard of quinoa (KEEN-wah)? It sounds like something your mom might make you eat. And it is. The nutty grain used to be unpopular. But now people all over the world recognize something. It is very healthy! They’re snatching it up!

That’s great for Peruvians. They use chemical fertilizers. They produce way more quinoa that way. It’s not so great for Bolivians. They grow their quinoa using just lama dung. That means their quinoa is more expensive. It’s also safer to eat.

Peruvian farmers are selling a lot more quinoa for half the money. No one will buy Bolivian anymore. It’s too expensive! How will Bolivian farmers live now?

Some are smuggling in quinoa from Peru. They pretend it’s from Bolivia. They hide it among Bolivian quinoa.

After sin came into the world, God told us farming would be hard. The ground is cursed. Sometimes farmers don’t reap rewards for their hard work.

What happens now when Peruvian quinoa is caught at the border? It’s burned. Bolivian farmers are saying, “If things don’t change, our farms will fail!”

Maybe Bolivia’s government can help farmers. Can they prove Bolivian quinoa is better? More people might buy it then.