29 Aug How Gold Foods harvests Chia and Quinoa
Gold Foods USA delivers the highest quality of organic seeds and grains – chia seeds, both black and white, and quinoa – produced by small family farms in South America and sold to customers in the United States.
So why do we do it?
Quinoa and chia seeds are each a source of tremendous health benefits once added to the daily diet. They are rich in protein; iron; potassium; antioxidants; calcium; Omega 3; and vitamin C. Chia seeds and quinoa are also sugar free and gluten free.
Gold Foods is solely focused on selling products that help consumers live healthy lives. Our chia and quinoa are the best in the biz.
A little history
Chia is an edible seed grown in Mexico dating back to Mayan and Aztec cultures. “Chia” means strength, and folklore has it that these cultures used the tiny black and white seeds as a source of energy. Chia farms are now found throughout north, central and South America.
Quinoa, indigenous to Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, is a grain harvested for its seeds. Considered a superfood, much like chia, Quinoa is rich in nutrients, and lauded for its health benefits and taste. The seed has made its way onto menus worldwide and is an accepted food found at supermarkets and health food stores across the United States.
Where we source our seeds
We’ve placed considerable attention on working with local Bolivian farmers to ensure the best product without compromising quality. We follow each crop from the planting to the harvest.
We work hand in hand with farmers from the Santa Cruz region of Bolivia to promote both a sustainable agriculture and to harvest the highest quality chia and quinoa from the field to the store shelf.
Our hands-on approach and our selection of farmers is critical to ensuring the best product. The area surrounding the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra is noted for its temperate climate. At about 1300 feet above sea level, the weather is warm year round with an average temperature of 73 degrees. Winters are short – about 2 – 3 months long – making the region prominent for growing sugar and soybean, ideal for chia and quinoa.
The chia harvest season coincides with the time of the year when there’s the lowest rainfall. This gives our seeds its color – a blackish grey – that you don’t see from other chia producers. Their chia tends to have a dull hue. This is one of the reasons why our chia is considered of higher quality. In fact, our farmers never harvest a crop when the chia is brown, which means it’s not quite ready to be picked.
Our attention on how our chia and quinoa are planted, cared for and harvested is essential to our work. We believe the process increases the health benefits of chia and quinoa, feeding our ultimate goal of offering an array of products to health conscious men and women seeking a healthier lifestyle.
