Quinoa’s Credentials

When we say quinoa is one of the world’s most sustainable crops, we mean it. Put simple, quinoa needs less water and fewer resources to grow. This means less carbon is produced by making KeenWah MilQ when compared to dairy milk or even other plant-based alternatives. So choosing MilQ equals less impact on the planet and a better future for everyone.

Don’t just take our word for it though - here’s why we call quinoa a ‘miracle seed’.

 
 
 
 

Ready for a deep dive into growing quinoa? Let’s go.

All crops need resources to flourish. The two main reasons quinoa has superior sustainability depends two major resources, which are:

LAND USE

The Organic Quinoa we use to make KeenWah MilQ is grown in the high altitude salt plains of Bolivia, South America. This region has a pretty big reputation as a top-shelf producer of top-shelf quinoa.

The Bolivian salt plains are arid and dry, with very little rainfall. This makes it unsuitable for other types of farming. Luckily, quinoa isn’t like most other farm crops - the unique combination of the climate and the geological location makes Bolivian Quinoa the most sustainable crop used to create plant-based milk.

WATER

We know water is one of the world’s most precious resources. Humans need it, animals need it, and plants absolutely need it. Different plants need different amounts of water to grow. These amounts are called a water footprint and they can be vastly different between crops.

Here are three types of water footprints:

  • Green water footprint is water from precipitation that is stored in the root zone of the soil and evaporated, transpired or incorporated by plants. For example, this could be rainwater that has been absorbed into the soil.

  • Blue water footprint is freshwater that has been sourced from surface or groundwater resources, like tanks and other reserves. It’s either evaporated, incorporated into a product or taken from one body of water and returned to another, or returned at a different time.

  • Grey water footprint is a pollution indicator and refers to the amount of fresh water needed to assimilate or absorb pollutants to meet specific water quality standards.

You can see the various water footprints of different plant milk bases below - measured in evapotranspiration - which means how much water evaporates or transpires from an area into the atmosphere.

Quinoa has the lowest water footprint overall, in some cases dramatically less than other grains and seeds.

 

Source:  Assistant Professor Mesfin Mekonnen, Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering, The University of Alabama.

We don’t want to say we told you so, so let’s just agree that drinking KeenWah MilQ equals less impact on the planet - and a better future for everyone.