Gluten-free and socially responsible: Why not?!

A while ago I talked to a friend of mine who has celiac disease what she thinks about Fair Trade.   She was very excited about the topic and explained me that many small farmers in developing countries would end to exist without Fair Trade.  I was impressed by her knowledge about the topic but when I asked her what kind of Fair Trade products she buys her answer surprised me.  She explained me that apart from raw materials there are no gluten-free Fair Trade products!

I have always believed that all people would have at least theoretically access to Fair Trade products.  Maybe not all products are certified but many products are still sourced on a Fair Trade basis.  After this conversation I started searching on my own for gluten-free Fair Trade products:  Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Amazon.com, glutenfreemall.com, just to name a few... but I found nothing!

A few months later, I traveled to Peru to visit my wife's family.  Her grandfather is a chef and has his own catering business.  When I told him the story he laughed and gave me a bag of Quinoa cereals.  He said: "If you can pay the producer a fair price and give it to your friend, you will have the first gluten-free Fair Trade product!"  

He was right Quinoa.  The "Holy Mother Grain" as the Inca used to call it, is naturally gluten-fee, highly nutritious and cultivated traditionally for the past 6,000 years by small producers in the south-east of Peru.  As I found out later during a field trip to Colombia, Quinoa is so resistant to pests that is does neither need pesticides nor artificial fertilizers!

This experience was the start to a new journey in my life: Finding ways to promote the development of socially responsible gluten-free products!

About me

My name is Robin Bartling and I am a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where I am a Legatum Fellow for developmental entrepreneurship.  I care about three things

• Gluten-free ingredients from Latin America: Quinoa, Cassava, Amaranth
• Social responsibility: Fair Trade, Ecologically Friendly, Sustainable
• New opportunities for Gluten Free Fair Trade Products

Please let me know your thoughts and spread the word about this topic. 

Apart from work and studies, I spend my time with my wife, Christiane, and our two daughters, Noemi and Jael.  We enjoy outdoor activities and love traveling.  If you want to learn more about my professional background, please visit my Linked-In profile (Robin Bartling).  For more information about my cause please go to my changents blog!