by Chris McGowan
(translation of Aldicir Scariot
interview by Luciana Dutra)
interview by Luciana Dutra)
Could a little-known nut from Brazil become a global
super food and help save South America’s two biggest ecosystems? Baru is
a smooth brown nut with a delicate taste that is somewhere between a peanut and
a cashew; it is packed with protein and nutrients. It comes from the baruzeiro
tree (Dipteryx alata Vogel), which grows mostly in the Cerrado region of
Brazil, a giant savanna in the heart of the continent that covers some two
million square kilometers, about 21% of the country.
The
Cerrado is South America’s second largest biome
after the Amazon rain forest and has come under even greater attack – it
has
lost some fifty percent of its original vegetation, due mostly to cattle
ranching and soy production, which are powering Brazil's current
agricultural boom. ...Cultivating a native tree like the baruzeiro, or at least preserving those still standing, is one small step towards reversing the ecological devastation in the region. There is a big incentive for local farmers to do this: the baru nut is a powerhouse treat that could generate serious national and global sales and join the pantheon of better-known nuts.
Read more.
_______
