[10] As a result of increased consumption in North America, Europe, and Australasia, quinoa crop prices tripled between 2006 and 2014, entering a boom and bust cycle.

[17] In the natural environment, betalains serve to attract animals to generate a greater rate of pollination and ensure, or improve, seed dissemination.

[19] In regards to the "newly" developed salinity resistance of C. quinoa, some studies have concluded that accumulation of organic osmolytes plays a dual role for the species.

Studies also suggested that reduction in stomatal density in reaction to salinity levels represents an essential instrument of defence to optimize water use efficiency under the given conditions to which it may be exposed.

[20] The species Chenopodium quinoa was first described by Carl Ludwig Willdenow (1765–1812),[21] a German botanist who studied plants from South America, brought back by explorers Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland.

In a process started by a number of pre-Inca South American indigenous cultures, people in Chile have been adapting quinoa to salinity and other forms of stress over the last 3,000 years.

Each of these areas is different: indigenous small-scale growers near the border with Bolivia who grow many types of Bolivian forms, a few farmers in the central region who exclusively grow a white-seeded variety and generally market their crops through a well-known cooperative, and in the south by women in home gardens in Mapuche reserves.

[32] In 2004, the international community became increasingly interested in quinoa and it entered a boom and bust economic cycle that would last for over ten years.

[33] Particularly for the high variety of Chilean landraces, in addition to how the plant has adapted to different latitudes, this crop is now potentially cultivable almost anywhere in the world.

[14] Quinoa has been cultivated in the United States, primarily in the high elevation San Luis Valley of Colorado where it was introduced in 1983.

The Washington State University Skagit River Valley research facility near Mount Vernon grew thousands of its own experimental varieties.

[37] Due to the short growing season, North American cultivation requires short-maturity varieties, typically of Bolivian origin.

[40] Quinoa requires a significant amount of precipitation in order to germinate, therefore the traditional sowing date in Peru was between September and November.

[46][47] Through traditional selective breeding and, potentially, genetic engineering, the plant is being modified to have higher crop yield, improved tolerance to heat and biotic stress, and greater sweetness through saponin inhibition.

In the United States, varieties have been selected for uniformity of maturity and are mechanically harvested using conventional small grain combines.

[citation needed] The plants are allowed to stand until the stalks and seeds have dried out and the grain has reached a moisture content below 10%.

Since the early 21st century when quinoa became more commonly consumed in North America, Europe, and Australasia where it was not typically grown, the crop value increased.

[10] As a result of expanding production outside the Andean highlands native for quinoa, the price plummeted starting in early 2015 and remained low for years.

[12][55][52]: 176–77  However, a 2016 study using Peru's Encuesta Nacional de Hogares found that rising quinoa prices during 2004–2013 led to net economic benefits for producers,[56] and other commentary indicated similar conclusions,[57] including for women specifically.

The degree to which individual producers benefit from the global quinoa boom depends on its mode of production, for example through producer associations and co-operatives such as the Asociación Nacional de Productores de Quinua (founded in the 1970s), contracting through vertically integrated private firms, or wage labor.

[60][61] The growth of quinoa consumption outside of its indigenous region has raised concerns over food security of the original consumers, unsustainably intensive farming of the crop, expansion of farming into otherwise marginal agricultural lands with concurrent loss of the natural environment, threatening both the sustainability of producer agriculture and the biodiversity of quinoa.

[64][65] Particularly in the Uyuni salt flats, soil degradation has occurred due to mechanized production and decreased vegetation cover after clearing for quinoa fields.

[72][73] In South America, these saponins have many uses, including as a detergent for clothing and washing, and as a folk medicine antiseptic for skin injuries.

[72] Additionally, the leaves and stems of all species of the genus Chenopodium and related genera of the family Amaranthaceae, including quinoa, contain high levels of oxalic acid.

[75] Quinoa is high in protein, which makes it a possible alternative to meat for vegetarians and vegans, and for people who are lactose intolerant.

[76] Some of these qualities may have improved the market to economically privileged people in North America, possibly increasing the price of quinoa.

[77] The Spanish noticed that quinoa was consumed everyday and as a part of special ceremonies, so they decided it could grant power to people and threatened their conquest.

[6] Because quinoa has a high concentration of protein and is a good source of many micronutrients, has versatility in preparation, and a potential for increased yields in controlled environments,[80] it has been selected as an experimental crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration human occupied space flights.

The objective was to draw the world's attention to the role that quinoa could play in providing food security, nutrition and poverty eradication in support of achieving Millennium Development Goals.

Some academic commentary emphasized that quinoa production could have ecological and social drawbacks in its native regions, and that these problems needed to be tackled.