Unlike vegetable and fruits, how quinoa looks probably doesn't matter to consumers at all. Given this is the case, selection criteria will focus more on nutrition numbers which they can advertise easily (20g OF PROTEIN!!!) than looks.
How does that explain white rice vs. brown rice preferences, or glutinous rice vs longgrain, etc.
People have preferences for some characteristics in something which would seem to be very ordinary.
Maybe quinoa is different, but who knows, at this point. Maybe it's like oats. Oats are oats are oats, for most people, I think (except for the cutting vs rolling process)
I am not attempting to explain why every kind of food is selected for certain criteria for whatever reason. I am not also saying that you either select to for looks or nutrition. It's a matter of degree and compromise between different criteria. For quinoa particularly, I think it happens to be a type of food that largely guides people's preference based on nutrition rather than looks.
I expect quinoa will be selected for environmental tolerance first. Given how difficult it is to grow in th US, top priority would be getting consistent high yield in North American conditions. Breeding has to meet the farmer's needs before you start considering the consumer.
True, so unless the quinoa is the same (flavor, texture, cooking, etc) across different varieties, people might prefer lower yield vars or nutritionally poorer varieties.
To you, maybe. I prefer it, mainly because it has a taste, especially compared to white rice.
Also, trying to live on white rice can lead to beriberi because white rice, shorn of the husk, bran, and germ, is vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficient: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beriberi
> has anti-nutrients that block absorption of B vitamins and minerals like magnesium
The closest it comes is a warning about inhibiting the uptake of zinc and iron. In fact, it explicitly calls out the vitamin B content of brown rice as being very good, especially compared to white rice.
