Richer Countries Strain Developing Ones by Importing Crops That Need Pollinators
15/03/2021
A pollinator on an açaí palm flower. Photo: Cristiano Menezes.
Luísa Carvalheiro says she remembers a time when açaí was just a humble berry, a staple for the Amazon’s Indigenous communities. That was before the inky purple berries became all the rage in Europe and the US, a so-called superfood promising everything from weight loss to lasting youth.
Claims about the powers of this fruit of the South American palm (
Euterpe oleracea), some justified and some spurious, have proliferated. But what really disturbs ecologist Carvalheiro and her colleague Felipe Deodato da Silva e Silva, both based in Brazil, is this: with the export of açaí, Brazil is also exporting the services of its precious pollinators.