Community considerations for quinoa production in the urban environment

Production of food crops in urban settings is an increasingly consumer-accepted means of contributing to local food security and access to fresh produce. Many urban gardens are located on former industrial sites (brownfields) that may be contaminated by heavy metals. Growing crops in trace metal contaminated soil can pose human health concerns. Little has been documented on the uptake of metals from urban sites by crops, and especially the partitioning of metals between roots, shoots and seeds. Human health impacts are of particular concern when locally grown produce constitutes a major proportion of the local diet. The results of this study show that quinoa grown on brownfield sites in Vancouver, Canada may contain elevated levels of metals such as Cd, Cu and Pb.