Coca Tea in Caracas
“The Venezuelan cooperative, Cocoven, is promoting Coca tea, powdered coca tea, coca candles, and coca flour.”
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Peru’s eradication program
Peru seeks to reduce coca output by 30%
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Smart, misinformed people and Coca
Dan Simpson is a former U.S. Ambassador to the Central African Republic and currently an associate editor for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
A Yale graduate and diplomat for many years , he is no dummy.
Yet, despite his impressive resume and extensive international travel, he still doesn’t have the facts right about the coca leaf.
While I commend Mr. Simpson for bringing to attention some of the horrible conditions that exist in Bolivia and asking for the U.S. to help, he inadvertently positioned the coca leaf in a negative light and made some grave mistakes in his recent article: Befriending Bolivia.
“Prior to being elected president for the first time in 2005, Mr. Morales headed Bolivia’s coca-growers association — coca as in cocaine, constituting an estimated 10 percent of Bolivia’s economy. Ah, Bolivia.”
This is a huge error. Coca is not cocaine, a popular misconception in the United States. It is one of the most nutritious leaves in the world.
In Bolivia and Peru, where food is tough to come by, the leaf provides much needed nutrition and energy to residents in two of the poorest countries in the world.
Unfortunately, in a complicated process spanning several days, the leaf along with many dangerous chemicals can be made into cocaine. Important difference.
“Finally, in Bolivia’s important mining industry workers extract zinc, lithium and other minerals in some of the grimmest conditions I have ever seen. They chew coca leaves just to endure the work.“
Coca leaves are a much healthier (and effective) alternative to coffee in providing energy and dealing with high altitudes.
A study conducted by Harvard University (get PDF here) found that chewing 100 grams of coca leaves provides an adult with a full day of nutritional sustenance.
The chewing of coca leaves should not be seen as an effect of the horrendous conditions.
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