Açaí. Whether you know how to say it or not, it is hard to go without knowing the fruit. Over the past 10 years the fruit has gained popularity with a wide range of audiences. Açaí is acclaimed for its health benefits including increased cognitive function, COVID resistance, heart protection, weight loss, and much, much more. Now it is found in drinks, granola bars, supplements, and most popular, frozen and sweetened as bowls.
The “Açaí Bowl”, a combination of açaí, fruits, nuts, and granola. Source 1
Many thought it would just be an Instagram trend. Many thought it would be just another “super fruit” proven to be just your average fruit. So far, the growth has not stopped. With more açaí bowl shops popping up on every street corner, including here on campus, the American demand for açaí has never been higher. So, how did the açaí we all know and love come to cement itself into our modern culture?
The Açaí Movement
It all started in the 1980s. Rio de Janeiro, much like US states like California, has seen its fair share of health crazes. Açaí was modernized by the famous(according to Google) Brazilian Jujitsu founder Carlos Gracie. He built an entire nutritional system around the small purple fruit that claimed to give his fighters the leg up in the ring. Soon it caught on throughout Brazil, where the trees are conveniently native.
However, Gracie was not the first person to find açaí. Açaí has been consumed for hundreds of years by Amazonian tribes. Paired alongside many savory meals the berries are ground up and the pulp is enjoyed, unlike the sweetened and frozen treat we in America have come to know. Here, it has maintained life for people who often still live off of what nature produces.
Euterpe oleracea, the açaí palm covered with fruit high up into the tree. Source 2
Some even say açaí, which means “fruit that cries” in native dialects, was the creation of the prayers of a chief’s heartbroken daughter. After a poor harvest, Chief Itaqui ordered all newborns to be sacrificed, including his granddaughter. Distraught, his daughter, Iaça (which happens to be açaí backward), cried herself to death and where she died sprouted the first açaí palm which sustained her people until the following season.
The Problem Sustaining the Industry
As with any other rapidly growing industry, açaí does not come without controversy. To pick the berries, harvesters must climb the 60-foot palms with no more than a knife and rope around their feet. They swing from tree to tree collecting the fronds covered with delicate berries. It is a dangerous job that with no surprise leads to many injuries each year. The berries must quickly be picked from the branches and shipped off to processing for they spoil in under 48 hours. This often leaves small family growers selling a day’s worth of work for under 40 dollars. No matter how much they pick each season, many farmers are still left in poverty as they are stuck at the beginning of the price-gouging industry.
A young child harvesting an açaí frond high up in tree. Source 3
To add further controversy, families throughout the Amazon utilize their children to pick berries. Often lighter than adults, the children, some as young as 10, can easily climb the trees. It was been this way for many decades as older generations teach the young how to continue their ways. Many have come to criticize this system. Some American companies claim to purchase only from certified child-free operations, of which they pay the same price per berries. Thus, often leaving families without a choice but to accept certification and continue to use all the hands available (including their children) to provide for the family.
The Future of Açaí
In my opinion, I think açaí will become the new avocado, or the avocado became the new açaí, it’s hard to tell. It will fade in and out of popularity just as all “super fruits” do. As for the industry standards, I think for the demand, the system is validated. American companies are demanding more and more cheap açaí to come out of Brazil-one of the few areas where the palms grow. This is pressuring exporters to find as much açaí as possible for the cheapest price. The demand is there and many families know that they can profit, even if it is still just enough to stay alive.
That is not to say I condone the use of children to harvest. Yes, children should help their families run their “business” if they are desperately needed. However, more can be done to make them not desperately needed. In this case, legislation needs to get ahead of demand.
Similar to the idea of Fair Trade cacao that I discussed in Chocolate: A Bitter-Sweet History price standards need to be established. When this is done, families won’t be forced to utilize their children to make ends meet and will be able to make a livable income from the berry that is in such demand. Açaí is not going anywhere. It is our job as consumers to ensure that we ensure fair systems be established to support the producers of the berry we have come to love so much.
It was really interesting to learn more about where acai came from and how it became popularized in many places. This post was very informative, not only about the origin story of the fruit, but also how it’s being produced and sold in industry. I like to eat acai bowls, so it was nice to know what I have been eating and how this it has impacted other people around the globe. Lastly, your title was captivating and the small subtile gave the perfect description for your article.
I enjoyed this post about acai, even though I am actually not familiar with the taste, having never had an acai bowl before. Since the berries are already fairly pricy by the time they get to the consumer, I would be interested to see if establishing a sort of fair trade route for sourcing the berries would elevate the price of acai bowls to the point that they would no longer be a viable meal option for most consumers, leading to the eventual downfall of this dish. On the plant science side of things, I have to wonder if there would be any method growing these trees (grafting, hormone treatments, pruning, etc.) that could lead to them being shorter and much easier to harvest than the standard trees. I would imagine that if acai continues to be popular, someone would put more effort into developing a more commercially viable variety of acai that was either lower to the ground or better suited for mechanical harvesting