Peru President Suggests Coca in Salads

[NVMojo]

LIMA, Peru (AP) -

President Alan Garcia on Tuesday suggested an unorthodox use for the coca leaf, the raw material for cocaine: Why not toss it in a salad?

"I insist that it can be consumed directly and elegantly in salad," Garcia told foreign correspondents at the Government Palace.

Garcia's comments put him in the company of leftist presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who have publicly promoted mixing the high-calcium leaf into everything from toothpaste to soft drinks.

Coca has for centuries been considered a medicinal and ceremonial plant in Andean culture, and Garcia said it should not be vilified as useful solely for producing the illegal narcotic.

Garcia said Gaston Acurio, one of Peru's best known chefs, recently served several coca-based dishes for an event at the Government Palace.

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-sa/2006/dec/19/121908602.html

[MADem]

1. Geez, that would probably encourage people to eat their Five a Day

AND brush their teeth!!!

[mike_c]

2. it makes a damned tasty tea, one of my favorite herbal teas....

I would think it would be a bit caustic in salad, however. They must add a strong base to neutralize the latex? Coca is an awesome plant, as is Cannabis in its several forms....

[MGD]

3. Better yet, put some in that water bottle at the office and watch productivity soar.

[Cleita]

4. When I lived in Chile at 11,000 feet altitude the indigenous

people would brew a tea with it for altitude sickness. It works. Every time I had to go up there after being at sea level for nine months, my body had to adjust to the altitude. My parent's cook, an Aymara Indian woman, always gave me coca tea to alleviate the symptoms. The way it's used by the indigenous Andean people is not to blow it up their noses like they do here but use it in the leaf form for various reasons and cures.

btw none of us who used the coca medicinally every got addicted.

[mike_c]

6. I drank coca tea daily for several years...

...and only stopped a couple of years ago because I got paranoid about ordering coca leaves from Peru. It is fantastic-- tastes great and is a much less twitchy stimulant than caffeine. American prohibitions against things like coca are truly ridiculous.

[NVMojo]

7. big brother has been active in Amerika for a long, long time ...

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. There was a time, back in the 80's...

When I and everyone I knew would have turned vegetarian over news like this.

Happily, that time has passed. ;-)