This is a great Los Angeles Times story on Steven Kwon, who quit his job as a Nestle nutritionist and started a nonprofit, Nutrition & Education International, which gives thousands of farmers in Afghanistan a low-risk crop option: soybeans. Kwon has singlehandedly introduced soybeans to Afghanistan.
Pasadena retiree fights malnutrition in Afghanistan -- with soybeans.
The organization provides free soy seed, fertilizer and training to farmers and offers to buy the harvest. This takes away most of the farmers' risk, and most keep the soybeans as food for their families.
Over the last two years, 4,400 Afghan farmers in 15 provinces planted 80 tons of seed, resulting in a harvest of 2,000 tons. It's a lofty goal, but Kwon aims to eventually all but eliminate malnutrition in the country. Awesome. It's the power of the soybean.
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