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Plants & People: The Intersection of Botany and Human Experience

Açaí Harvest

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The açaí berry is a small fruit, similar in size to a blueberry but deeper purple in color. Native to Eastern Amazonia, the açaí berry has only recently begun to be popularized as a “superfood” in urban communities in the United States within the past 20 years. This superfood claims to be helpful for a variety of major health concerns including, but not limited to, arthritis, weight loss, high cholesterol, and detoxification (NCCIH). Even though research is limited and these claims remain unproven, the popularity of açaí berries still manages to grow exponentially each year. The global market for the açaí berry is expected to exceed $2 billion by 2026 (McCoy). The only proven claim than can be made about the açaí berry is that its rise in popularity only serves to threaten the lives of families, both adults and children, that are living in the surrounding communities in the Amazon who are responsible for harvesting the berries and are, in turn, routinely exploited for cheap, quick labor. More often than not, these açaí pickers, known as peconheiros, are forced to work in critically dangerous conditions and are paid little to nothing. Peconheiros are regularly exposed to serious injuries including bone fractures, accidental knife wounds, and venomous snake and spider bites. With the açaí trees growing upwards of 50 feet tall and only a braided rope being provided to climb, falls are common– and sometimes fatal. Further, peconheiros have no way of advocating for themselves in the event that they do become injured in the forest. No laws or regulations exist that protect the safety and wellness of the peconheiros. by Roberto Vindel, Pauline Le, and Max Kwon #Açaí
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Açaí Berry: The Exploitation of Labor in South America The açaí berry is a small fruit, similar in size to a blueberry but deeper purple in color. Native to Eastern Amazonia, the açaí berry has only recently begun to be popularized as a “superfood” in urban communities in the United States within the past 20 years. This superfood claims to be helpful for a variety of major health concerns including, but not limited to, arthritis, weight loss, high cholesterol, and detoxification (NCCIH). Even though research is limited and these claims remain unproven, the popularity of açaí berries still manages to grow exponentially each year. The global market for the açaí berry is expected to exceed $2 billion by 2026 (McCoy). The only proven claim than can be made about the açaí berry is that its rise in popularity only serves to threaten the lives of families, both adults and children, that are living in the surrounding communities in the Amazon who are responsible for harvesting the berries and are, in turn, routinely exploited for cheap, quick labor. More often than not, these açaí pickers, known as peconheiros, are forced to work in critically dangerous conditions and are paid little to nothing. Peconheiros are regularly exposed to serious injuries including bone fractures, accidental knife wounds, and venomous snake and spider bites. With the açaí trees growing upwards of 50 feet tall and only a braided rope being provided to climb, falls are common– and sometimes fatal. Further, peconheiros have no way of advocating for themselves in the event that they do become injured in the forest. No laws or regulations exist that protect the safety and wellness of the peconheiros. by Roberto Vindel, Pauline Le, and Max Kwon #Açaí Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Rhoncus est pellentesque elit ullamcorper dignissim. Porta lorem mollis aliquam ut. Pellentesque eu tincidunt tortor aliquam nulla. Quis risus sed vulputate odio. Quis imperdiet massa tincidunt nunc pulvinar sapien. Dui ut ornare lectus sit amet. Purus sit amet luctus venenatis lectus magna. Enim nulla aliquet porttitor lacus luctus accumsan tortor. Eu mi bibendum neque egestas congue. Facilisi etiam dignissim diam quis enim lobortis scelerisque fermentum dui. Sed pulvinar proin gravida hendrerit. Nibh mauris cursus mattis molestie. Tortor consequat id porta nibh venenatis cras sed. Volutpat consequat mauris nunc congue nisi vitae suscipit tellus mauris. Donec ultrices tincidunt arcu non sodales neque sodales. Adipiscing tristique risus nec feugiat in fermentum posuere urna. Id velit ut tortor pretium viverra suspendisse. Volutpat commodo sed egestas egestas fringilla phasellus faucibus scelerisque.

The identity of euterpe oleracea mart., popularly known as açaí, is strongly influenced by indiginous cultures based in South America. In an indiginous settlement located in the Vaupes department of Columbia, cubeo is the native language. In cubeo the euterpe oleracea is known as Acai, Asai, Bambil, Cansin, Murrapo, Nãhõemimueñi, and Nãhõemimueñi (Kew Science, 2022). At the border of Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador the spoken language shifts into one of the greater Choco languages Wounaan. The language, unlike cubeo, has a less diverse array of terms for acai, calling it murrapho (Kew Science, 2022). As you near more centralized areas of South America the Spanish language begins to dominate, each country having a different slang for the species. In Colombia acai is known as Naidi, while Ecuador named it palmiche (Cococauca, 2019).

The Arecaceae family is composed of perennial flowering species normally found in humid climates. The lineage is split into five subspecies Calamoideae, Nypoideae, Coryphoideae, Ceroxyloideae, and Arecaceae (De Santana Lopes et al., 2021). The basal subfamily, Calamoideae, diverged with its scale-bearing fruits and an abundant number of climbing species. The lineage then diverges into the four sister subfamilies where spiny leaved palms are produced in tropical and humid climates such as South America. Euterpe is the only genus that produces the acai fruit with oleracea and precatoria being the main sources (Yamaguchi K K, 2015). The former produces fruit from multiple stems and the latter uses only a single stem.

The açaí palm is able to grow the fruit and flowers throughout the whole year, but there are periods of high production. High amounts of berry production usually happen during the dry seasons of the year. The palm is found in the flooded plains of the Amazon and can handle being in poor soil conditions due to the formation of a large root structure. Humans and animals either inadvertently or purposely spread the seeds as they seek the desired taste of its fruit and high energy content. Alternatively, the flooded plains transport seed through the flow of water. As the seed settle the defining factor in its quick growth is the availability of light. Their incapability to grow in the shade forces humans to cut down the canopy as well as competition to allow its quick growth.

Vegetative Morphology
The açaí is a tall palm tree that can reach up to 25m (Masats, 2021) with pinnate compounded leaves called fronds. There is a grouping of branches at the top, and the açaí fruit hangs lower in clusters. The trunk, or stipes, is slender, cylindrical, fibrous, and often light-grey in color. The stems are often clustered in clumps of up to 20. The açaí has epigeal or aerial roots 40-50 cm. above ground and utilizes pneumataphores (sciencedirect.com).

Reproductive Morphology
The açaí has inflorescence-branched flowering that are cream or purple in color. They are also monoecious, which means they have flowers that are staiminate and pistillate, with the female flowers 2-3 times bigger than the male counterpart (nparks.gov.sg). The fruit is a small, round drupe that is black/purple in color at maturity. It is indehiscent, with the exocarp/skin being green and ripening to a dark purple (sciencedirect.com). The fleshy mesocarp is pulpy, and the endocarp is single-seeded and large, making up 60-80% of the fruit (Marcason, 2009). The açaí tree bears fruit year round, but there are usually two large harvests a year.

Historical Accounts
There is a historical legend associated with the açaí. An indigenous tribe of Pará was in a famine and starved, so the chief, Itaki, wanted to save his people and thus ordered that all the newborns be sacrificed - including his own daughter’s child, Iaça. She was heartbroken and walked through the woods, weeping and crying. The next day, Itaki found Iaça under a tree with small black fruits in the leaves. They made a drink from the fruit and solved the hunger problem, and in honor of Iaça, they named the palm tree after her name in reverse: açaí.
Historically, açaí has been in Brazilian diets for centuries, often eaten as a juice or pudding-like pulp. The tribes in the Amazon rainforest region used the açaí to treat ailments as medicine and for health in “strengthening the immune system, fighting off infection, heart health, and even a sexual stimulant” (Colapinto, 2011). Acai is harvested by the ribeirinhos, or river people, and is often seen in every meal. The local people have a saying that “Without acai, I am still hungry”, symbolzing the importance of acai in the region (Colapinto, 2011). In addition to the fruit, acai trees are cultivated for its heart of palm, leaves, and wood.

Domestication History
The açaí has been domesticated for centuries in the northern Brazilian Amazon region as a staple in their diet. The villagers would learn to climb the tree trunk and harvest the fruit starting from a young age - starting around seven or eight years old (nature.org). Açaí exploded in popularity around the world starting in the early 1990s due to Jeremy and Ryan Black, from Southern California, when they began exporting the fruit to the US (nativoacai.com). It has been advertised as a ‘superfood’ and healthy snack alternative, which launched further productivity for the açaí crop.
Cultivation Practices
The açaí berry grows in the tropical setting of the Amazon on trees that reach up to 60 feet tall. Açaí harvesters, commonly referred to as peconheiros, are mainly families living in surrounding areas in Brazil (McCoy). Thousands of families participate in the harvest each year, as it is their sole source of income. Peconheiros use nothing but small serrated knives and burlap bound to their feet to scale these trees. Oftentimes the weight of a grown adult can cause the trees to snap, so children are expected to work to provide.
Nutritional Value and Part of Plant Consumed
The açaí berry boasts several health benefits including weight loss and detoxification; however, very little research has been done to prove these claims. The part of the plant that is consumed lies within the fruit of the açaí itself. After harvesting, the berries are plucked off the stems and soaked in water, which aids in skin removal. After the outer layer of skin is removed, the yellow pulp is scraped off the fibrous pit and mashed into a thick paste. This paste is eaten in many ways, including as a side dish, a juice, or as it is. Its popularization in the United States is thanks to the creation of açaí bowls, which use the açaí mixture as a base and are topped with various other fruits.
Human Experience
The açaí berry harvest is not inherently detrimental to the Amazon. It has been a primary source of income and food for many families living in Brazil for many years. However, the exponential rise in popularity of the açaí in urban communities in the United States has indirectly fed into an unsustainable increase in harvesting and production of açaí trees in the Amazon. This only exacerbates the issue of exploitation of labor for families who depend on the açaí harvest for income. Organizations such as Amazon Conservation attempt to provide relief to these families in the form of safer cultivation measures.