Jeff’s Grandfather Sam Book trying to get his thrasher across an old bridge in Pennsylvania.
浦哲文和白筠夫妇的故事
浦哲文来自美国宾夕法尼亚州的一个农民世家。（看，他的爷爷在想尽办法把五吨重的脱粒机弄过两吨重的大桥。）白筠来自美国新泽西州，她意大利裔的祖父母曾在纽约种植和销售水果和蔬菜。种植和销售美食就是这个家族的传承。
浦哲文和白筠于1986年结婚，随即搬到四川成都，在无意间来到了世界的美食之都。1989年，他们的女儿Amy在四川成都出生，并为她取了浦蜀美的中文名，她是解放后在四川出生的第一个美国人。1990年，这个三口之家搬到云南昆明，浦哲文在那里完成了云南大学中国少数民族研究的博士学位，而白筠开始与当地政府合作，帮助被遗弃和有特殊需要的儿童。蜀美从小就吃着过桥米线、饵块和大理话梅在昆明长大，她目前在美国的一所大学教书，也可算得上是最了解波士顿地区中国美食的顶级专家。
意大利人和中国人都是以食为天的民族。当来到随处都是美味佳肴的中国大西南时，白筠就像回到了家一样。她总是乐不可支地到处逛市场，让家人和朋友饱尝各种新鲜美食——美味、健康、营养的食物。在一次回美国的途中，白筠偶然品尝到了藜麦，并为藜麦的味道、健康品质及其能够与不同食材搭配的多样性所深深吸引。她想，藜麦绝对可以让中国的美食更加锦上添花！同时，浦哲文了解到中国的藜麦产地在西藏自治区——一个以清新的空气、清洁的水源以及俊美的山峦而著称的地方。
这里的藏民珍视一切生命，不会使用任何除草剂或农药，因此在这种原始环境中生长的西藏藜麦肯定会是世界上最健康的食物。
为此，浦哲文和白筠夫妇决定在西藏拉萨成立一家公司，开发西藏的藜麦市场。他们的目标很简单：让藏民的优质藜麦卖个好价钱，并让这些优质的藜麦进到喜欢健康美食的千家万户。
现在，也邀请你成为他们故事的一部分！
Carol’s dad in Vermont selling fruits & vegetables for the P&M Company.
Jeff and Carol Book
Jeff comes from a long line of farmers in Pennsylvania, USA. (As you can see Jeff’s grandfather had some problems getting his 5-ton thrashing machine over the 2-ton bridge.) Carol is from New Jersey, USA; her Italian grandparents and dad grew and sold fruits and vegetables in Vermont. Growing and selling good food is part of our family’s history.
Jeff and Carol were married in 1986 and moved immediately to Chengdu, Sichuan, unwittingly landing in the food capital of the world. Their daughter, Amy, was born in Chengdu, Sichuan in 1989. The first American born in Sichuan since Liberation, her Chinese name is 浦蜀美。 The family of three moved to Kunming, Yunnan in 1990 where Jeff completed a PhD in China’s minority studies at Yunnan University, and Carol began working with abandoned and special needs children in cooperation with the local government. Amy grew up in Kunming eating guoqiao mixian, erkuai, and dali huamei. Amy now teaches at a university in the USA, and she is probably the leading expert on finding good Chinese food in the Boston area.
Jeff and Carol Book in Tibet
Italians and Chinese share an obsession with food, so Carol was right at home in southwest China with so many good things to eat. Carol was always exploring markets and trying new things to feed her family and friends: Delicious food, healthy food, nutritious food. While on a visit to America, Carol tasted quinoa and was greatly impressed with quinoa’s taste, health qualities, as well as its versatility in foods. Quinoa would be a great addition to Chinese food, she thought!
Jeff discovered that quinoa was grown in the Tibet Autonomous Region, a part of China known for its clean air, clean water and beautiful mountains. Because Tibetan farmers value all living things, they do not use herbicides or pesticides on their plants. Tibetan quinoa grown in such a pristine environment would be some of the healthiest food in the world.
So, Jeff and Carol decided to start a company in Lhasa, Tibet, to develop the market for Tibetan quinoa. Their goal was simple: Give Tibetan farmers a good price for their good quality quinoa and pass on that good quality quinoa to families who want good food and good health. So now you are part of the story!