More than two dozen farmers in the Netherlands are growing quinoa, a South American seed that copes with salt far better than the crops usually planted on coastal land. Robert Van Loom, a researcher at Wageningen University, began breeding quinoa for Dutch conditions in the 1990s. That cross became the basis for growing quinoa across Europe. Dutch quinoa costs more to buy in than imported, sustainability manager Marjolein Verkerk said, but she expects that to level out. Quinoa grew up around Lake Titicaca in the Andes, which was once a saltwater lake.