Far from his Pasadena home, nutritionist Steven Kwon stood before Afghan government officials and agronomists in Kabul three years ago, extolling the virtues of protein-rich soybeans as a way to curb the rampant malnutrition in the war-torn nation.
The tension rose as one skeptic asked whether soybeans would generate as much money as poppies that produce opium.
"The way he asked the question was very cynical," said the 60-year-old Kwon. "And all of a sudden, the other attendees seemed to realize that soybeans may not be as lucrative as the opium poppy."
As Kwon tried to come up with a response (soybeans are roughly 35% less profitable), another Afghan angrily challenged his countryman: "When our women and children are dying every day, the only thing you can think about is how large will your profits be? Do you really love your country and your people?"
With the critic shamed, Kwon and his colleagues went on to sell the group on soybeans -- a new crop for Afghanistan. In 2005, 2 tons of seed provided by Kwon's nonprofit, Nutrition & Education International, produced 10 tons of soybeans. 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.
Kwon's group provides the farmers with seeds, fertilizer and training. It also guarantees to buy the harvest. This takes away most of the farmers' risk, and most keep the soybeans as food for their families.
"He literally, single-handedly has brought soybeans to the country," said Arthur Quinn, a retired Washington, D.C., attorney and international consultant who volunteered to help Kwon. Other groups providing aid to Afghanistan "haven't focused on the basic need of trying to solve malnutrition," Quinn said.
Kwon, who worked as a nutritionist for Nestle USA for 22 years, has an ambitious goal, especially for a man whose tiny organization is headquartered in a spartan, one-room office in Pasadena. He wants to produce 300,000 tons of soybeans annually in Afghanistan, a bounty he believes will all but eliminate malnutrition in that country.
"He has a big vision," e-mailed Dr. Habib Wakeelzad, a Nutrition & Education International health officer. "He has been successful in convincing high-ranking Afghan officials about the economic and health values of soybeans. Many ministers and intellectuals are supporting this program."
