THE FOOD EXPLORER: THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF THE GLOBE-TROTIING BOTANIST WHO TRANSFORMED WHAT AMERICAN EATS BY DANIEL STONE, DUTION, 2018
Book Description
Published in 2018, this book takes us from the late 1800s into the mid-1900s, a time of the industrialization of the United States. It recounts the story of scientist, David Fairchild, who spent his life bringing to the United States, both personally and through agents, an incredible number of food plants previously unknown to United States farmers from various corners of the globe.
In his travels, David Fairchild experienced the wonder and the danger of world travel. He developed a relationship with a wealthy American, Barbour Lathrop, who financed Fairchild's travels and the Department of Agriculture's program of importing new varieties of seeds and plants for experimentation by farmers in United States. In Fairchild's story, you will also find the special connection the "Food Ex.plorer" had with the Alexander Graham Bell family.
David Fairchild sought to diversify the food sources of the country and to improve current plants through exploration of similar plants worldwide. If you ever wondered how the Meyer Lemon got its name, you will find the answer in this book. Among the plants David Fairchild or his agents introduced into the United States were Citrons, Avocados, Kale, Nectarines, Mangos, Papayas, Soybeans and even Japanese Cherry Blossoms. Their trees that grace our landscapes today.
Book Review
The book gives a good description of agriculture in the United States in the 1880s, and the changes that began to happen in broadening the type of plants farmers seeded and the food available to Americans. It also recounts how this developed as a program within the U.S. Agriculture Department, and how the Department began to screen incoming plants for pests and undesirable traits.
I am sure your will find this book an interesting adventure. Holly Sparrow,Headwaters Master Gardener