Sunday, October 19, 2008

Late for October 12

How many of these foods did you eat today? Or, better yet, imagine a day with none of them. All are indigenous to the Americas.

allspice
amaranth
artichoke
avocado
kidney/lima/butter/pole/kidney/navy/haricot/snap/string beans
blackberry and raspberry
blueberry, cranberry and huckleberry
cacao (chocolate)
cashew nut
cassava/manioc/tapioca
black cherry
corn/maize and popcorn
concord grape
guava
papaya
peanut
pecan
capsicum/chili/cayenne/paprika/bell/sweet pepper
pineapple
potato
pumpkin/squash/vegetable marrow/gourd
(cucurbits are tricky - they are a global family and given to natural hybridizing and sports)
quinoa
wild rice
sassafras
sunflower, including Jerusalem artichoke
sweet potato (which is emphatically not yam - which is an African food plant - no matter what it says at your supermarket)
tomatillo/ground cherry
tomato
turkey
vanilla

Some of these crops which we now grow traveled from South American and the Caribbean to Europe and beyond, then were transplanted to North America. This has confused their stories. But such a long list does make one pause and give thanks for the stewardship of first peoples in the western hemisphere.

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