The Food Explorer by Daniel Stone

The food explorer. The true adventures of the globetrotting botanist who transformed what America eats by Daniel Stone

True adventures, indeed a travelogue, of David Fairchild, a late 19th century food explorer who traveled the globe and introduced diverse crops like avocado, mangoes, seedless grapes – and thousands more – to the American plate.

Fairfield becomes a meaningful globe trotter and cultural savant as much due to his tutelage by millionaire and bon vivant Barbour Lathrop as to his own sense of adventure and tenacity.

Not a particularly well-crafted text; yet informative and educational in a time when biodiversity and sustainable food sourcing is critical. Climate change and invasive species into all climes are key accelerators in the necessity to understand and act on food sourcing, today. Stone does not attempt to answer the contemporary questions; he merely creates a context in which to understand them. Parts of the book feel redundant due to the repetitive process in finding, procuring, shipping and reestablishing in a new environment regardless of the plant and its place of origin. Some have more intrigue or danger than others.

“If domesticating crops was an earth-changing advance, figuring out how to reproduce them came a close second.”

An enjoyable read but not an urgent read.