pecans, black walnuts, rainbow trout, salmon, channel catfish, oysters,
mussels, buffalo fish, sunfish (all produced in agriculture today and
sold in commerce). I'm sure others would come to mind if I thought the
exercise worth spending more time on.
to the above list add chilies, which grow wild (and are native) all over
S. Texas and S. Arizona.
bison is also raised in agriculture and sold commercially.
On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 7:08 AM, Henebry, Geoffrey wrote:
Bill's mother is certainly correct: Central and South America have
yielded many foods now widely cultivated and enjoyed. I still maintain
that few contemporary foods appear to have originated north of Mexico:
specifically, Jerusalem artichokes, blueberries, and cranberries. Are
there others?
Geoff Henebry
-----Original Message-----
From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of William Silvert
Sent: Sunday, January 17, 2010 4:06 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] now I've seen it all - says Orwell
I must take issue with the phrase "one of the few foods native to
North America" and would like to reciprocate Geoffrey's reference with
a reference to a book that my mother wrote called "The Taste Makers:
How New World Foods came to Old World Kitchens" which describes
numerous foods from the Americas which have made their way to the rest
of the world. I believe that she describes 16 different foods, and
while some are from South America, many are from the north. She did
not include the Jerusalem artichoke, and I am sure that there are
other omissions as well. Since my mother, Vicki Oppenheimer, was an
anthropologist, she focussed on foods that had cultural significance.
Information on the book can be found at
http://milpah.silvert.org/tmfinal/ and the entire book can be
downloaded there in PDF format for free, although it is also in print
and available for sale. Even for those who are not foodies, there is
some material of ecological interest as well.
Bill Silvert
----- Original Message ----- From: "Henebry, Geoffrey" To: "William
Silvert" ; Sent: domingo, 17 de Janeiro de 2010 19:24
Subject: RE: [ECOLOG-L] now I've seen it all - says Orwell
With respect to the biofuels potential of one of the few foods native
to North America, Helianthus tuberosus, let me suggest an entertaining
read:
The Great Jerusalem Artichoke Circus: The Buying and Selling of the
Rural American Dream by JA Amato.
Here's the synopsis from the publisher's website
(http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/A/amato_great.html):
In 1981, near the end of America's second post-World War II energy
crisis, and at the onset of the nation's most recent farm crisis,
American Energy Farming Systems began to sell and distribute what it
deemed a "providential plant" destined to be a new and saving crop-the
Jerusalem Artichoke. This volume recounts this story of the bizarre
intersection of evangelical Christianity, a mythical belief in the
powers of a new crop, and the depression of the U.S. farm economy in
the 1980s.
Enjoy!
Geoff Henebry
