Ever wondered why we have Hass avocados and Medjool dates at the grocery store? Or why there are Japanese cherry trees all around the Tidal Basin in D.C.? Well, we can thank the same man for both our grocery store produce and the nation’s pinkest attraction - American botanist David Fairchild. Join Nicole and Julia as they trace grocery store produce from their local Kroger back to the Gilded Age and the heyday of food exploration. But wait, there’s more! Tune in to hear about Jeanne Barat, a French botanist in the 1700’s with a bit of a secret…

Our theme song is “Red Onions” by Louie Zong, off of his album Vegetable Soul: https://louiezong.bandcamp.com/album/vegetable-soul

We’re on Instagram @girlslunchpod. Nicole's website is nicolehylton.com. Have an episode suggestion or question? You can email us at girlslunchpodcast@gmail.com and we will add it to our chaotic list of future episode subjects.

Links to sources:

• “How Thai Food Took Over America,” by Francis Lam and Mark Padoongpatt

• “You Think You Understand Thai Culture Because You Eat at Thai Restaurants? Think Again,” by Alexandra Domrongchai

• “Thai Food for the World? -- Government of Thailand Plans To Open 3,000 Restaurants To Promote Nation Abroad,” by Robert Frank

• Stone, Daniel. The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats. 2019.

• Ridley, Glynis. The Discovery of Jeanne Baret: A Story of Science, the High Seas, and the First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe. New York, Broadway Paperbacks, 2011.