Chocolate & Vanilla
An Economy of Fragrance
Guest: Sarah Osterhoudt, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University. Author of "Vanilla Landscapes: Meaning, Memory, and the Cultivation of Place in Madagascar"
Madagascar exports a huge percentage of the world’s vanilla. This is a result of colonial France’s attempt to break into the global spice trade.
History of Chocolate
Guest: Carla D. Martin, Founder and Executive Director, Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute; Lecturer, Harvard University
Ever thought about the history contained in that pack of M&M’s at the store? Chocolate has a history spanning centuries. Involved in religion, war, colonization, democracy, it has a place everywhere. This global treat has been used as currency, medicine, and a sign of status.