Food and Democracy
This series of messages focus on how increasing the diversity of our food choices has made us a more accepting society.
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Alexandrine Pommery
Jeanne Alexandrine Louis (Mélin) Pommery was born in France in 1819. She is a little-known heroine of this time of year when we celebrate the end of one year and usher in the beginning of a new year. She married Alexandre Pommery in 1839. He was the owner of a wool...
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William Cavendish
William Cavendish was born in Paris, France in 1790. His father was the 5th Duke of Devonshire and his mother was a daughter of the 1st Earl of Spencer (the line of Spencer’s that Princess Diana came from). At age 21, he became the 6th Duke of Devonshire after both...
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Raising Economic Futures Through Cooking
Lena Richard was born in Louisiana. At the age of 16, she became a domestic worker for a prominent family. When she would visit the kitchen, the head of the family encouraged her to try new dishes. It didn’t take long for Lena to be hired as a cook. Lena took cooking...
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Food Security
Yuan was born in Beijing, China, and moved around China during its external and internal conflicts. He studied agronomy while in college. Since rice is such a staple of the Chinese diet, he decided to focus his career in the development of a hybrid rice to increase...
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Food Heritage
Sean Sherman grew up on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. As an Ogala Lakota Sioux, he was brought up on government commodity foods. The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) brought about a shift in the diet of Native Americans. Sean...
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Diversifying Food Choices
From 1845-1852, Ireland faced a dire situation because of the failure of its primary food staple: the potato. Potatoes grown in Ireland were very susceptible to a form of blight. Rather than switch to a new crop less resistant to blight, a new potato was needed. We...
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Sliced Bread
New innovations are often described as the greatest thing since sliced bread. That’s a head-scratcher. Why is sliced bread so great as an innovation? Maybe because the origin of sliced bread is symbolic of many innovations. The history of bread consumption starts the...
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