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PODCAST

The History of Fresh Produce

The Produce Industry Network

Join John Paap and Patrick Kelly in this podcast series that explores the fascinating and often overlooked history of fresh fruits and vegetables. Each episode offers listeners a unique perspective on how produce has shaped our world, featuring in-depth interviews with top experts and historians, engaging storytelling, and a blend of historical and contemporary perspectives. Whether exploring the journey of grapes through time or the influence of produce in Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, this series leaves

history food

All Episodes

52:20

The Three Wise Men

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/12/16

What do gold, frankincense, and myrrh really tell us about the world into which Jesus was born? Who were the Magi - kings, mystics, scientists, or traders - and why did they travel vast distances carrying some of the most valuable agricultural products on Earth? How do desert trees in Arabia and the Horn of Africa connect a humble birth in Bethlehem to ancient global supply chains, imperial economics, and the earliest luxury produce markets? And what happened when symbolic gifts became engines of

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47:27

Space Films, Produce and History (Livestream)

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/12/02

"They say once you grow crops somewhere, you have officially colonized it. So technically, I colonized Mars. In your face , Neil Armstrong!"As Mark Watney's line from the book and film The Martian suggests, fruits and vegetables have long played a starring role in our visions of space. Sometimes they’re subtle symbols of home; other times, they’re humanity’s only hope for survival.But how realistic are these space gardens? Could these crops truly grow beyond Earth - and if they could, would they be

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43:56

The Artichoke King

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/11/25

What does a thorny Mediterranean thistle have to do with the American Mafia? How did a humble vegetable — adored by Romans, cultivated by Renaissance queens, and grown lovingly by Italian immigrants — become the centerpiece of one of the strangest criminal rackets in U.S. history? And why did a fiery New York mayor decide that the only way to defeat organized crime… was to ban artichokes altogether?Join John and Patrick as they trace the extraordinary saga of the Artichoke King — Ciro Terranova —

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01:02:30

Produce in Space: The Story of Intergalactic Agriculture

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/11/11

What happens when humanity takes its most basic need - food - beyond Earth’s atmosphere? From John Glenn’s applesauce tubes to the first lettuce grown aboard the International Space Station, the story of fresh produce in space is one of science, innovation, and survival.In this episode, John and Patrick are joined byVickie Kloeris, former NASA Food Scientist and manager of the Space Food Systems Laboratory, to explore the fascinating evolution of eating in orbit. How did scientists first overcome

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52:39

Tanaka Farms: A Japanese-American Farming Legacy

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/11/04

What is the legacy of Japanese American farmers in shaping California’s agricultural landscape? How did a community once barred from owning land become pioneers in strawberry and vegetable farming? And how did families like the Tanakas endure displacement, incarceration, and prejudice to rebuild—and ultimately thrive?John and Patrick are joined by special guest Glenn Tanaka, whose family has been farming in California for generations. Together, they trace the journey of Japanese Americans who

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16:26

Cornellian Chats: Van Gogh, Organics, Tomatoes on...

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/10/30

Join John and Patrick for a special bonus episode recorded live from Anaheim, California, at the International Fresh Produce Association’s Global Produce & Floral Show! Surrounded by the sights, sounds, and scents of the world’s freshest innovations, they sit down with four bright Cornell University students to hear their impressions of the show - and to ask a question close to their hearts: who are their favorite figures and moments in fresh produce history? From Van Gogh’s humble potato

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51:36

Produce Poisons and Curses

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/10/28

What do garlic, blackberries, cucumbers, eggplants, mushrooms, and pumpkins have in common? More than you might think. Across history and folklore, fruits and vegetables have not only nourished humanity but terrified it - linked with madness, curses, demons, vampires, and even the Devil himself. From garlic garlands that warded off the undead, to blackberries spoiled by Satan’s spit, to Japanese river demons with a fondness for cucumbers, and the pumpkin lanterns that still haunt our porches every

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57:04

The History of Apples: Modern Fragility (Part 5)

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/10/21

From myth and legend to cider-fuelled revolutions, from Johnny Appleseed’s frontier orchards to the Victorians’ quest for the perfect pippin, the story of the apple has been anything but ordinary. In the final part of this five-part series, John and Patrick follow the fruit onto the world stage - when refrigeration, global shipping, and empire transformed it into an international commodity. From Tasmania’s “Apple Isle” and Cecil Rhodes’s Cape orchards, to Japan’s remarkable embrace of the fruit that

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47:11

The History of Apples: America's Dependence (Part 3)

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/10/07

John and Patrick journey into the seventeenth century, when cider wasn’t just a drink - it was a matter of national survival. From John Evelyn’s bold call for apple orchards to secure England’s navy and replace French wine, to the early experiments that nearly made England the home of “apple champagne,” the apple takes centre stage in politics, science, and patriotism.But apples weren’t only about orchards and fizz. This was also the age when John Milton transformed them into the forbidden fruit of

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01:10:35

Beneath Our Feet: The Hidden History of Soil

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/09/02

Where does soil come from? How has it shaped the rise (and fall) of human civilizations? And why is it now at the center of some of the most urgent debates about food, farming, and the environment?Join John and special guest Louis De Jaeger - landscape architect, author, and agro-ecology advocate - as they dig into the history of soil. Together, they trace the story of soil from the birth of the Earth’s crust to the collapse of ancient empires. They explore how the forced removal of Indigenous

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52:23

The Lewellings: Nurserymen Abolitionists (Part 1)

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/07/15

How did a quiet Quaker family from North Carolina - devout, disciplined, and disinclined to dance - go on to revolutionize the fruit industry of the American West? Who were the Lewellings, and how did their deep-rooted values, obsession with grafting, and fierce opposition to slavery shape the orchards of Oregon, the nurseries of Iowa, and the future of American agriculture?Join John and Patrick as they peel back the layers of one of the most extraordinary and overlooked sagas in American history

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01:04:35

Papal Produce (Livestream)

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/05/27

A new Pope has been chosen! And that got us thinking: have Popes of the past shaped the history of fruits and vegetables?In this month’s livestream, John and Patrick explore the surprising connections between the Papacy and produce. From Popes with a passion for fresh fruits to the hidden stories of the Vatican gardens, this episode offers a fresh perspective on the role of produce in the lives of history’s holiest leaders.----------In Sponsorship with Cornell University: Dyson Cornell SC Johnson

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58:36

The History of Cherries

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/05/20

From the windswept Caucasus Mountains to the decadent tables of Renaissance Europe, few fruits have lived a life as rich (or as risqué) as the cherry. In this episode, John and Patrick trace the cherry’s remarkable journey through time, beginning with its elusive origins in ancient Mesopotamia and Anatolia, where birds, not botanists, first sowed the seeds of this future delicacy.As Greek philosophers began to take note of its cultivation, cherries found their way into the hands and stomachs of

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53:19

Carthage and the Power of Agriculture

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/05/13

The rise of Carthage is one of the most dazzling stories of the ancient world. A tale of cunning queens, glittering harbors, and empires built not just by sword and sail, but by soil.In this episode, John and Patrick trace the astonishing birth of Carthage - from Queen Elyssa’s legendary ox-hide bargain to the booming agricultural empire that threatened Rome itself. Far from a mere city of merchants, Carthage was a powerhouse of farming innovation: with iron plows, vine-laced terraces, and sweet

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01:08:58

From Bloom to Bust: The Rise and Fall of Tulip Mania

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/05/06

The tulip - elegant, exotic, and ephemeral - has long captivated the human imagination. But in 17th-century The Netherlands, it ignited something far more volatile: a frenzy. This is the story ofTulip Mania, the extraordinary episode in Dutch history when a single flower became the object of national obsession - and financial ruin.In this episode, John and Patrick trace the tulip’s journey from the windswept mountains of Central Asia to the refined gardens of Persian poets and the grand courts of

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01:18:31

The Great Tea Heist: Secrets Revealed (Part 2)

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/04/22

Robert Fortune’s journey was far from over. After infiltrating China in disguise, Fortune now sets his sights on the Wuyi Mountains—steeped in legend, veiled in mist, and home to the most coveted tea in the world: black tea. Guided by his newly appointed servant, the enigmatic Sing-Hoo, Fortune pushes deeper into China’s forbidden interior, navigating treacherous paths and even more treacherous politics. But not all goes according to plan. His prized green tea shipment meets an unfortunate fate,

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01:10:39

The Great Tea Heist: Mission Received (Part 1)

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/04/15

The British thirst for tea had become insatiable by the mid-19th century, but there was one problem: nearly all of it came from China. For the East India Company, this dependency was a costly vulnerability. What they needed wasn’t more silver to trade but a way to break China’s monopoly entirely. Enter Robert Fortune: a Scottish botanist with a talent for subterfuge, a taste for adventure, and an uncanny knack for survival.In this first part of a two-part series, John and Patrick trace the

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47:26

The History of Chili Peppers (Part 2)

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/04/08

When Portuguese traders arrived on India’s western shores in the early 1500s, they brought more than religion, colonial ambition, and a lust for spice - they also carried with them a tiny, crimson fruit that would set Asia ablaze. In part two of their deep dive into the scorching history of chili peppers, John and Patrick trace the pepper’s path across India, China, and Korea, where it would come to define cuisines, ignite revolutions, and even ward off evil spirits.From its humble beginnings in

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39:28

Death by Olives (Livestream)

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/03/25

On August 23, 1919, a celebratory dinner at the Lakeside Club in Canton, Ohio, was held in honor of Col. Charles C. Weybrecht’s return from France at the end of the First World War. But what began as a joyous occasion soon turned tragic, as guests fell ill - and over the following days, several would die.In this month’s History of Fresh Produce livestream, we delve into the infamous event known as The Great Olive Poisoning, a case that would help shape America’s food safety system. How did olives

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01:05:01

The History of Olives

The History of Fresh Produce ·

2025/03/18

The story of the olive is one of resilience, empire, and cultural transformation. From its first human interactions in Africa over 100,000 years ago to its role in the economies of the great Mediterranean civilizations, the olive tree has been a silent witness to the rise and fall of history’s greatest powers. In the Eastern Mediterranean, early farmers began cultivating olives nearly 7,000 years ago, setting the stage for what would become an essential commodity of the ancient world. Join John and

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