Level 115
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The Global Exchange of Foods

The Global Exchange of Foods

A look at how the Columbian Exchange, the spice trade, and centuries of migration and empire moved crops, foods, and culinary traditions across the globe, from the potato and chili pepper to sugar, coffee, and the supermarket shelf.

Wikimedia Commons · Unknown author · Public Domain

60-Second Review

Express review

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

  1. The Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange moved crops, animals, and diseases between the Americas and the rest of the world.
  2. Sugar, Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate. Sugar, built on slave labor, and coffee, tea, and chocolate reshaped global trade and daily life.
  3. The Spice Trade and Old-World Exchange Routes. The spice trade drove exploration and colonial rivalry across the Indian Ocean and Spice Islands.
  4. Fruit, Grain, and Global Crop Migration. Citrus, rice, wheat, bananas, vanilla, and pineapple show how crops migrated and gained new meanings.
  5. Feeding Empires: Preservation and Trade at Sea. Feeding sailors and empires demanded preserved food, citrus against scurvy, and plantation monoculture.
  6. Industrialization and the Modern Global Food System. Refrigeration, canning, and multinational corporations built the modern global food system.
  7. Empire, Migration, and Culinary Fusion. Empire, migration, and diaspora communities spread and blended culinary traditions worldwide.
  8. Food Globalization Today. Supermarkets globalized food sourcing, fueling debate over homogenization versus diversity.

This is the starting point of The Global Exchange of Foods: you don't need any prior knowledge of this subject to begin.

Key points

Visual module map

1The Columbian Exchange
2The Spice Trade and Old-World Exchange Routes
3Feeding Empires: Preservation and Trade at Sea
4Industrialization and the Modern Global Food System
5Food Globalization Today

Alternative visual view: a simplified sequence of some of the module's key points, in their order within the syllabus.

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Final test

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Optional mini-games

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Review Flashcards

Review each key point with cards that flip to reveal the summary.

Memory

Match each concept with its definition in as few attempts as possible.

Time Attack

Answer true or false statements before time runs out.

Chronological Order

Put the module's key points back in their original order.

Further reading

Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.

  • Crosby, A. W. (1972). The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492. Westport: Greenwood Press.
  • Mann, C. C. (2011). 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created. New York: Knopf.
  • Aronson, M. and Budhos, M. (2010). Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science. New York: Clarion Books.
  • Standage, T. (2005). A History of the World in 6 Glasses. New York: Walker & Company.
  • Pendergrast, M. (2010). Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World. New York: Basic Books.
  • Kurlansky, M. (2002). Salt: A World History. New York: Walker & Company.