David Fairchild was a botanist from Kansas who worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 19th century. He created the Section of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction of the USDA at only 22 years old. He is a pioneer for American cuisine which consists of foods from around the world. Fairchild traveled to more than 50 countries to fulfill his curiousity about food, he was sort of the original foodie.
During this time as we have read from our textbook travel was no simple task, so the fact that he did travel, albeit for work, reveals how important he thought it was to not only diversify American cuisine, but expand cultural understanding in America. The article includes a story where Fairchild practiced international diplomacy in Germany in order to bring hops to the United States. Finally the article concludes with the metaphor that "almost every food we eat is an immigrant", which demonstrates that no matter how much people may resist and stop immigration in the United States it is hard to escape just how interconnected our global world is, and just how enriched our lives are because of those interconnections.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/02/20/586459088/like-lemons-quinoa-thank-this-food-explorer-for-bringing-them-to-your-plate
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