Life According to Phosphorus
Phosphorus is essential for fertilizing high-yield agriculture. The US domestic supply, restricted to Florida, is expected to run out in a couple of decades.
Hoe History: Complex and Knotted
The plantation hoe, a simple, ubiquitous, and historically ignored farming tool, was specific to the Atlantic colonial project, shows historian Chris Evans.
The Olive Trees of Palestine
Palestinians’ economic relationship and cultural identification with olive trees has become increasingly relevant for the West Bank.
Quinoa: Rise of an Andean Superfood
Once considered a minor crop for Indigenous communities, quinoa’s journey to worldwide stardom was centuries in the making.
Translating Corn
To most of the world, “corn” is “maize,” a word that comes from the Taíno mahizwas. Not for British colonists in North America, though.
Understanding Capitalism Through Cotton
Looking at the development of cotton as a global commodity, explains historian Sven Beckert, helps us understand how capitalism emerged.