The discovery of the New World has changed the diet of the rest of the world in a number of ways. Without the discovery, the rest of us who are not natives of South America would never enjoy the rich tastes offered by foods such as corn, potatoes, tomatoes, chili peppers, and chocolate to name only a few.The humble but essential peanut is also a native of the New World, with over eighty wild species. One also cannot imagine a modern diet without pineapples and cashews and strawberries. Then there’s vanilla, another worldwide favorite. In reality of the planet’s top twenty-six crops by tonnage, eight came from the Americas, with a third of the United States’ crop value composed of foods that originated in the New World.
