Growing Home: David Fairchild

The late botanist, David Fairchild, in the early 20^th Century had an insatiable lust to search the world for plants that could enrich the American farmer and the American consumer. He ran the USDA’s global plant exploration efforts. On his travels, he brought back avocados, mangoes, hops, pomegranates, horseradish. nectarines, soybeans and pistachios. Along the way, David Fairchild was arrested, caught diseases, and bargained for his life with native tribes. He also mentored many younger plant explorers. Fairchild’s life is recounted in the book: ”The Food Explorer: the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats.”