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The Roundtable

How peanuts transformed history

By Joe Donahue
Published May 16, 2022 at 11:33 AM EDT
The New Press

Jori Lewis is an award–winning journalist who writes about agriculture and the environment. Her new book "Slaves for Peanuts: A Story of Conquest, Liberation, and a Crop That Changed History," weaves together the natural and human history of a crop that transformed the lives of millions. Americans consume over 1.5 billion pounds of peanut products every year. But few of us know the peanut’s tumultuous history, or its intimate connection to slavery and freedom.

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The Roundtable Agricultureslaveryenslaved personspeanutcrops
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Joe Donahue
Joe talks to people on the radio for a living. In addition to countless impressive human "gets" - he has talked to a lot of Muppets. Joe grew up in Philadelphia, has been on the area airwaves for more than 25 years and currently lives in Washington County, NY with his wife, Kelly, and their dog, Brady. And yes, he reads every single book.
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