The articles “New World, New Foods,” by Tom Standage, “America, Found and Lost,” by Charles C. Mann, and “Food Assimilation and the Malleability of the Human Body in Early Virginia” all examine how the pre and post Columbian exchange have affected and continue to influence nations today.
The effects of the Columbian exchange were so widespread that, it “… redefined the demographics of the Americas, Africa, and Europe…” as Standage argues throughout his article “New World, New Foods” (Standage 112). He begins his argument by chronicling the journey of two specific crops as they spread between the Old and New worlds. Sugar is one example; it became a staple across the world and played an integral part of two major trade triangles. The first included commodities from America including sugar, which was then traded for cloth, and was then traded for slaves that would produce sugar. The second included molasses which was used to produce rum and was then sold for slaves who produced the rum and sugar. Therefore, the cultivation of sugar forever changed the demographics of the Americas and Africa economically. …show more content…
Which, unlike sugar, were not popular amongst the masses for a number of reasons – they were not aesthetically pleasing, and were not mentioned in the Bible as something fit for consumption (Eden 119). Eventually, people put aside their adversity for the potato and it became such a plentiful food source that it incurred a population increase. One that would change the demographic of Europe, but this time through population. Eventually people became so dependent upon potatoes that when the Irish Potato Famine of 1845 occurred, many died, and some immigrated to America in hopes of escaping the devastation that resulted from the