Episode 8 – Against all odds: where in the universe does your garden grow?
Would you risk sending your entire country broke so you could eat a plate of fresh pineapple?
The climate is changing, people are adapting and life is sprouting in corners of the world you probably didn’t even know existed. It’s time to find out how foods survive in some of the harshest conditions of the known universe.
Quiz Answers
Question 1.
Which king was presented with two nice locally grown pineapples in 1733?
King Louis XV (the fifteenth)
Question 2.
Who grew a tree from a 2000 year-old seed?
Agriculture expert Elaine Solowey
Question 3.
What are some the things you eat on a submarine?
Fish, sausages, beef, lamb and vegetables
Question 4.
Which of Jupiter’s moons has lots of water?
Europa
Question 5.
What kind of fungus do people search for with the help of pigs?
Perigord / Black truffle
Question 6.
What plant did the ancient Romans farm to the point of extinction?
Silphium
Sources
‘Where Versailles Grew Its Veggies’ by Catherine Reynolds, New York Times, September 11, 1994.
‘The Secret Life of Food: a Feast of Food and Drink History Folklore and Fact’ by Martin Elkort.
‘Digging for Desert Truffles’ by ‘Naomi’, Smith Journal, April 28, 2016.
‘The Mystery of the Lost Roman Herb’ by Zaria Gorvett, BBC Food, September 7, 2017.
‘170-Year-Old Champagne Recovered (and Tasted) From a Baltic Shipwreck’ by Adam Hoffman, Smithsonian, April 20, 2015.
‘Food in Extreme Places: The Submarine (2/3)’, The Food Program, BBC Radio 4, April 11, 2016.
‘Tree Grown From 2000 year-old Seed has Reproduced’ by Laura Clark, Smithsonian, March 26, 2015.
‘China’s Lunar Landing May Mean Potatoes And Flowers Grow on the Moon’ by Andy Campbell, Huffington Post, April 1, 2019 .
‘Wired Greenhouse Tech Could Help Arctic Communities Bloom with Bounty’ by Laura Poppick, Scientific American, Jul 19 2019.
Credits
This episode was narrated and produced by Alice Zaslavsky.
The Silvio's Silphium Emporium and Visit Europa ads were voiced by Courtney Glass.
Writer: Sam West.
Editor: Sam Lowe.
Recording: Tender Trap Studios, Melbourne.
Curriculum Specialist: Beverley Laing.
Logo design: Love + Money.
Funding: Hort Innovation.

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