Abstract
My paper analyzes how and why humans naturalized coconuts throughout the global maritime tropics, and how Lethal Yellowing eventually followed in 20th Century epidemics. The worldwide production of coconuts for industrial use in Global Northern economies created the opportunistic conditions for pandemic disease, allowing Lethal Yellowing to reach throughout the furthest corners of the tropical world. The consequences of these disease narratives have important implications not only for the Global North, but especially for local consumption of coconuts, where the fruit is not just a commodity, it is of major source of food and culture for the vast majority of Indo-Pacific peoples. Finally, connections are made between coconut agriculture throughout the world and the disease outbreaks of Lethal Yellowing, and the agriculture of other tropical crops, such as coffee and banana, and their respective pathogens.
Presenters
Troy CrowderAdjunct Lecturer, History, California State University, Sacramento, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Food Production and Sustainability
KEYWORDS
Coconuts, Lethal Yellowing, Imperialism, Epidemics, Tropical Crops
