David Fairchild, the American food spy who travelled the world in search of exotic crops 

For more than a century post-independence, the Americans couldn’t make a distinct cuisine for themselves. Different kinds of meat, veggies, fruits, cheese and potatoes became their staple on the dinner table. Of course, they were innovating barbeque here and graham crackers there, but those weren’t enough to develop their unique food identity. Amidst such a scenario, USA was blessed to have someone named David Fairchild to rescue them, once and for all, from this food identity crisis. In fact, history remembers him as USA’s first food spy. Curious to know more about his adventures? We bet you are! 

Meet David Fairchild 
Born in 1869 in the East Lansing region of Michigan, USA, David Grandison Fairchild was a botanist, adventurer and plant explorer, a title that has hardly ever come up in the pages of history. Now, he was growing up at a time when the USA was struggling from indigenous crop growth. Although they were trying out new foods, such as seasonings and exotic banana that debuted in the Philadelphia World’s Fair in 1876, they were far from understanding the art of food cultivation and nutrition. This is where Fairchild had a role to play.  

In fact, when in the late 1890s, he joined the United States Department of Agriculture, he realised that his country was not only suffering from the lack of economic and military growth, but also culinary one. The man took it upon himself to travel the world in search of exotic food crops and bring them back, so as to give USA the gastronomic identity it was long craving for. In other words, he turned himself into a food spy, the first ever for his country.  

But why you ask? Because being born in Michigan and brought up in Kansas (both of which are primarily farming states), he had the opportunity to come in touch with farmers who were constantly looking to cultivate edible crops. In such a scenario, it didn’t take long for him to realise that there wasn’t that many dynamic crops in the country, definitely not enough to keep feeding the entire nation.  

Fairchild’s journey around the world 
So, where did USA’s first food spy initiate his crop hunting journey from? Well, that would be the Italian city, Naples. His trip was funded by the US Department of agriculture and the Smithsonian Institute. There, he met a rich insurance worker named Barbour Lathrop and told him all about his mission. Lathrop who operated both in the USA and Italy was intrigued by Fairchild’s ambition and decided to collaborate in his mission. In fact, he even funded many of his upcoming trips for the next five years during which they travelled all of Europe, some of Asia and South America.   

In fact, it was through the hands of Fairchild that mangoes, bananas, pears, pineapples, corns, apples and tomatoes all travelled to the USA. Realising what a great initiative Fairchild had taken, the US government became deeply involved in Fairchild’s escapades. In fact, US Presidents including William McKinley to Woodrow Wilson, all kept Fairchild appointed as USA’s unofficial food spy. In fact, since then, all his travels were sponsored and closely overseen by the US government itself. So, you can say, what started off as Fairchild being an independent agent, ended with him being a government spy. His job was simple, to travel the world and bring back all kinds of exotic crops.  

From kale to cotton: Here’s what he got to the USA 
Throughout his journey, he had sent back as many as 200,000 samples of seeds and cuttings of fruits, vegetables as well as grains. While some were diplomatic exchanges, others were simply covert. For instance, hop (a plant from which beer is brewed) that was native to Germany had to be acquired after a lot of illegal friendships with the workers there, often in exchange of a ticket to the States. Likewise, he picked up kale from Austria and Hungary, quinoa from Peru, avocado from Central America and citrus fruits from Asia. He even risked his own life to secure Egyptian cotton and dates from Iraq during war years.  

Wondering how long his adventures lasted? Well, that would be from mid-1890s until 1917, when the First World War put an end to the project. While Fairchild’s own favourite finding was mangosteen, a tiny purple-coloured fruit that was slimy and sugary like lychee. He had discovered it in Indonesia. Interestingly, Fairchild not only brought back the crops but also information on how to grow them in his country. For instance, when he imported cherry blossoms from Japan, he also fetched pesticides to prevent the fungi that often killed those plants.  

Towards the end of his life and career, Fairchild had become such a legend, that the US government set up a brand-new department just to accommodate him. It was called the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction. It was responsible for researching and distributing new and alien crops to farmers across the country.