Chocolate & Vanilla

An Economy of Fragrance Guest: Sarah Osterhoudt, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University. Author of "Vanilla Landscapes: Meaning, Memory, and the Cultivation of Place in Madagascar" Madagascar exports a huge percentage of the world’s vanilla, but vanilla is not native to the island. It got there thanks to colonial France’s attempt to break into the global spice trade. Sarah Osterhoudt is helping making sure that vanilla today works to help the people on Madagascar. History of Chocolate Guest: Carla D. Martin, Founder and Executive Director, Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute; Lecturer, Harvard University From waxy Hershey's to luxurious Belgian, Chocolate has a history spanning centuries. Involved in religion, war, colonization, democracy, it has a place everywhere. This global treat has been used as currency, medicine, and a sign of status.