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Award-winning author, journalist, and Metcalf Institute alumna Jori Lewis illustrates the tie between colonialism and environmental injustice in her recently released book, <\/span>Slaves for Peanuts<\/span><\/i><\/a>. With a background in environmental reporting, Lewis weaves historical narratives that take readers along for the ride. In this new book, she explores the environmental theme of land exploitation through the integrated histories of colonialism and capitalism. <\/span><\/p>\n Slaves for Peanuts<\/span><\/i> interweaves three stories. Lewis starts in Senegal, where she has lived for a decade. The first narrative follows the botanical journey of the peanut from South America to the Kajoor Kingdom in Senegal and eventually to New England through trade. In the second narrative, Lewis continues the story with a more in-depth look at Kajoor and discusses colonialism and the use of enslaved laborers in the kingdom\u2019s peanut trade. The third narrative focuses on Walter Taylor, a Sierra Leonean missionary who establishes a shelter for runaway slaves in Saint Louis, Senegal. Taylor first comes to Senegal to work as an accountant for a New England shipmaster who transports peanuts back to New England cities. These stories come together as readers learn how Senegalese people altered their cultivation habits to make way for the peanut, only to run into a quality control problem driven by their agricultural practices. \u201cThe problem ultimately had a simple answer, but it was a huge mystery throughout the late 19th century,\u201d she says in reference to the controversy around the peanut crop. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe peanut quality was degrading and they didn\u2019t know why. The reason was they were supporting this crazy monoculture and not renewing it in any way,\u201d she explains. \u201cThe economic logic of the need for the peanut pushed aside all rational sense of how to use the land.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Lewis attended the University of Chicago where she earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in anthropology with a focus on the culture of the French Caribbean. She then completed the university’s Master of Arts in Social Sciences program. Lewis acknowledges that anthropology is built on colonial goals and methods, but she also says it\u2019s a very useful area of study. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of things to not like about anthropology, but it offers such good tools for research because observation is really key,\u201d she says. <\/span><\/p>\nWatch a discussion about Jori’s book with fellow Metcalf alum, Moises Velasquez-Manoff.<\/a><\/h4>\n