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You are what you eat…what about what you drink?

Christine Folch is the author of The Book of Mate: A Stimulating History.
Juan Carlos Duré Bañuelos
Christine Folch is the author of The Book of Mate: A Stimulating History.

“Studying food is a way to study how we are connected to the world of life around us. Whatever we think about humans being so cerebral, so intellectual–it really breaks down because we are a part of everything else around us.”

This week on the show we talk with the author of The Book of Yerba Mate, Christine Folch about how one plant can tell us so much about ourselves, and the world around us.

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Christine Folch is the Bacca Foundation Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Environmental Sciences & Policy at Duke University.

She spoke with Kayte Young about The Book of Yerba Mate: A Stimulating History, released in 2024 with Princeton University Press.

And, Earth Eats producer Leo Paes brought his Yerba Mate kit into the WFIU studios for a tasting session.

Leo Paes started drinking Yerba Mate at age 8 when his family introduced him to it on a visit to Paraguay. He demonstrates how to prepare it in the WFIU studios.
Leo Paes started drinking Yerba Mate at age 8 when his family introduced him to it on a visit to Paraguay. He demonstrates how to prepare it in the WFIU studios.

Music on this Episode

The Earth Eats theme music is composed by Erin Tobey and performed by Erin and Matt Tobey.

Additional music on this episode from Universal Production Music.

Credits:

Special thanks this week for production support from Leo Paes.

The Earth Eats’ team includes: Eoban Binder, Alexis Carvajal, Alex Chambers, Toby Foster, Leo Paes, Daniella Richardson, Samantha Shemenaur, Payton Whaley and Harvest Public Media.

Earth Eats is produced, engineered and edited by Kayte Young. Our executive producer is Eric Bolstridge.

Kayte Young discovered her passion for growing, cooking, foraging and preserving fresh food when she moved to Bloomington in 2007. With a background in construction, architecture, nutrition education and writing, she brings curiosity and a love of storytelling to a show about all things edible. Kayte raises bees, a small family and a yard full of food in Bloomington’s McDoel Gardens neighborhood.