{"id":12469,"date":"2017-08-10t12:56:47","date_gmt":"2017-08-10t12:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/from-the-wilds-of-the-rainforest-to-the-diversity-of-brazilian-city-life-this-one-thing-brought-us-together\/"},"modified":"2017-08-10t12:56:47","modified_gmt":"2017-08-10t12:56:47","slug":"the-unusually-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/the-unusually-good\/","title":{"rendered":"from the wilds of the rainforest to the diversity of brazilian city life, this one thing brought us together"},"content":{"rendered":"

on my first morning in manaus, brazil, excitement filled my body as i hopped down the stairs of my hotel \u2014 my inner-self itching to step foot in the brazilian sun and explore the city. our plans for the day included the exploration of the rio negro and visiting giant water lilies \u2014 and this was just a prelude to packing up our gear and heading off-grid the following morning to the never-dry land of spiders and scorpions at dr. tom lovejoy\u2019s camp 41.<\/p>\n

but first \u2014 as my stomach reminded me, grumbling in hunger \u2014 breakfast. after an employee directed me to the restaurant, filled with a buffet of local foods, i perused the offerings and, oddly, skipped over my go-to favorite (carbs), because something else caught my eye: fruit.<\/p>\n

neatly arranged on silver platters in the middle of the buffet were fruits ranging from bright red watermelon to blood orange papayas to yellow honeydew, and all met my gaze as i crept around the fruit table like a jaguar circling its prey.<\/p>\n

i paused. \u201csince when have i ever been this intrigued by fruit?\u201d<\/em> i thought.<\/p>\n

keeping an open mind, i stacked my plate with as much fruit as it could hold and walked over to a table, careful not to drop anything from my overflowing plate on the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cthe pineapple,\u201d<\/em> i thought as i sat down. \u201ci\u2019ll try this first.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

my knife cut like butter through the slice of pineapple and i took a bite.  <\/p>\n

i stopped chewing for a second. my eyes widened as the perfect, almost candylike sweetness of the pineapple struck my taste buds. it was the best damn pineapple i\u2019d ever had. immediately i knew i could never go back to its american cousin; it doesn\u2019t hold a candle to brazilian pineapple.<\/p>\n

\"juicy<\/p>\n

as i savored these fruits, i pondered: why is<\/em> the fruit in brazil so good, and where does it come from? i knew i would have to do some research to learn more.<\/p>\n

conveniently, i learned, my trip to brazil took me right to the source: the amazon rainforest. the rainforest, which is as big as the continental united states, harbors more than 10% of the world\u2019s species<\/a> and is home to 350 ethnic groups.<\/p>\n

the rainforest also serves as a feeding ground for both humans and animals through its fruit production. boasting vast agricultural diversity, the amazon rainforest is the source of least 3,000 fruits, while only about 200<\/a> of those are consumed in the western world. it is home to fruits ranging from figs and lemons to bananas and guavas, the amazon provides the state of amazonas \u2014 and much of the world \u2014 with fruits created by mother nature herself.<\/p>\n

jos\u00e9 lu\u00eds camargo, a brazilian plant ecologist, researcher, and teacher who accompanied us on the trip to the amazon, said the fruits from the rainforest are among the most unique in the world. certain fruits like a\u00e7a\u00ed \u2014 a highly nutritious purple berry<\/a> \u2014 are special to the rainforest and are popular in not just brazil, but other parts of the world, including america.<\/p>\n

\n
\"acai
a\u00e7a\u00ed berries. (eli duke\/creative commons<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cmore of the local fruits are rich \u2014 very rich,\u201d camargo said. \u201cwhat happens for most of the people who live outside the amazon \u2014 most of the fruits you don\u2019t find other places. only here.\u201d<\/p>\n

vegetables, however, are not as popular. camargo said there are some common vegetables used in meals, but joked that not a lot of brazilians eat \u201cleaves\u201d like americans do.<\/p>\n

\u201cvegetables are not a thing \u2014 it depends on the vegetables. some of them are very common, like tomate (tomato) \u2026 part of the regular food here doesn\u2019t go with salad.\u201d<\/p>\n

being the third largest exporter of fruit,<\/a> behind china and india, respectively, brazil also showcases the diversity of its fruits. from a\u00e7a\u00ed, camu camu (a vitamin c-packed so-called \u201csuperfood\u201d) to maracuy\u00e1 (passionfruit) and aguaje (which has a high concentration of vitamin a, as well as vitamins e and c), brazil produces exotic fruits that make even the biggest foodies marvel at the uniqueness of the sweet delectables \u2014 and the nutritional impact they can provide both locals and consumers in other countries.<\/p>\n

over the past several years, the fruit industry in brazil has risen 25%<\/a>, dominating the country\u2019s export economy, and provided 5.6 million jobs. about 35% of the world\u2019s oranges come from brazil and more than half of the world\u2019s orange juice is made there, too. in 2013, 14,598 tons of oranges were exported by brazil, serving countries like the united states, germany, uruguay, france and more.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
we saw green oranges like this everywhere we went. (creative commons<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

beyond the economic and nutritional impact, camargo said the fruit is a big part of what makes the amazon special.<\/p>\n

it\u2019s what gives camargo a sense of home \u2014 no matter where he travels in brazil. for others in the city of manaus, it\u2019s how they make a living \u2014 selling fruits in small shacks outside, under the blaze of the brazilian sun. for me? the fruit created a sense of comunidade.<\/p>\n

\u201ccommunity\u201d in portuguese, comunidade is what i felt as i turned every corner in brazil. i felt it from its people, its music, and, yes, its fruit.<\/p>\n

in fact, it was the fruit that brought all of us together during our time at camp 41 \u2014 the home base for a series of scientific studies done deep in the amazon.<\/p>\n

with no technology embedded in our hands \u2014 and little knowledge about each other \u2014 our gatherings at the seemingly out of place, red-checkered tablecloth-clad picnic tables in the middle of the rainforest, nibbling on the sweetest of fruits that came from the rainforest made me simply happy. it\u2019s the comunidade that moves the planet forward.<\/p>\n

while others marveled at the abundance of insect and animal life in the rainforest, i marveled at the fruit. the fruit was pure \u2014 it came from the heart of the amazon to the table. no factories involved. no planes. just forest to table.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

planet forward led a student storytelling expedition to the amazon. read sydney’s story of how she found her sense of comunidade \u2014 \u201ccommunity\u201d in portuguese \u2014 as she turned every corner in brazil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9399,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4919,4896],"tags":[2861,2066,4768,2977,3444,3193,3802,2455],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-12469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agriculture","category-food","tag-amazon","tag-brazil","tag-camp-41","tag-eat-your-locals","tag-fruits","tag-local-food","tag-planet-forward-in-the-amazon","tag-rainforest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nfrom the wilds of the rainforest to the diversity of brazilian city life, this one thing brought us together - planet forward<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/the-unusually-good\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"from the wilds of the rainforest to the diversity of brazilian city life, this one thing brought us together - 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