Raymond Sokolov, the Leisure & Arts Editor of The Wall Street Journal describes how Christopher Columbus changed the way the world eats in Why We Eat What We Eat.

Sokolov says that Columbus greatly influenced our eating habits when such New World delights as tomatoes, chocolate, green beans, chili peppers, and maize were introduced into cuisine throughout the world and when the delicacies of the Old World found their way into the cooking pots of America.