Thousands of years ago, people only ate food that was grown near their homes. Some kinds of food were only grown in one place, so people from other places didn't know about them. When Europeans first traveled to Central and South America in the 1500s, they discovered strange kinds of food that they had never seen before. Today, these are grown in a lot of different countries and they're sold in supermarkets all over the world. They don't seem strange any more! Potatoes were first grown in the Andes in South America. In 1586, they were taken to Europe by explorers . In 1719, they were taken to North America. Before 1719, nobody in North America had ever seen or eaten a potato. Today each American eats more than 60 kilos of potatoes a year. Tomatoes were also first grown by native  Americans. When European explorers visited the south of America in 1500, they took tomato seeds  back to Europe. Soon, tomatoes were grown in Europe, but people in England didn't eat them. At that time, a lot of English people thought that tomatoes were  _ ! Chilies  have been eaten in Central and South America for more than 8,000 years! In the 1500s, chilies were taken to Europe by explorers. Today, they are grown in hot countries all over the world. People in Central and South America have eaten chilies for more than  _   years.
1,500 1,586 8,000 1719