Polynesia and the world

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Pascale Harter introduces a special essay by John Pickford, reflecting on changing diets and cultural habits in Oceania. The rest of the world might think of the Cook Islands and other Pacific nations as idyllic places, isolated from the rest of the world's problems by vast distances and open ocean. But as it turns out, these countries have a much longer history of trade and transit than many outsiders realise - and far from sticking to age-old traditions, their ways of life changed drastically during the 20th century. As it turns out, from malarial mosquitoes to strawberry cake mix, not all new imports have had a positive effect ...