Monica Bhide 
My brief appearance on NPR's Morning Edition – clickty click
Some highlights from Andrea Hsu's wonderful piece -
"Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show big gains in Americans' spice consumption since the 1970s, including 600 percent more chili pepper, 300 percent more cumin, and a whopping 1,600 percent more ginger.
McCormick, the world's largest spice and seasoning company, produces more than 1 billion bottles of spices and seasonings annually in its Hunt Valley, Md., plant, nicknamed "Spiceville." The company's net sales in 2009 topped $3 billion."
I had a chance to listen to the NPR piece today. It was interesting to hear the statistics on spice use in the US and how much it has grown. Americans are more adventurous in the foods they try. Maybe there is a kind of food renaissance going on with the food Americans eat…thanks to different food TV channels and influx of many ethnic cultures.
Twenty years ago for me was spent as a Pan Am flight attendant travelling around the world (and getting paid to do so). That was my real introduction (or should i say seduction) to cuisines of many cultures.
I am glad that we have access to more spices than ever before in this country. Nice piece on spices. Americans are spicy? Well, maybe more today than yesterday perhaps.
bonniedeahl