Who Killed the Florida Orange?

Who Killed the Florida Orange?

From The Jacob Shapiro Podcast by Jacob Shapiro

June 3, 2026 · 53 min · Season 1 · Episode 343

About this episode

Jacob Shapiro discusses the decline of the Florida orange industry with journalist Alexander Sammon.

Florida produced 242 million boxes of oranges in 2003. This year, the USDA is forecasting 12 million... a decline of more than 95% in less than a generation. Jacob sits down with journalist Alexander Sammon, who wrote a definitive autopsy of the Florida orange industry, to understand how disease, globalization, and real estate swallowed one of America's most iconic crops. Scratch the surface of orange juice, and you find geopolitics, government mandates, and the full sweep of 20th century American economic history. Alex's article below! -- Timestamps: (00:00) - Welcome and Schedule Update (00:26) - Meet Alex Salmon (01:18) - Orange Juice Meets Geopolitics (02:48) - Florida Orange Collapse (04:27) - Disease and Perfect Storm (06:0) -6 Can Science Save Citrus (10:37) - Farmers Pivot to Real Estate (14:28) - Nostalgia for Old Florida (16:58) - Brazil Takes the Baton (24:25) - Oranges Through History (26:50) - Canonizing a Classic (27:39) - Oranges Arrive in Florida (28:52) - Railroads and Early Boom (30:02) - War Creates Orange Juice (30:35) - Geopolitics in Your Glass (34:02) - Advertising Makes a Staple (35:49) - Greening and Structural Cracks (37:26) - Globalization Hollowing Out…

People in this episode

Host: Jacob Shapiro

Guest: Alexander Sammon

Topics covered

  • Florida orange industry
  • geopolitics
  • agriculture
  • globalization
  • economic history

Keywords

  • Florida oranges
  • orange juice
  • agriculture decline
  • geopolitics
  • globalization
  • economic history
  • Alexander Sammon

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: USDA

Books & works: Who Killed the Florida Orange?

Places: Florida, Brazil

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