TEXT OF INTERVIEW
Jeremy Hobson: Alright, it’s quiz time here on the Marketplace Morning Report. And let’s bring in our quizmaster Stephan Richter. He’s editor in chief at The Globalist. He’s with us from Washington, D.C. Good morning, Stephan.
Stephan Richter: Morning, Jeremy. Are you ready for today’s quiz?
Hobson: I am ready. Hit me.
Richter: It’s all about tobacco, which kills 5.4 million people each year around the world. My question to you is: Which of these countries produces more tobacco than any other? Is it A) Yours truly, the United States of America; B) Brazil; C) India; or D) China?
Hobson: Well I feel like China produces more of just about everything these days, but I took a trip through Tennessee this summer and they certainly produce a lot of tobacco down there still, so I’m going to go with the United States.
Buzzer
Richter: Until 1976, you would have been right. But the U.S. is only doing 6 percent of global production these days. Ranks fourth amongst these.
Hobson: OK, I’m going to go with Brazil.
Buzzer
Richter: Brazil is very close. Brazil, unfortunately, is number two — 15 percent of global production. But if I’d asked about sugar, oranges or coffee — three other staples that you probably need in the morning — you would have been right. Brazil leads the world there, but not on tobacco.
Hobson: All right, well, I guess I have a 50 percent chance of getting it at this point. I’ll go with India.
Buzzer
Richter: Nope.
Hobson: At least the audience now knows that I didn’t see the answers in advance.
Richter: This again is another field where China leads the world in terms of global production. In fact, it counts for 39 percent of it around the globe. And the Chinese are heavy consumers, for once, of this stuff. Twenty-seven percent of the Chinese population smokes. So they are number one again.
Hobson: Number one again! All right, and I am number four on this quiz. Thank you again Stephan Richter, he’s the editor-in-chief of The Globalist, and they’ve got new features everyday about the world at theglobalist.com. Stephan, thanks.
Richter: Until next time, bye bye.
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