The Sno-King School Retirees organization invited the public to join them for a sugar-filled afternoon Thursday featuring cultural anthropologist Julia Harrison.

The retirees organization partnered with Humanities Washington’s Speaker Bureau to bring Harrison’s tempting talk, “Sticky Subject: The History and Culture of Sugar” to the Edmonds School District’s Educational Service Center in Lynnwood.

Harrison noted she was born with a sweet tooth and an inquisitive nature to match. From an early age, she found her favorite part of traveling to be seeking out and experiencing the local desserts wherever she went.

This led to an interest in the cultural and religious significance desserts held in that region, and she turned her passion into a master’s degree in applied anthropology — and the enviable job of studying sweet foods and the history behind them.

During her talk, Harrison guided attendees on a journey through culture and time to explore  human relationships with sugar. The stories she shared ranged from 8,000-year-old cave drawings depicting the gathering of honey to the invention of ninja balls (small portable balls of sugar and spice used by Japanese ninjas as fuel for their adventures).

Harrison also covered the demand for sugar that fueled the slave trade and how the lasting impact shaped those regional cultures. Flaunting one’s access to sugar has been used as a demonstration of wealth and status throughout time, she said.

In contrast, Harrison also described the exponential growth of sugar in the modern diet and the ease of access to sugar we (over?) enjoy now.