Where your food comes from
Modern chewing gum has its roots in Central and South America. The Aztec had harnessed the power of rubber and its use was found everywhere- from bouncing balls used in sports to footwear used to play sports with bouncing balls. Even in recreational chewing. Thanks to a chance meeting with an Inca explorer sometime in the early 15th century the Aztecs learned how to cultivate the coca plant. The high priests quickly took a liking to the plant for its medicinal purposes and its ability for them to pray longer and harder to the gods. Eventually the plant was mixed with rubber and yielded a soft, chewy and stimulating food.
The sporting community quickly took up the practice of chewing the substance and this resulted in bloodier matches (cf. sacrificial offering of the Mesoamerican ball game's losers) and week-long religious ceremonies filled with orgies and dancing. The coca gum spread throughout the Americas and was said to garner peace between the various civilizations. During European colonization the gum was outlawed and the coca was replaced by the sugar cane introduced in the Americas by Columbus. This change relegated chewing gum to an activity for children starving due to the conquests of the Amerindians. Those that did have the resources for acquiring food spent them on pure coca.