Plants of Power

Over the course of history, plants have played an instrumental role in the development of societies and the course of human discovery.  From tobacco and cotton bringing economic success to young America, or the spice trade jump starting the age of exploration, plants are intrinsically woven into out past.  Today, however, it may seem that the power of plants is weaning.  New methods of transportation and trade make it easier than ever the share plants with the rest of the world and advancements in agriculture have left far fewer people food scarce.  However there are plants today that are having enormous impacts on us and our lives as we speak.

A marijuana leaf
via teens.drugabuse.gov

Across the world, the use of marijuana is a hot button topic and effects many lives.  The plants is native to south and central Asia, and has been used as a recreational drug and medicine for thousands of years.  Today in the United States, marijuana is a large contributor to the 'war on drugs', and is responsible for a large number of arrests and imprisonments.  Proponents of the drug argue that not only is it not harmful, or at least no more so than other legal drugs like alcohol, but that marijuana has great potential as a medicine, and that by keeping it illegal, we are preventing research that could have great impacts on medicine.

Ears of corn
via fineartamerica.com

Another of the most influential plants in the modern world also happens to the most produced crop in the world.  Maize is used not just for eating, but in countless other industries.  While it remains a staple crop in diets across the world, human consumption is the smallest percentage of corn use.  It's biggest use is as feed for livestock, and second biggest is the production of ethanol.  But what really makes corn so extraordinary is the vast scale of products and processes in which it is used.  Plastics, fabrics, papers, and many more products contain corn byproducts.

Palm Oil
via image.ec21.com

Palm oil is a vegetable oil widely used in cooking across the world, particularly in Africa and south east Asia.  On it's own, the oil palm, the plant which produces palm oil, is not a very significant plant.  It is important in the societies which use it but it is not world changing.  What makes the oil palm such an important plant is that it provides very high yields and is lucrative to grow.  This has lead to farmers expanding their farms greatly, and clear cutting rain forest if need be.  Huge tracts of rain forest have been destroyed, including on some islands where the wildlife is unique.  Plants in rain forests hold great potential as medicines or other products, and by eliminating these habitats we are eradicating plants and possibilities that could drastically change the future.

Plants and the Population

Recently the world population broke 7 million, the largest population the earth has ever seen.  Only 50 years ago, the world population was just over 3 million, and the world was faced with mass starvation and famine. What happened in the past decades that has allowed to population to grow at such a massive rate is known as the Green Revolution.  A series of scientific advancements, such as genetically modified plants, improved fertilizers and pesticides, and others, have allowed crop yields to swell.

It might seem like the world's food problems are solved, but with more food the population grows, and with a larger population we need more food.  Even with the advances of the green revolution, we are quickly reaching the limits of what our food supplies can handle.  Nations are searching for ways to provide their people with food security, though many of the options may do harm as well as good.

One option to increase food security is to simply try and grow more crops with the existing methods and infrastructure.  While this may work for some countries, there are many problems with this solution.  First of all, some countries are producing as much food as they can already, or they do not have the land necessary to grow more.  Even in countries with the ability to grow more, the effects of farming on such a large scale can be disastrous to the local environment and water supply.  Over use of nitrate based fertilizers, for example, can lead to algae blooms in bodies of water, sucking all of the oxygen out of the water and killing marine life.  Other pesticides may simply pollute the water supply directly.

Another option some countries are considering is to buy fertile land from poorer nations, sometimes called a "Land Grab".  While this will help the "Grabbing" country with their food security, it will only worsen problems for the poorer country.  Not only have they given up fertile land, but they now face the effects of pollution and environmental damage as well as the possible exploitation of their peoples.