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.