Question 8: Which are the ‘Top Three’ most important / influential plants of power today
With almost 400,000 plant species extant today, it is not surprising in the least that they have had influential effects on the lives of humans since even before we evolved from apes and came down out of the trees. There have been many lists made up of important plants organized by volume produced and economic value, but I believe the current “top three” influential plants rice, papers trees, and opium poppies are important for other reasons.
Rice is vital to humanity for one simple reason, it feeds the most people out of any plant ever. While corn has the highest production rate, it is used mainly for non-consumption (fuel and plastics). This makes rice the most consumed plant product. Interestingly there are over 40,000 varieties of rice growing all over the world. It became so important that it ingrained itself in various cultures. While it is mostly grown and eaten in Southeastern Asia (China, Japan, the Islands, etc…). It provides nutritional and economic sustenance for producers and consumers across the globe.
The second of the “top three” would have to be trees. This is because, as we discussed in class, there are a myriad of uses for trees from transportation to heating. However, what makes it most important today is the fact that paper is made wood. Paper makes the world flow, at least for the time being.
Lastly is the opium poppy. This is because it is financially supporting many terrorist organizations (e.g. Al-Qaeda) in the Middle East (primarily Afghanistan and Pakistan) which are currently fighting in the middle east and creating many global problems which are detrimental to World security. The production of this plant however rarely benefits the farmers, instead the billions in profit fund the illicit actions of terror organizations.
These three plants are the most influential because they shape current the political and cultural landscape.
Source
Images
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8717378/Rice-a-cultural-symbol-for-modern-day-Japan.html
As you said, rice is a main food source for people all over southeast Asia. There must be a lot of land devoted to rice paddies. Are there any negative environmental impacts of growing rice?
ReplyDeleteYes, there are several negative impacts of growing rice. Firstly it takes a large amount of much needed land in order to produce rice (much more than corn or wheat). Secondly, corn requires immense amounts of water and time in order to reap a normal harvest. These are two vital resources which humans have a limited supply of.
DeleteHi Tyler,
ReplyDeleteI was interested to see that you chose Opium as one of the three most important plants. Obviously we learned a lot about it's long and destructive history but I didn't know much about the plant's modern history in the Middle East. Where is opium exported to? Is it generally consumed in countries where it is produced like Pakistan or is there a large market for it elsewhere?
Im not sure, but according to the Council on Foreign Relations, Iran is the largest receiver of middle eastern opium. This might simply be due to the geographical proximity, or there might be factors win play which I am not aware of...
ReplyDelete