Plants and Us
 

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Plants & Economics

Plants wield greater power than you might think. They don’t just clothe and feed us – they can dictate global markets and make or break economies.

Plants have influenced economies throughout history. The first cotton milling factories were built in the 18th century, and led to the industrial revolution and the vast wealth of the Victorian era. The introduction of sugar cane to the Caribbean in 1493 encouraged Europeans to emigrate, and also led to the horrors of the slave trade, as cheap labour was needed to work the plantations.

Today, plants are helping people to change their lives for the better, as many growers and producers are becoming more socially and environmentally aware. Bananas, for example, are being sold under Fair Trade terms, where local growers and producers sell directly to retailers and manufacturers.

But industries based on plants do not always benefit the world. The opium poppy is the source of heroin, and its growth is central to the economies of countries such as Afghanistan.

Plants even dictate which is the richest and most powerful country in the world. Historically, this has always been the country that has controlled the spice trade – today, it is the United States.

See the top 10 plants that we think have made the biggest difference to this category.