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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Agricultural Genetic Resources Preservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #361072
Research Project: Efficient and Effective Preservation and Management of Plant and Microbial Genetic Resource Collections

Location: Agricultural Genetic Resources Preservation Research

Title: Resetting the table for people and plants: Botanic gardens and research organizations collaborate to address food and agricultural plant blindness

Author
item KRISHNAN, SARADA - Denver Botanic Gardens
item MOREAU, TARA - University Of British Columbia
item KUEHNY, JEFF - Louisiana State University
item NOVY, ARI - San Diego State University
item Greene, Stephanie
item Khoury, Colin

Submitted to: Plants, People, Planet
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/22/2019
Publication Date: 5/24/2019
Citation: Krishnan, S., Moreau, T., Kuehny, J., Novy, A., Greene, S.L., Khoury, C.K. 2019. Resetting the table for people and plants: Botanic gardens and research organizations collaborate to address food and agricultural plant blindness. Plants, People, Planet. 1(3):157-163. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.34.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.34

Interpretive Summary: Food and agricultural plants are integral to human well-being. Due to their universal importance, such plants would appear to represent an ideal entryway by which to address plant blindness. However, with limited urban opportunities for direct contact with agriculture, this blindness in the general public extends even to the flora that feed us every day. We provide examples of informal education initiatives aimed at increasing public awareness and appreciation of food and agricultural plants, made possible through collaborations between botanic gardens, academic institutions, nonprofits, and agricultural research organizations.

Technical Abstract: Of the myriad gifts plants provide to humanity, food is among the most visible, as everyone needs to eat, every single day. Due to their universal importance, food and agricultural plants would appear to represent ideal entryways by which to address plant blindness. Yet increasing urbanization worldwide and decreasing proportions of the global workforce in agriculture have resulted in limited opportunities for people to have direct, hands-on experiences with food and agricultural plants outside of retail purchasing, meal preparation, and food consumption. This disconnect is troubling, especially as the challenges to the sustainability of our future food supply necesitate that the public, and certainly elected decision-makers, have the capacity to understand the potential benefits, risks, and tradeoffs inherent to agriculture and its technological innovations. We outline opportunities to address agricultural plant blindness with emphasis on current complex issues within the food and agriculture sector. We provide examples of fruitful collaborations between botanic gardens, academic institutions, nonprofits, and agricultural research organizations that engage the public around these issues.