interaction

Our Relationship with Plants
Introduction	Since the dawn of civilization humans and plants have depended upon each other to multiply and flourish. For us, the benefit of cultivating plants is obvious, they provide us with sustenance, medicine, materials, and a host of other resources. Our society depends on, and is largely shaped around, the ability of plants to provide our basic needs. The plants that we grow also benefit from our interactions in several ways. From one perspective, we are in fact servants of 'our' plants. We ensure their survival through habitat modification, pest control, watering, and all manner of pampering. More importantly, we provide our crops with a means for distribution and purposeful evolution by selecting plants for different environments and planting them where other species grew before. Thus those plants that can please us are made more successful through their temptation for, and utilization of, people. People and fruit share a special relationship in the world of horticulture. While they are not necessary for survival, fruit like apples and grapes satisfy other human desires. The first of these is the desire for sweetness, shared universally by all people, even those who have never previously experienced the taste. Before refined sugar became widely available fruit, like apples were the sweetest readily available food, and the only type of sweetness that could be realistically considered for production in the American north. The other desirable product of grapes and apples was the alcohol that could be derived by fermenting juice. This drive for intoxication is also universal among humans (and some animals), in that all ancient societies (excepting Eskimos) utilized, and often propagated, plants that could produce an intoxicating effect (Pollan). For European settlers, alcohol was the most familiar intoxicant (as opposed to hallucinogens or stimulants), and as such was highly sought after in the new world. The desires for sweetness and intoxication have thus linked the fates of man and our fruit crops. While we benefit by having our wants satiated, our plants benefit by being brought with us, and being encouraged to adapt to new and novel conditions.
Challenges of Minnesota Part 1 Part 2
Fruit History in MN Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Timeline
Our Relationship with Crops
Future Directions

Since the dawn of civilization humans and plants have depended upon each other to multiply and flourish. For us, the benefit of cultivating plants is obvious, they provide us with sustenance, medicine, materials, and a host of other resources. Our society depends on, and is largely shaped around, the ability of plants to provide our basic needs.

The plants that we grow also benefit from our interactions in several ways. From one perspective, we are in fact servants of 'our' plants. We ensure their survival through habitat modification, pest control, watering, and all manner of pampering. More importantly, we provide our crops with a means for distribution and purposeful evolution by selecting plants for different environments and planting them where other species grew before. Thus those plants that can please us are made more successful through their temptation for, and utilization of, people.

People and fruit share a special relationship in the world of horticulture. While they are not necessary for survival, fruit like apples and grapes satisfy other human desires. The first of these is the desire for sweetness, shared universally by all people, even those who have never previously experienced the taste. Before refined sugar became widely available fruit, like apples were the sweetest readily available food, and the only type of sweetness that could be realistically considered for production in the American north.

The other desirable product of grapes and apples was the alcohol that could be derived by fermenting juice. This drive for intoxication is also universal among humans (and some animals), in that all ancient societies (excepting Eskimos) utilized, and often propagated, plants that could produce an intoxicating effect (Pollan). For European settlers, alcohol was the most familiar intoxicant (as opposed to hallucinogens or stimulants), and as such was highly sought after in the new world.

The desires for sweetness and intoxication have thus linked the fates of man and our fruit crops. While we benefit by having our wants satiated, our plants benefit by being brought with us, and being encouraged to adapt to new and novel conditions.