The root of the problem

Preface

 This is the second in my "botany" series of short-essays. It was written as an introduction to a lesson on roots as part of the Introduction to Botany lab I was the instructor for at UNBSJ back in 2011. Enjoy!

The root of the problem

Root vegetables may not be the most abundant, most nutritional, or most valuable crops around; the ratio of protein to carbohydrates is often quite small, they cost more to grow than many grasses, and they tend not to have as many nutrients and vitamins as fruits or legumes.  They do, however, have their place as historically and traditionally important foods and products.  Here are a couple of examples I came across.  (Can you add any more?)

As I was preparing for the ‘root lab’, I came across an interesting excerpt in one of my text-books on the significance of one particular root, the sugar beet, in conflicts between world powers.  The sugar beet is actually the same species as the dark purple ones we see more commonly, but has achieved much higher sugar content through selective breeding.  Apparently, the sugar beet was developed by plant breeders in Germany and France during Britain’s naval blockade in the late eighteenth century, as a way of overcoming the loss of imported sugar from tropical locations that could grow sugar cane.  Sugar beets were Napoleon’s way of stickin’ it to the King of England.  It’s kind of like when as a child you get sent to your room for bad behaviour, but end up finding plenty of things to do in there anyways. 

The second time sugar beets came to the forefront of world politics was during the cold war era, when suddenly the U.S.A. didn’t like Cuba so much any more.  Ironically, Cuba had previously supplied the majority of the U.S.A.’s sugar, so the American government really shot themselves in the foot with that one.  This ended up working out well for American farmers though, because sugar beet production went up exponentially during that time.  Of course, with the country that bought the majority of their exported sugar no longer doing so, Cuba suddenly had more sugar than money, so their communist allies in northern Europe had to step in and buy some sugar – even though northern Europe had no shortage of the stuff with ample sugar-beet production already in place.  I wonder what the dental health of Russians from that time was like with all that extra sugar in their diet… 

            But of course, world politics have involved roots in many more forms that just that of the sugar beet.  Until recently in North America, tobacco production was one of the most financially lucrative (and environmentally damaging) forms of agriculture around.  The political importance of tobacco lies in its financial support for (and some would say control over) election campaigns, national spending priorities, and international trade.  It still is a major and growing industry in many other places around the world.  Of course, the product itself is a leaf, but the nicotine that accumulates in the leaves is produced in the roots of the plant, and without that nicotine (which is what causes addiction), tobacco markets would be a mere shadow of what they are today.