• Question: What is the most important crop and plant that we need in the world ?

    Asked by diddyman13 to Amelia, Clem, Izzy, Sarah on 18 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Isabel Webb

      Isabel Webb answered on 18 Mar 2014:

      I would say either wheat or corn are the most important crops we have on Earth. They provide basic food for much of the world. Wheat is used to make bread and pasta, and provides lots of vegetable protein. Corn (also called maize) is very important in Africa as a food – and we eat it here in the UK too. Also, you can make popcorn – one of my favourite foods! We need wheat for flour as well – so without wheat, there’d be no cake.

      These two crops also have other important uses. Corn is being used more and more to make biofuels – which are important as fossil fuels run out. You can also use starch from both these crops to make fabrics and plastics.
      Wheat can also be used to make paper – and some alternatives to wood, which is very useful.

      There are also lots of other important crops – like rice and potatoes.

    • Photo: Amelia Frizell-Armitage

      Amelia Frizell-Armitage answered on 18 Mar 2014:

      The most important crop plant in the world is actually Maize (also called corn) followed by wheat and then rice. Just these three crops are the main source of food for 4 billion people which is just over half of the world’s population!

      These three crops have become the main food source for many people because they are easy to farm in large amounts and cheap to produce compared to other crops. This means that even people that don’t have much money can afford to buy them.

      One problem with so much of the world’s population being dependant on so few crop plant species is that if a crop fails to grow one year, for example if a disease spreads through the whole of North America and kills off all the Maize plants, then this means there is not enough food remaining to feed everyone, and what does remain is too expensive for a lot of people to buy.

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 18 Mar 2014:

      This is a matter of opinion

      But for me, I would say Rice

      REASON:

      This crop feeds a higher percentage of the human population than any other!

      This makes it particularly important that we continue to research It and ensure that we can continue producing it for continued use in a changing world, as we look towards the future.

Comments