We live surrounded by the beauty--and the bounty--of the botanical world but rarely do we stop to think seriously about all the roles plants play many of them crucial to life on earth. After reading Why People Need Plants " however we wont be likely to take the earths flora for granted ever again. Accessible & wide-ranging " Why People Need Plants" covers such topics as food production biofuels medicine biodiversity conservation economics genetic modification & many more--all aimed at demonstrating the importance of plants to nearly every aspect of human life & society. A collaboration between the Open University & the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew with assistance from the Royal Horticultural Society the book will inform--and surprise--plant lovers gardeners & students of all levels of knowledge."