Introduction
Plants are life. Plants produce the oxygen we breathe, the food we eat, and bring beauty to our lives. Healthy plants are important to ensure sustainable agriculture and food systems, and to protect human health, ecosystems, and the planet. Healthy plants are indeed the foundation of a healthy, thriving world. Unfortunately, plants are under constant threat from diseases and pests, with potentially dire consequences: food shortages, economic instability and loss of biodiversity.
In 2018, the United Nations adopted a Resolution declaring 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health, with a goal of raising global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development. Ohio State’s work in these efforts extends back to its beginnings as a land-grant university, from early classroom teaching to cutting-edge research discoveries and technological advances of today.
Our lives cannot thrive without healthy plants. However, emerging diseases and pests in food crops and the spread of invasive threats to our forests will require multi-disciplinary approaches. Collaborations that incorporate scientific, social and economic perspectives are critical in addressing local and global challenges facing plant health, as well as developing solutions for agriculture and our natural environments.
Protecting Plants, People and the World is presented by The Ohio State University Libraries and the Department of Plant Pathology, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
