Fact Sheets
Protecting the Environment
How does plant science improve lives?
If farmers didn’t have access to modern pesticides, you could be spending twice as much on your average annual grocery bills.
Next time you’re in the supermarket, take a look at the range of fruit and vegetables available year-round. See all the bread, the cereals, the wine and beer, even the cotton in the t-shirt you’re wearing? So much of the quality food and clothing you have access to is there thanks to modern plant science.
Outside the supermarket, plant science protects you from vector-borne diseases by helping to control the pests that carry them. Without pesticides, public health organisations wouldn’t have the tools they need to control the mosquitos that carry viruses like dengue and zika.
Australia is known globally for its breathtaking national parks and beautiful native flora. Millions of people each year flock to national parks and nature reserves around the country.
Environmental land managers use pesticides to control invasive, allergenic or otherwise toxic weeds and insects to protect Australia’s precious natural environment. Plant science tools are also used in the management of public parks, golf courses, gardens and to control weeds alongside roads and buildings, pathways and public infrastructure ensuring people can safely make use of public amenities.
Genetically modified crops have alleviated poverty for 18 million small farmers and farming families around the world, totalling more than 65 million people. If you care about alleviating poverty, that is a task that cannot be achieved without modern plant science.
There are also a range of environmental benefits that plant science has delivered, like reducing CO2 emissions by the equivalent of taking 12 million cars from the road for one year. Find out more about the benefits of plant science.
