Plants For People

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In a world dominated by technological change, it is easy to forget the importance of plants: they feed us, clothe us, clean us, protect us, cure us, transport us and entertain us. Every day, plants play a fundamental role in our lives. PLANTS FOR PEOPLE gives us a fascinating insight into the countless, often surprising ways in which we use plants - from the woodpulp in our clothing and the soya in fast food, to new medicines from daffodil bulbs (for Alzheimer's), yew leaves and hazel nuts (for cancers), and sunflower and rape seeds providing cleaner fuel for our cars. Plants are essential to our lives, yet the ways we manage them are seriously harming people and environments worldwide. PLANTS FOR PEOPLE is a crucial book, considering practical and ethical issues such as organic production, bio-piracy and the Fairtrade movement. Its mission: to help us save the diversity of plant life on earth, and to treat as equals the millions of people whose knowledge and services support us every day.

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Anna Lewington is a well-known writer and researcher who specializes in ethnobotany: the uses people make of plants. She has conducted research in Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Chile, and has a wide knowledge of the (often controversial) industrial uses of plants - from GM soya beans to the endangered wild species used in some herbal medicines. Anna has worked for many different organizations, from the World Wide Fund for Nature to the British Government, and took part in BBC TV's first 'Rough Science' series. Anna has a long-standing interest in the indigenous people and cultures of Latin America. She has also worked with rubber tappers in Brazil, the indigenous people of Chile's Atacama desert, and Andean communities. Anna's other books include ANCIENT TREES (with her photographer husband Edward Parker), an ATLAS OF RAINFORESTS, ANTONIO'S RAINFOREST and five educational books for children. Anna lives with her family in Dorset.