The Cracker Barrel: Our better half

Plants, as every schoolkid knows, are utterly vital to human life. Without plants we would neither eat nor breathe.

On the undersurface of every leaf, a million moveable lips are steadily engaged in devouring carbon dioxide and expelling oxygen, thus making it possible for members of the animal kingdom to carry on life.

Of the 450 billion tons of food we humans consume each year, the bulk comes from plants, which synthesize it out of air and soil with the help of sunlight. The remainder of our food comes from animal products, which, in turn, are derived from plants.

From crib to coffin, man relies on cellulose as the basis for his shelter, clothing, fuel, fibers, furniture, cordage and the paper on which he prints his Bibles and textbooks and magazines.

When you add to this list the th