Plants are not a niche subject of scientific enquiry. However, having been integral to human society from the dawn of civilisation, it’s easy to take them for granted. Given the challenges we face today - food scarcity, overpopulation, resource distribution, amongst others - perhaps we should pay more attention.

The solutions to all these problems potentially lie in the manipulation of plant life. This will not be news to most Cambridge students, although it is unfortunate that many controversialists outside academia - often holding uninformed opinions - are attempting to block scientific progress in this field.

‘Planet’ is a new, student-run platform for the discussion of the role of plants in society. It hopes to look at the reverberations of past and current agricultural events, as well as the trajectories they may follow in the future. Consider the following themes: the impact of agriculture on women and states; how plants shape tribal society and culture; the implications of new biological discoveries on us as human beings; and the hypothetical risks of uncontrollable crop disease.

Planet is not just a megaphone for scientists, nor does it aim to serve as a conduit for environmental and genetic propaganda. It’s a project aimed at delivering both opinion and fact in order to help students form and express their views. Do you think that there is a future without genetic modification? What is your ethical standpoint and where do you draw the line?

Together with student perspectives, Planet wants to draw attention to the urgent character of modern research into plant science. It believes that everyone has a responsibility to inform themselves about how our kind plans to sustain itself.

cambridgeplanet.wordpress.com