ISHS Acta Horticulturae 391: Horticulture in Human life, Culture and Environment
FOREWORD |
| Authors: | P.D. Relf, E. Matsuo |
| Abstract:
As each of you heard yesterday from Masatoshi Iwata, the chair of the organizing committee for this 24th International Horticultural Congress, the motto of this Congress, "the beautification of life and it's environment through horticultural science" is intended (and we quote) "to emphasize the horticultural contribution though international cooperation toward creating or maintaining health and quality of life among people as well as a sound and beautiful environment." Both of yesterday's plenary sessions focused on aspects relevant to this motto. As the first symposium of this Congress - Horticulture in Human Life, Culture and Environment - we feel that we have been greatly honored with the opportunity to reinforce the full meaning of this motto. At the same time, we feel a strong responsibility to set the stage for future recognition of the importance of horticulture-human interaction. In trying to understand the role of horticulture in human well-being, we are ultimately trying to understand why we do the jobs that we do. If, in fact, plants have no value to people - neither for nutrition nor health, for beauty nor pleasure, then researching the taxonomy, physiology, production, and biotechnology of horticultural crops would be without point. If no one cared about plants, if no one used them, then certainly no one would pay us to do the scientific experiments that we in the science of horticulture all value so greatly. However, today the world is rapidly filling with people who have no idea that horticulture plays an important role in their lives. There are far too many people who, lacking experiences with plants and nature as children, are not able to appreciate plants; who do not eat vegetables and fruit; who never sit under a tree and dream. As we move into the 21st century, it is essential that we in horticulture assume a leadership role in understanding not only the plants that we cultivate, but also the people that use them. It is our hope that this symposium will provide insight into the many facets of horticulture-human interaction and bring focus to the types of research needed in this field.
Interdisciplinary research from such fields as forestry and geography has documented many positive impacts of plants on individuals; impacts that can lead the way to significant improvement in health, quality of life and even economic growth.
Plants are integral to human culture and civilization, and horticulturists have played major (if often unrecognized) roles in the development of our religions and philosophies, in what we have become as nations.
In our increasingly fragile environment, horticulturists have much to learn about the interaction of plants and humans in order to play our role in caring for plants.
In a similar manner, the contributions to be made to children, elderly, disabled, urban dwellers, and a host of others isolated from plants are integral to future growth in horticulture.
As you will learn from our first speaker, horticulture is essential to help us live as human beings. | |
