Plant scientist are uinified in our need to communicate what we do and why to the broader community, and we applaud all of the positive “press” plants have received this year.
Here are a few efforts (articles, podcasts, video series and even hashtags) that spread beyond our disciplinary boundaries:
Professor Kathy Willis presented a 30-part series, “Plants, From Roots to Riches” on BBC Radio 4, available to download as podcast (and with video clips too) http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b048s3my
National Geographic ran a series on food called “Feeding 9 billion” including “A Five Step Plan to Feed the Word” by Jonathan Foley http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/feeding-9-billion/
Making Hunger Yield, by C. Robertson McClung (Science) http://www.sciencemag.org/content/344/6185/699.summary
Opinion: The Planet Needs More Plant Scientists by Alan Jones (The Scientist). http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/41133/title/Opinion--The-Planet-Needs-More-Plant-Scientists/
Research Funders and the Public Must Wake up to Looming Food Shortages, Agriculture Experts Say, by Kathleen O’Neil (AAAS News) http://www.aaas.org/news/research-funders-and-public-must-wake-looming-food-shortages-agriculture-experts-say
The world’s most interesting vegetable, by Bill Gates (Gates Blog) http://www.gatesnotes.com/Development/The-Worlds-Most-Interesting-Vegetable
I am a botanist (and No, I don’t grow marijuana), by Chris Martine (Huffington Post) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-chris-martine/i-am-a-botanist-no-i-dont-grow-marijuana_b_5673557.html and the Plants are Cool, Too! (video series) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2b5k1ur--g
Why Study Plants, an overview of plant science goals, was published in 14 languages http://www.plantcell.org/site/teachingtools/TTPB1.xhtml
Grist journalist Nathanael Johnson (@SavorTooth) continues to write good, evidence-based articles on all aspects of food. His even-handed approach was recognized with the ASPB Leadership in Science Public Service Award (http://my.aspb.org/?page=AF_Awards#leadership).
Two plant-based hashtags were popular this year on social media:
#iamabotanist (https://twitter.com/hashtag/iamabotanist) and
#whyplants (https://twitter.com/hashtag/whyplants)
Popular Infographics featuring plants
What is the world’s biggest cash crop?
Which crops are most planted, most fecund (yield / km2), most popular (ton harvested) and produce the most revenue?
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/whats-the-worlds-biggest-cash-crops/
Climate change and farming: what you need to know about the IPCC report
How your food would look if not genetically modified over millennia?
What else would like to add to this list?