All human life depends on plants. Given the steady growth of world population and the current use of unsustainable agricultural practices, we face the likelihood of increasing malnutrition, starvation, and the inevitable social unrest that will accompany such scourges. If we are to survive in a peaceful world, we must urgently look to a new revolution, a revolution in plant science.

This revolution must logically arise from a deeper understanding of how plants grow and develop, how they resist disease and drought, heat and cold, and what adaptations must be made to decrease the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The mandate of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is to lead that revolution.