Abstract

Plant ontology is a major issue in the 21rst century as it will affect agriculture worldwide. Dragging plant ontology to center-stage is an opportunity for OA to posit so far unspoken concern for plant welfare and to disentangle implicitly linked notions such as organicity, naturalness and aliveness. So far OA has focused on soil ontology and devoted little attention to crop ontology. Plant embodiment and passing over is an absolute requirement for organicity, so it is crucial to understand why the plantness of the plant remains a blind spot. One issue is to reveal the contradictions and paradoxes of accumulating knowledge that ignores meaningful aesthetic and relational content and promotes a utilitarian approach of plants as material and resource. I reckon to critically assess the reduction of plants to non-animal ingredients that come from the ground. Another issue is to encourage new awareness for the standing of plants and contribute to current debates on plant life integrity and agentivity. I recommend to integrate the notion of “plant labor” and the value of plant-human relation at work in the definition of organic sustainability. Finally, addressing core values of plant labor is well suited to seek a common language and accommodate community entanglement in a comprehensive philosophy of OA.