History Main / MultipurposeMonoculturedCrop

## Eat it: As sweet corn (of course), or by grinding it to flour and making stuff with that, or by popping it. You can also use the starch as a culinary thickener.
## Drink it: As high-fructose corn syrup (YMMV) or in beer (YMMV again) or in corn liquor.

* Maize (corn) is grown for food, alcohol, starches, biofuel, corncob pipes, mazes, autumn decorations and herbal corn-silk remedies. In the 19th century, corncobs were also commonly used as toilet paper, and corn husks, as packing material or insulation.

* Anne McCaffrey's ''Killashandra'' has a tree that grows in the wild perform this function on a chain of islands on a planet the protagonist vacations on. It's called "the polly tree", get it? It provides a surprisingly easy living for Killashandra when she is stranded on a small island for weeks.

* ''DwarfFortress'' frequently has multipurpose crops that can be brewed into liquor, cooked, eaten raw, milled into flour or sugar or dye or oil-rich paste, and/or processed into thread. Among animals, sheep and goats are prized since they can produce meat, milk, bones, leather, and wool without requiring much grazing area, and poultry are prized for meat, bones, eggs, leather, and [[ExplosiveBreeder truly explosive breeding]]... and at present they don't require food or feeding.

* In ''[[{{Discworld}} The Light Fantastic]]'', Cohen the Barbarian spends time with a clan of horse nomads, who use horses for transport, meat, horsehair robes, leather, milk, and a thin beer best not inquired about.

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* ''DwarfFortress'' frequently has multipurpose crops that can be brewed into liquor, cooked, eaten raw, processed into flour or sugar or dye, and/or processed into thread. Among animals, sheep and goats are prized since they can produce meat, milk, bones, leather, and wool without requiring much grazing area, and poultry are prized for meat, bones, eggs, leather, and [[ExplosiveBreeder explosive breeding]]... and at present they don't require food or feeding.

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[[AC:Literature]]

* In the VorkosiganSaga, Esteban Borges's artificially designed and created "Butter Bugs" are meant to be this. They are large bugs that live in colonies with a Queen and reproduce quickly, yet their breeding is human-controlled so they can't overrun the environment. In their stomachs they secrete 'Bug Butter', which is tasteless, sort of the consistency of tofu, and can supply all your dietary needs: you can practically live of it alone. Their excrement is also excellent fertilizer, and they can be kept at low cost since they can eat just about anything that's organic, including bark, branches and grass. Their marketing didn't exactly take off at first, as people were turned off by their ugly appearance and thought it was pretty disgusting to eat something that was regurgitated by one, until Ekaterin redesigned them to be "Beautiful Butter Bugs". Now it seems they're going to be pretty profitable.

--> And it has other uses, far beyond that

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* The miracle tree [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moringa_oleifera (Moringa oleifera)]] is an awesome example of this. Originally from Southeast Asia, they are now used in many subtropical parts of the world to help combat malnutrition. Immature green pods of the tree are said to have a kind of green bean with a hint of asparagus taste, its seeds are roasted like peas or nuts, the flowers taste like mushrooms, and the roots can be shaved into a horseradish-like condiment.

* In ''TheLorax'', the Once-ler uses the tufts from the Lorax's truffula trees to make all-purpose consumer products known as thneeds. Subverted in that the truffula trees aren't being cultivated, just harvested from the wild until there's none left.

* Many inhabitants of the [[VideoGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Imperium of Man]] subsist on grox, an aggressive breed of reptile which has replaced cattle.

* Many inhabitants of the [[WarhammerFortyThousand Imperium of Man]] subsist on grox, an aggressive breed of reptile which has replaced cattle.

** According to [[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/12/19/111219fa_fact_bilger?currentPage=all/ this]] article: Moringas are among the world’s most nutritious plants. Their leaves can be eaten raw, cooked, or ground into baby formula. They contain four times the calcium of milk, three times the potassium of bananas, four times the Vitamin A of carrots, seven times the Vitamin C of oranges, and about half again the protein of soybeans. The seeds can be pressed for an unsaturated fat like olive oil or crushed into a powder that purifies water(!): its electrolytes attract impurities and precipitate them out of the fluid. Best of all, Moringas are fast-growing and extremely drought-tolerant.

* ''{{Robotech}}'' has the Invid Flower of Life. Scientific discoveries derived from this plant triggered the protoculture wars, as the Robotech Masters seek to control its secrets, the Invid go on a genocidal Roaring Rampage Of Revenge in response, and Earth is caught in the middle. Amung the products produced from it:

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** In another part of the world, that is what the Chinese are doing right now: there are dishes of every single part of a pig.

* In the ''{{Talislanta}}'' game, parts of the viridia plant can be used for everything from flour to fabric to lumber to oil to ''naturally-grown canoes''. Justified by AWizardDidIt.

* The 1st Edition ''[[DungeonsAndDragons Dungeon Master's Guide]]'' recommended that [=DMs=] incorporate some made-up variety of vegetation or prey into their campaign worlds, that can generate lots of easy food and thus make the abundance of big predatory monsters a bit less implausible.
* "The Wompom", a song by FlandersAndSwann, about the world's most miraculous, all-purpose plant.

* ''{{Robotech}}'' has the Invid Flower of Life. Scientific discoveries derived from this plant triggered the protoculture wars, as the Robotech Masters seek to control its secrets, the Invid go on a genocidal Roaring Rampage Of Revenge in response, and Earth is caught in the middle. Amung the products produced from it:
--> Chemicals used in genetic engineering, allowing the creation of the Robotech Masters' Henchmen Race, the Zentraedi.
--> A drug that gives virtual immortality to the Robotech Masters.
--> A catalyst critical to operation of the Robotech Masters' FTL drive.

* Many inhabitants of the [[WarhammerFortyThousand Imperium of Man]] subsist on grox, an aggressive breed of reptile which has replaced cattle.

Examples:

* Maize (corn) is grown for food, alcohol, starches, biofuel, corncob pipes, mazes, autumn decorations and herbal corn-silk remedies. In the 19th century, corncobs were also commonly used as toilet paper, and corn husks, as packing material or insulation.

The agricultural equivalent of GreenRocks. If this particular crop/livestock's production is the foundation for an entire culture, it may help define a PlanetOfHats. May be an indication of current or [[LostTechnology Lost]] OrganicTechnology within the setting. SoylentSoy may be an example, if derived from a single crop species rather than blending two or more.

* Soybeans are a RealLife example, being the source of numerous processed foods and food additives, as well as oils useful in biodiesel, soap, cosmetics, inks, solvents, crayons, and clothing.

----

* The shmoo, from ''Li'l Abner'', provides meat (several flavors), milk, eggs, butter, leather, wood-substitute, buttons and toothpicks. The milk, eggs and butter come already bottled/packaged.

* "The Wompom", a song by Flanders And Swann, about the world's most miraculous, all-purpose plant.

* "Swist" from the children's story Weslandia:

* In ''{{Robotech}}'', the Invid Flower of Life. Scientific discoveries derived from this plant triggered the protoculture wars, as the Robotech Masters seek to control its secrets, the Invid go on a genocidal Roaring Rampage Of Revenge in response, and Earth is caught in the middle. Amung the products produced from it:

* In the Vorkosigan Saga, Esteban Borges's artificially-designed and -created "Butter Bugs" are meant to be this. They are large bugs that live in colonies with a Queen and reproduce quickly, yet their breeding is human-controlled so they can't overrun the environment. In their stomachs they secrete 'Bug Butter', which is tasteless, sort of the consistency of tofu, and can supply all your dietary needs: you can practically live of it alone. Their excrement is also excellent fertilizer, and they can be kept at low cost since they can eat just about anything that's organic, including bark, branches and grass. Their marketing didn't exactly take off at first, as people were turned off by their ugly appearance and thought it was pretty disgusting to eat something that was regurgitated by one, until Ekaterin redesigned them to be "Beautiful Butter Bugs". Now it seems they're going to be pretty profitable.