At a time before anyone knew about the negative impact of tobacco, that one crop built not just North Carolina agriculture but the entire state. The crop played a pivotal role in the colonization of the Americas and the building of America. And North Carolina was the center of it all.
Now we know about the dangers of tobacco and as that crop has declined, North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler wants to make sure no one forgets how it helped before we knew the dangers.
And amazingly, researchers are finding new roles for tobacco that are positives — it was actually instrumental in developing vaccines to fight Ebola and Covid-19 and research continues even now.
