Seeing a lot of sunflowers on your news feed?? It is because of the Ukraine/ Russia conflict..
A brief history..
Sunflowers made their way to Ukraine through the efforts of the early explorers of North America, where it was one of only a few native food crops (along with squash, blueberries and pecans). Seeds were brought back to the old world, and found to grow well in hot, dry places with rich soil, such as the “Black Earth” regions of Ukraine..
Later, Soviet plant breeders developed a line of sunflowers that produces much more oil, and oil of a type that doesn’t go bad when it’s heated to a high temperature. In the 1990s, when the world began to turn away from trans-fats, the new sunflower oil quickly became popular– especially for frying potato chips – and even more fields were planted.
Fast forward to today: A viral video appears to show a Ukrainian woman telling Russian soldiers to put seeds in their pockets so flowers will grow when they die in her country.. A viral video appears to show a Ukrainian woman telling Russian soldiers to put seeds in their pockets so flowers will grow when they die in her country..