] Of course, the crops aren't eaten because they're full of
] toxic metals.
]
] Instead, Anderson harvests them for their minerals as
] they begin to die. He estimates he can recover 1 kilogram
] of gold per hectare (14 ounces an acre) and about half as
] much mercury through this process. Then the gold is used
] to pay for the cleanup and to educate locals about
] sustainable agriculture.

This is remarkably similar to the "plant" tiberium in the Command and Conquer games

Real life Tiberium?