You mentioned that if something were found to have a medicinal or positive effect on the human body the demand would skyrocket. Can you think of any real-world examples where this has happened for one reason or the other?
Off the top of my head, no. I use it more as a quick example. That said, as you press me here, I immediately think of the aloe. Before it was discovered that aloe helped burns, I imagine there was much less demand.