In an effort to be self-sufficient, 19th century Mormon Pioneers in Utah began raising their own silkworms to create a silk industry in the West. Silkworms must feed on mulberry leaves so LDS Church leader Brigham Young ordered 100,000 mulberry trees from France to be planted around Utah. Although Utah’s sericulture was a failed enterprise, the mulberry trees still thrive throughout the state allowing urban harvesters a bounty of berries every spring.