In the mid-to-late 1980s, betel-nut cultivation began to supplant that of rice in Pingtung, and of bananas and bamboo shoots in Chiayi and Nantou. "Green gold" cultivation spread even to slopelands and leased sections of national forest. By the time betel-nut acreage peaked in 1996, the general public was appalled by the industry's use of earth-moving equipment to uproot slopeland forests and orchards to make room for its crop.
1980 年代中後期，屏東的水稻田被一片片檳榔園取代，嘉義、南投山區的香蕉、竹筍也被取而代之，甚至陡坡上、租用的國有林也紛紛披上「綠金」，種植面積在 1996 年達到最高峰。