>Well now, this is a bit of a stretch. Flax is still a widely and >commonly
used ingredient in painting materials and still >considered the most cost
efficient and effective binder for oil >based mediums which is still a
thriving industry in the area of >home decoration, fine arts, and
restoration work.

You're right, i forgot the intrepid home decorator. here we go:

Linseed usage has declined considerably during the last decades as the
petro-chemical and paint industry giants have combined to drive prices down
and spend millions on marketing their modern paint.  Modern polyacrylate
dispersion paints have replaced them to a large extent.
http://holkham.co.uk/linseedpaints/why.html

>I can say with some authority that it is still a resource as much
>needed as ever in painting mediums. As far as I know, the >demand for flax
has not been significantly reduced by the >switch to industrial latex
paints.
well i've fixed you up.

andrew