Plants under stress often accumulate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which oxidize macromolecules and are toxic to cells. As ferrous iron is responsible for catalyzing the creation of many of these damaging oxygen species, why not inhibit production by mopping up the metal? In this issue, researchers do just that, engineering tobacco plants to express in their leaves the iron storage protein ferritin from alfalfa (p. 192). When exposed to iron excess or paraquat herbicide treatment, these tobacco plants retained photosynthetic function and showed enhanced tolerance to necrotic damage by viral and fungal pathogens.