The basic meaning of "objectify" isn't pejorative. It means "to present as an object, to make objective, or to externalize." The opposite of taking a leaf to be an object would be the Buddhist conception, or some process theology: the leaf doesn't stand by itself but is part of a process and is interdependent on practically everything else. To objectify is thus to simplify for some purpose.

If we could improve on trees, we would, wouldn't we? If it were feasible to replace them and to deal more efficiently with oxygen and CO2 in some other way, we'd resort to that way. That's the Faustian, Luciferian ambition, to be as efficient and dominant as possible. Scientists may not be solely or mainly responsible for that ambition, but they're certainly caught up in this progressive culture.

I'm sure many scientists personally appreciate nature. But does that appreciation translate into the function of scientific methods and institutions? I don't think so.