Michael Pollan opens the book questioning the relationship of humans and nature. Who is the subject and who is the object? Who really is domesticating who/ from a plant’s eye, he challenges the traditional relationship of human and nature present the argument that the four plants- Apples, Tulips ,Marijuana and the Potato, have shaped human evolution just like we shaped theirs. He calls it ‘’co-evolution’’. Nature plays a part in controlling us. He is what the plants know about our desires that made them grow, survive and spread around the world until today. Each has some qualities that know to stimulate human sense. The apples is a fruit that appeals to a human’s yearning for sweetness, the tulip is a flower that appeals to a human’s yearning for beauty, marijuana is a weed that appeals to a human’s desire for intoxication and the potato appeals to a human’s desire for control. As time goes by, in order to survive, plants learn to adapt, change forms to a new species to suit the environment as well as increase humans desire for them. Chapter 1 Introduces the legendry ‘’Apple Tree Man’’, John Chapman who introduced the species to several locations in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The book recounts the basic natural history of the apple and also explains apple’s importance in human civilization. An apple’s taste of sweetness is a noble quality and it symbolizes satisfaction of human desire. This chapter was filled with story of his journey how he planted thousands of apple trees across wild range of orchards and ultimately sold them cheaper than other apple cultures. The author praises Johns original way of plating seed, going from place to place and reminding us that the nature has its own natur... ... middle of paper ... ...o make me do it’’? Is the question that sprouts in Pollan’s mind one day as he works in his garden. More than most other foods, the easily cultivated, potato appeals to our desire to control the messy, nature, business of farming and feeding ourselves. The potato was also a godsend for the Irish who were unable to grow much of anything. This was until a fungus caused the great potato famine in the 19 century-killing over a million people. The potato has taught us a valuable lesson in biodiversity and the risk of non-culture . However, the demand today for a certain kind of MC Donald’s potato chip has resulted in farmers once again growing just one kind of potato. The illusion of control enables life to be sweet, beautiful and intoxicating. Yet when too much value is placed on beauty it is essence is lost and the effects on society can be devastating.
Whenever she encounter fields of flowers, she becomes captivated by the allure of the flowers. After seeing the flowers she is“stuck, I’m taken, I’m conquered, and I’m washed into it.” Nature captures her mind and hypnotizes her with its beauty, it becomes all she sees and experiences. Nature stops her in her tracks, and completely captures her attention.When she sees fields of flowers she “drops to the sand, I can’t move.” She becomes immobilized in its beauty, it controls her and becomes the only important thing on her mind. On the other hand, the complexity of nature also makes her overwhelmed. She states that the roses leave her “filled to the last edges with an immobilizing happiness. And is this not also terrible?” The rose’s beauty becomes too overbearing for Oliver, and keeps her captive from everything else; It becomes too much of a sensory overload. Nature has the ability to work with both sides, beauty and an
In “The Botany of Desire” by Michael Pollan, the author argues that instead of humans interacting, controlling, and paving the way for plants, they in fact work in ways for our lives to better themselves, and help us to become the human’s we are. They instill desires in our life: beauty, control, sweetness, and intoxication. Each plant mentioned in the four-part book, apples (Malus Domestica), tulips (Tulipa), marijuana (Cannabis Sativa x Inidica), and potatoes (Solanum Tuberosum) contribute to a desire. Apples help instill the desire for sweetness, with the sugary nutrient Red Delicious or Gala. Tulips help create the desire of beauty, where we want it and where we get it from Marijuana intoxicates people daily, and that is the desire it creates, people have always enjoyed altering their consciousness, from the Chinese dynasties with their opium to the current times that are infatuated with weed culture. Potatoes had the desire of control. Potatoes need control; they instilled control in the different societies
own garden.”, the metaphor mentioned by Candide of a garden is the life that we
Phythophthora infestans was the lethal fungus that infested Ireland's potato crop and eventually ruined all of the land it grew on. This time is called the Great Famine and has impacted Ireland due to its destructive extinction of the potato farms which caused disease, extreme poverty, and death.
The American diet is full of on-the-go amenities from an array of different meals; however, is this fuel actually causing harm to the body in the long run? What is in the American diet that sets American’s health apart from other parts of the world? The documentary Forks Over Knives states that “We spend 2.2 trillion dollars a year on health care, over five times more than the defense budget. In fact, we pay more per person for healthcare than any industrialized country in the world, yet we’re sicker than ever” (Forks Over Knives). Studies are finding that the excessive consumption of sweeteners, meats, and dairy products are many of the leading causes of American’s health failure.
He does this so that his readers experience a rude awakening and realize that the corporations have been lying to them all this time. He first establishes a heavily-controlled relationship with his readers, only showing them what he wants them to see, through cherry-picking and the subtle manipulation of facts. He wants his audience to answer his question, “What’s Eating America?” Pollan wants them to realize that these businesses and farms that claim to be revolutionizing agriculture and saving the world are only looking for short-term profit. In the long run, these corporations are what is eating America. They consume her land, her resources, her peoples’ minds and her environment, all in the name of a measly
Humans have long recognized that flowers are an indication of future fruits. Therefore it was vital for nomadic hunters to remember where in the wild they saw flowers. And further yet each type of flower produced a specific fruit. Thus fruits and flowers had something in common; the preference of one fruit meant the preference of a type of flower. Most often, as in modern times, the most healthy looking flower shows signs that it will produce quality fruit. The beauty of a flower told hunters that a nutritious fruits would ripen after the flowers bloomed. This concept explains how we have evolved toward preferring healthy looking flowers. But how does this explain the security of a plants reproduction? It is necessary to mention that plants not only produce fruits to stop herbivores from eating the plant, but in their own diabolic plan, plants found a new way to spread their seeds through fruits. Herbivores would eat the fruits an...
In conclusion, this potato affecting disease, Phytophthora Infestins, resulted in killing over a million people in Ireland. In the time, the Irish relied heavily upon the potato crop. This devastating even greatly impacted the people through starvation, migration, and loss of land. The climatic change led to the end of the Phytophthora Infestins affecting the potato crop. The future generation diversified their food sources as a valuable lesson.
In the 1800's nearly 1/3 of Ireland's population had been dependent on potatoes. The potato was a very nutritious and easily produced crop that could survive in very poor soil. The potato also had a very high yield in a little area of land and the cost was very low, this was why the potato was one of the greate...
Planting a wicked seed will grow onto become a tree and as the growth progresses, so does the
Beginning in 1845 and lasting until 1861 the Great Potato Famine of Ireland killed over a million people, and causing another million to leave the country. The famine began in September 1845 as leaves on potatoes suddenly turned black and curled, then rotted. The cause was an airborne fungus (phytophthora infestants) originally transported by ships traveling from North America to England. Many other factors contributed to this devastation.
Berry does not hesitate in using harsh words and metaphors like “the hamburger she is eating came from a steer who spent much of his life standing deep in his own excrement in a feedlot”(Berry 10). This provokes the readers to feeling horrible about industrial eating. He uses our pride while pointing to the lies of the make-up of industrial foods. He plays on human self-preservation when writing about chemicals in plants and animals which is out of the consumer’s control. He tries to spark a curiosity and enthusiasm, describing his own passion of farming, animal husbandry, horticulture, and gardening. The aspect of feelings and emotions is, perhaps, the strongest instrument Berry uses in making his
Morgan played on Danny, was, they gave gave him a bud in the beginning. That day, he told his plant a joke and watered it. The next day, his plant had branched out! He did the exact same thing thing he had done the day before. Watered it and told it a joke. When he woke up the next morning it got even larger. Danny was getting more and more excited each day the plant grew more, which meant Danny’s mom’s trick was working! By the third night, Danny’s mom suggested they should put the plant outside. He ran outside the next morning only to see that his plant had grown into a flower bush! He took plenty pictures to show his class. After he had gone to school and showed the pictures to his classmates, Mr.Morgan took the class outside. Danny saw all his plant, he also saw the ones he had on each day! To his surprise, his mom popped out from behind the bush. They told him about their plan. Danny was not mad at his mom, and he still got the last laugh. He also got the new music tape that he was owed. Danny should’ve done some research, because the article “Probing Question: Does talking to plants help them grow?” states that “ people would have to speak to their plants for at least several hours a day to enhance photosynthesis enough to influence plant growth”. He could have figured out his was all a
Through conquest and exploration, apples were spread when Romans conquered England and when Spaniards brought them to Mexico and South America. It wasn’t until the mid 1600’s that the Pilgrims cultivated them in Massachusetts. It is believed that John Endecott, an early governor, was the first to bring an apple tree to North America, and the first orchard was planted on Beacon Hill by a clergyman named William Blaxton. It is Blaxton who is credited for growing the first named apple, the Yellow Sweeting. Once apples were established in New England, they played an active role in everyday life. As a fruit which was easily stored through the winter, as well as being very beneficial to settlers’ health, apples were a main staple in early settlers’ diets. Despite the fact that apples were not initially from North America, and have been growing disease-free for centuries in their native habitats, the early settlers found that the long, hot summers and cold winters of New England grew apples unlike anywhere else in the world. New England apples are known not only for their unique blend of tart and sweet flavors, but also for their size and freshness.
Throughout The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan, the author argues that the coevolution of plants and humans is seen within the relationship of humans manipulating plants to fulfill their desires. Pollan touches on four main examples where coevolution can be easily seen throughout history and the present. The apple satisfies sweetness, the tulip beauty, marijuana intoxication, and the potato control. As we are benefitting from evolving the plants for our own interest, the plants themselves are benefitting as well. The environmental message of the book surpasses that of coevolution and dives into the technology of genetic engineering