Michael Pollan’s book tells the story between the relationship of Man vs Nature, and the connection it has with life on Earth. He mentions his objective for his book: to view plants in an intimate relationship with humans by looking at ourselves differently. The book makes an adventure through history to forms of life now, and examines plants through multiple points of views. The Botany of Desire demonstrates a unique comparison of the terms “Botany” and “Desire” through his four chapters:apple,tulip,marijuana, and the potato. Pollan explains human desire and its exploitation from plants through the combination of sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control.
In chapter one,Pollan depicts the sweetness of apples(malus domestica) as a certain kind of “perfection.” He explains how the power of sweetness has lost fulfillment over time, but proceeds to be a driving force in evolution. “Could it be that sweetness is the prototype of all desire?” The chapter ventures through the evolution of the apple, and the historical advancements apple growers have made in order to change the taste of apples. For example, Pollan travels to Mount Vernon, Ohio to trace the remaining foundation of John Chapman’s apple trees(Johnny Appleseed). Pollan was enthused to trace the remains of the seeded apple trees, although
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Pollan illustrated human manipulation in the chapter of apples and how it has transformed the modern apple into require more pesticide than any other food crop. The tulip was an influencing factor in human behavior by tulipmania capturing the beauty that attracted the Dutch. Cannabis plants made humans desire intoxication to alter the way the brain operates. Lastly, the potato has contributed to the ongoing GMO debate due to biotechnology changing our relationship with nature. Pollan’s book was well-written, and influenced the way I view plants
Soon, the plant will have grown through the adversity the wind provided and found itself with strong, reinforced cell walls and sturdy roots. Mankind abides by the same principles. Humans will become bored with perfection. The narrator in “Crossing Into Eden” finds that fishing, a challenging process that requires great patience, is too easy. Instead of the thrill of the catch, he finds that “Perfection has destroyed sport.”
Relevance between Food and Humans with Rhetorical Analysis In the modern industrial society, being aware of what the food we eat come from is an essential step of preventing the “national eating disorder”. In Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, he identifies the humans as omnivores who eat almost everything, which has been developed into a dominant part of mainstream unhealthiness, gradually causing the severe eating disorder consequences among people. Pollan offers his opinion that throughout the process of the natural history of foods, deciding “what should we have for dinner” can stir the anxiety for people based on considering foods’ quality, taste, price, nutrition, and so on.
The procedure of how food is made does not come into concern, only the results do. That is how large industrial farms are accepted, because they provide proficiently. The outcome of industrial farms outweighs the negative impacts, at least to industrial farmers. Pollan responds to Berry’s statement by agreeing with him on the issue of the current industrial model being acceptable to some consumers, only due to the fact that
But Eiseley said, “there is nothing very “normal” about Nature. Once upon a time, there were no flowers at all.” Further implicating that without the emergence of flowers, the world wouldn’t be considered as a whole. Eiseley’s main purpose is to allude the readers into thinking that there are many other possible reasons as to why the world came to be, and his reason is the emergence of the angiosperms. The Immense Journey was specifically written to discuss the history of humanity, however Eiseley’s “How Flowers Changed the World” was written in a way to combine science and humanity in a poetic manner.
In the essay “Green monster” who do you believe is his intended audience and why? In “The Green Monster,” James McWilliams informs the reader about GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) and the affects it has on animals, plants, farmers and our food. Through multiple illustrations of the affects of GMO, he contends that GMO has various potential consequences, which may in fact be more positive than detrimental to food sustainability. His intended audience seems to be food consumers but more specifically, those uninterested in or wary of products which are genetically modified.
Pollan’s powerful essay ends with a paragraph that reads almost as a plea to farmers to consider changing their habits and reducing their dependence on these types of fertilizers which are so
A strong suggestion Pollan encourages, to his readers, is gardening. Gardening soothes the soul, produces more local produce, and reduces ones ' carbon footprint according to Pollan. Throughout the article, Pollan shows he understands that to make a differnece about climate change it may be difficult and a long process but is possible. By adding humor, specific diction, and concessions Pollan can make his argument in why we, as a society, should bother to do something about climate change. In the article "Why Bother?", Michael Pollan discusses the issues of climate change and why individuals should do something about it.
A powerful example of pathos is exhibited in the scene in which Seifert takes his sons to a cornfield to run and play among the rows and rows of vegetation like he had when he was a child. Viewers are swept into the nostalgia of older and simpler times only to become horrified to see Seifert take out gas masks, body suits, and duct tape and begin covering his kids from head to toe. Dressed in apparel fit for a nuclear or radiation site, Seifert and the boys run through the genetically modified field, protected from the pesticide and herbicide the plants are saturated in. This scene sends a striking message of the threat GMO’s pose to the memory of natural farming and food
1. Explain why Michael Pollan finds the questions “What am I eating? And where in the world did it come from?” so difficult to answer. Michael Pollan finds this question so difficult because all food is made up of other foods, mostly corn. On page 17, he states, "any food whose provenance is so complex or obscure that is requires expert help to ascertain."
Ford deeply appreciates the calmness of the orchards and the orderliness of the trees, how they expand for so long with nothing out of place. “The smell of burning almond brush in autumn will forever be a comfort solace to me.” (Ford 14). As said before, Ford loves everything about orchards, he can relax and unwind, the smell can take his thoughts to a time where most things felt quiet, plain and simple. “Old and grey now, but still I’ll steal off by myself into a neighbor's neat and tidy orchard.”
Take a look at an apple tree, the tree lives in the perfect world, growing in a stable environment, compared to the struggling world that the Joshua tree undergoes. In the book “The Glass Castle” written by Jeannette Walls, the following quote took my interest and sparked great wisdom. “Mom frowned at me. “You’d be destroying what makes it special,” she said. “It’s the Joshua tree’s struggle that gives it its beauty.
In Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue by Quiara Alegria Hudes, Ginny, mother to Elliot, suffers from PTSD, and maintains a garden as a means of possessing a sense of stability. In 4/Prelude, she recalls her purpose for bringing the garden to life, and the memories it brings back when she spends time there. Through elements of style such as diction, figurative language, and imagery, Hudes establishes Ginny’s garden as a symbol of healing. In this scene, Hudes establishes Ginny’s garden as a symbol of healing, as she utilizes diction to reference Ginny’s specific reasons for constructing the garden, and memories of Vietnam.
As Patel himself states, we need to get inside the hourglass and make the food system work for all of us, as farmers, producers, distributers, and consumers as a whole. Regardless of the confusion a first time reader may run across, this book does one thing undoubtedly right: it makes you think long and hard about everything you thought you knew about food. It goes far past GMOs and RoundUp, way beyond HFCS and the overproduction of soybeans, over and above those who are stuffed and those who are starved. Throughout the span of the novel, Patel not only helps you realize that there are many issues in our food economy, but also makes you feel how vital it is to take back what we did not even realize had long been
Michael Pollan is the author of “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual”. Throughout his career, Pollan has been investigating about the hazards that industrial foods pose to us, and how we can avoid them and replace them with a healthy diet. He believes that “The way we eats represents our most profound engagement with the natural world.” (Shetterly, Robert. “Michael Pollan.”
Introduction Plants are a major necessity in the balance of nature, people’s lives, and our terrain. We may not realize it, but plants are the ultimate source of food for almost 95% of the world population so says the National Group of Food. It’s a fact that over 7,000 species of plants are being consumed today. Plants are one of the reasons that we get clean water; as they help regulate the water cycle.