8.2 /10 1 Votes
8.7/10 Top Documentary Films Language English Followed by The Omnivore's Dilemma | 4/5 Goodreads 4.1/5 Barnes & Noble Originally published 2001 Publisher Random House Genres Mathematics, Non-fiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preceded by A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder Similar Michael Pollan books, Nature books, Plant books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michael pollan cannabis the importance of forgetting and the botany of desire
The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World is a 2001 nonfiction book by journalist Michael Pollan. Pollan presents case studies that mirror four types of human desires that are reflected in the way that we selectively grow, breed, and genetically engineer our plants. The tulip, beauty; marijuana, intoxication; the apple, sweetness; and the potato, control.
Contents
- Michael pollan cannabis the importance of forgetting and the botany of desire
- On television
- Publication data
- References
The stories range from the true story of Johnny Appleseed to Pollan's first-hand research with sophisticated marijuana hybrids in Amsterdam to the paradigm-shifting possibilities of genetically engineered potatoes. Pollan also discusses the limitations of monoculture agriculture: specifically, the adoption in Ireland of a single breed of potato (the Lumper) made the Irish vulnerable to a fungus to which it had no resistance, resulting in the Irish Potato Famine. The Peruvians from whom the Irish had gotten the potato grew hundreds of varieties, so their exposure to any given pest was slight.
On television
The book was used as the basis for The Botany of Desire, a two-hour program broadcast by PBS.