In The Botany of Desire; A Plant’s Eye View of the World, Michael Pollan explores the co-evolutionary relationship between humans and plants. In four chapters, he discusses the four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—through the plants that satisfy these desires: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. More specifically, in the Potato chapter, Pollan discusses the associated human desire for control that links us with the potato. Pollan interjects a review of potato cultivation history, beginning with the original polyculture in the Andes several millennia ago where in difficult terrain, the Incas worked with nature to grow thousands of types that protected the crop as a whole. This history ends
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And in 1845 wind-born spore destroyed the entire Irish’s main crop, which resulted in about a million deaths known as the Irish Potato Famine. But it is Pollan’s examination of modern potato cultivation methods (against the background of the potato’s natural history) that forces us to see the illusion of control we have by the extreme dangers of remaining in a monoculture framework for potato cultivation and the inherent dangers when we remain locked into this unnatural framework.
Pollan’s description of modern cultivation through testimonies from farmers and corporations exposes the inherent difficulties we face if we continue monoculture farming. Modern monoculture for potato farming leaves little room for working with nature since the options seem to be either more pests or GMOs. Farming with heavy pesticide use …show more content…
In fact, Forsyth plants a small area of potatoes without any chemicals for himself. This conventional farmer has an organic garden for his consumption. He does not eat his own product because he is aware of the process and the number of chemicals that were applied to the crop. Forsyth shows his interest in organic farming, but states, “That’s all fine on a small scale, but they don’t have the world to feed” (Pollan 220). Farmers, like Forsyth are pressured into using pesticides and chemicals to ensure a crop to sell. Farmers earn very little per acre (about 50 dollars profit) and are forced to take such actions because of costs. They can’t afford to lose their crop. We know that this kind of cultivation is a problem, and the interviews show that the farmers keep seeking answers to fix monoculture. Yet, it is surprising to see how they continue to use monoculture since everyone knows about what occurred in Ireland— a single type in cultivation works against nature. In contrast, through polyculture cultivation, people in the Andes were able to survive and strive because of the thousands of types of
And in 1845 wind-born spore destroyed the entire Irish’s main crop, which resulted in about a million deaths known as the Irish Potato Famine. But it is Pollan’s examination of modern potato cultivation methods (against the background of the potato’s natural history) that forces us to see the illusion of control we have by the extreme dangers of remaining in a monoculture framework for potato cultivation and the inherent dangers when we remain locked into this unnatural framework.
Pollan’s description of modern cultivation through testimonies from farmers and corporations exposes the inherent difficulties we face if we continue monoculture farming. Modern monoculture for potato farming leaves little room for working with nature since the options seem to be either more pests or GMOs. Farming with heavy pesticide use …show more content…
In fact, Forsyth plants a small area of potatoes without any chemicals for himself. This conventional farmer has an organic garden for his consumption. He does not eat his own product because he is aware of the process and the number of chemicals that were applied to the crop. Forsyth shows his interest in organic farming, but states, “That’s all fine on a small scale, but they don’t have the world to feed” (Pollan 220). Farmers, like Forsyth are pressured into using pesticides and chemicals to ensure a crop to sell. Farmers earn very little per acre (about 50 dollars profit) and are forced to take such actions because of costs. They can’t afford to lose their crop. We know that this kind of cultivation is a problem, and the interviews show that the farmers keep seeking answers to fix monoculture. Yet, it is surprising to see how they continue to use monoculture since everyone knows about what occurred in Ireland— a single type in cultivation works against nature. In contrast, through polyculture cultivation, people in the Andes were able to survive and strive because of the thousands of types of