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Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan Quotes

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Famous Michael Pollan Quotes

“When we mistake what we can know for all there is to know, a healthy appreciation of one's ignorance in the face of a mystery like soil fertility gives way to the hubris that we can treat nature as a machine. Once that leap has been made, one input follows another, so that when the synthetic nitrogen fed to plants makes them more attractive to insects and vulnerable to disease, as we have discovered, the farmer turns to chemical pesticides to fix his broken machine.”

KnowsWayGivingHas BeensMadeFacesTurnsMistakeMysteryLandIgnoranceBrokenHealthyDiseaseMachinesTreatsPlantAppreciationVulnerableAttractiveSoilFedsLeapChemicalsFarmersInsectsInputHubrisFertilitySyntheticPesticidesNitrogen
Author:Michael Pollan
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“One of the skills of a journalist, though, is to find people who can teach him what he needs to know. So instead of taking courses, I've been very lucky in that I found teachers - scientists, especially - who were willing to teach me what I needed to know, whether it was about genetically modified crops or how photosynthesis works, and so on. I just find my teachers and don't have to pay for my education.”

PeopleKnowsNeedsCoursesFoundPayTeachTeacherWillingNeededLuckySkillsScientistJournalistCropsGenetically ModifiedPhotosynthesis
Author:Michael Pollan
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“In Joel's view, that reformation begins with people going o the trouble and expense of buying directly from farmers they know - "relationship marketing," as he calls it. He believes the only meaningful guarantee of integrity is when buyers and sellers can look one another in the eye, something few of us ever take the trouble to do. "Don't you find it odd that people will put more work into choosing their mechanic or house contractor than they will into choosing the person who grows their food?"”

PeopleKnowsBelieveLooksPersonsEyeHouseGrowsViewsTroubleIntegrityCookingMarketingMeaningfulOddBuyingGuaranteesExpensesFarmersMechanicReformationSellersBuyersContractor
Book:The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Search for a Perfect Meal in a Fast-Food World
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“Measured against the Problem We Face, planting a garden sounds pretty benign, I know, but in fact it’s one of the most powerful things an individual can do - to reduce your carbon footprint, sure, but more important, to reduce your sense of dependence and dividedness: to change the cheap-energy mind.”

KnowsMindImportantFactsProblemFacesIndividualEnergySoundCan DoPowerfulGardenMost PowerfulCarbonDependenceFootprintBenignCarbon FootprintPlanting A Garden
Author:Michael Pollan
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