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Co-Evolution Apples Tulips Marijuana Potatoes Archetype Botanical Genetically Engineered

In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan explores the co-evolutionary relationship between humans and four plants - apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes - and how each plant came to satisfy a basic human desire such as sweetness, beauty, intoxication, or control. Pollan examines examples of how each plant species has been selectively bred by humans to maximize these desired traits, and interweaves research on the plants' social histories with narratives from his own experiences interacting with each one.

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19 views

Co-Evolution Apples Tulips Marijuana Potatoes Archetype Botanical Genetically Engineered

In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan explores the co-evolutionary relationship between humans and four plants - apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes - and how each plant came to satisfy a basic human desire such as sweetness, beauty, intoxication, or control. Pollan examines examples of how each plant species has been selectively bred by humans to maximize these desired traits, and interweaves research on the plants' social histories with narratives from his own experiences interacting with each one.

Uploaded by

YekitaS
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as EHTML, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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In The Botany of Desire, Pollan explores the concept of co-evolution, specifically of humankind's evolutionary relationship with four plants

apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes from the dual perspectives of humans and the plants. He uses case examples that fit thearchetype of four basic human desires, demonstrating how each of these botanical species are selectively grown, bred, and genetically engineered. The apple reflects the desire for sweetness, the tulip beauty, the marijuana intoxication, and the potato control. Pollan then unravels the narrative of his own experience with each of the plants, which he intertwines with a well-researched exploration into their social history. Each section presents a unique element of human domestication, or the "human bumblebee" as Pollan calls it. These range from the true story of Johnny Appleseed to Pollan's first-hand research with sophisticated marijuana hybrids in Amsterdam, to the alarming and paradigm-shifting possibilities of genetically engineered potatoes.

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