Potato
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
(Difference between revisions)
| Revision as of 09:03, 15 August 2012 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 09:05, 15 August 2012 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) Next diff → |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | '''''The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World ''''' is a 2001 [[nonfiction book]] by journalist [[Michael Pollan]]. This work explores the nature of domesticated plants from the dual perspective of humans and the plants themselves. Pollan presents case studies that mirror four types of human desires that are reflected in the way that we [[Artificial selection|selectively grow]], breed, and genetically engineer our plants. The [[apple]] reflects the desire of sweetness, the [[tulip]] beauty, [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]] pleasure and the [[potato]] sustenance. | + | The '''potato''' is a [[starch]]y, [[tuber]]ous [[crop (agriculture)|crop]] from the [[perennial plant|perennial]] ''[[Solanum]] tuberosum'' of the [[Solanaceae]] family (also known as the nightshades). The word may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the [[Andes]], there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes were introduced outside the Andes region four centuries ago, and have become an integral part of much of the world's cuisine. It is the world's fourth-largest food crop, following rice, wheat and maize. |
| - | + | ||
| - | Pollan narrates his own experience with each of the plants, which he then intertwines with an exploration into their social history. Each section presents an element of human domestication, or the "human bumblebee" as Pollan calls us. The stories range from the true story of [[Johnny Appleseed]] to Pollan's first-hand research with sophisticated [[List of cannabis strains|marijuana hybrids]] in [[Amsterdam]] to the paradigm-shifting possibilities of [[Genetic engineering|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 that it had no resistance to, 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 [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | + | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 09:05, 15 August 2012
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family (also known as the nightshades). The word may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes were introduced outside the Andes region four centuries ago, and have become an integral part of much of the world's cuisine. It is the world's fourth-largest food crop, following rice, wheat and maize.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Potato" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
