The Botany of Desire

I have just completed reading Michael Pollan's The Botany of Desire (Random House, 2001). In this book he takes a careful look at the relationship between humans and the plants that we have cultivated in particular: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. The section on the potato might be worth exploring with students as it raises the question of whether or not we should bio-engineer the plants that we use to eat. At the time of publication, food labels were not required on bio-engineered products. Other topics worth exploring would be the large scale use of pesticides and herbicides and their impact on ground water and human health (particularly that of farm workers); the history of the Irish Potato Famine, and its impact on our country's development; organic farming techniques; and bioengineering techniques in plants and animals (including human gene therapy).