The Botany of Desire

The Botany of Desire

Release Date

2009

Director

  • Michael Schwarz
  • Edward Gray

Cast

  • Michael Pollan
  • Frances McDormand

An eye-opening exploration of the human relationship with the plant world, seen from the plants' point of view.

Michael Pollan, a professor of journalism and a student of food, presents the history of four plants, each of which found a way to make itself essential to humans, thus ensuring widespread propagation. Apples, for sweetness; tulips, for beauty; marijuana, for pleasure; and, potatoes, for sustenance. Each has a story of discovery and adaptation; each has a symbiotic relationship with human civilization. The film tells these stories and examines these relationships.

Photo credit: Kikim Media

Past Programs

2023

Biodiversity and global change

Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT