The Omnivore's Dilemma Ch. 15, 18, 19, 20

The reading for this week was a good portion of the book and had a lot of information that was hard to take in. The most interesting part of the reading was in Chapter 19 "Gathering: The Fungi." Pollan talks about the different ways that humans connect with nature and use their basic survival skills. Some examples he uses are gardening, hunting and gathering and building things. I've always been interested in gardening, from a nurturing standpoint. It's fascinating to me that with only a few ingredients something can be grown. It's a powerful feeling, seeing that little sprout pop up after a few days of careful watering and attention to sunlight. In my dorm I have two plants, one I got for Christmas, a miniature grass growing kit. A snowman shaped vessel 'grows' grass hair when you plant the seeds in his head. My other plant is a forget-me-not starter kit I got for Valentine's day. Pollan is right when he talks about how empowering it is to take care of something and once it's matured, reap the benefits of your labor. When my snowman's hair got long I gave him a buzz cut. Once my forget-me-nots blossom I'll be able to soak up their beauty. It's a what you put in is what you get out relationship and that is something all humans strive to find. Whether you enjoy going fishing or hunting Pollan is right that most humans interest themselves in a 'nature' hands-on project. And I am no exception.