Whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together. —Jonathan Swift More about this quote Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
Gardening is not a rational act. What matters is the immersion of the hands in the earth, that ancient ceremony of which the Pope kissing the tarmac is merely a pallid vestigial remnant. In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. —Margaret Atwood More about this quote Tags: rationality gardening ceremony dirt Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
There's little risk in becoming overly proud of one's garden, because gardening by its very nature is humbling. It has a way of keeping you on your knees. —JoAnn R. Bartwick More about this quote Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
It seems to me that our three basic needs for food and security and love are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. —M.F.K. Fisher More about this quote Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
Humans — despite their artistic pretensions, their sophistication, and their many accomplishments — owe their existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains. —Unknown More about this quote Tags: existence accomplishment accomplishment art weather farming Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
Once, perhaps, the God-intoxicated few could abscond to the wild frontiers, the forests, the desert places to keep alive the perennial wisdom that they harbored. But no longer. They must now become a political force or their tradition perishes. Soon enough, there will be no solitude left for the saints to roam but its air will shudder with a noise of great engines that drowns out all prayers. —Theodore Roszak More about this quote Tags: solitude politics God wisdom society prayer frontier Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
One of the joys our technological civilization has lost is the excitement with which seasonal flowers and fruits were welcomed; the first daffodil, strawberry, or cherry are now things of the past, along with their precious moment of arrival. Even the tangerine — now a seedless clementine — appears months before Christmas. —Derek Jarman More about this quote Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
We may find in the long run that tinned food is a deadlier weapon than the machine gun. —George Orwell More about this quote Tags: health food guns Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
I want nothing to do with natural foods. At my age I need all the preservatives I can get. —George Burns More about this quote Tags: age food preservatives Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death. —Rachel Carson More about this quote Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
Fake food — I mean those patented substances chemically flavored and mechanically bulked out to kill the appetite and deceive the gut — is unnatural, almost immoral, a bane to good eating and good cooking. —Julia Child More about this quote Tags: morality nature deception food eating Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
This was the dawn of plastic eating in America. . . . We doted on Velveeta. Spam. Canned ravioli. Instant puddings. Instant anything. The farther a thing was from the texture, flavor, and terrifying unpredictability of real food, the better. —Shirley Abbott More about this quote Tags: reality USA America food better flavor Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
If any question why we died, Tell them, because our fathers lied. —Rudyard Kipling More about this quote Tags: death lying Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
War would end if the dead could return. —Stanley Baldwin More about this quote Tags: war death Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
It is my intention to make my entire life a rejection of, a protest against the crimes and injustices of war and political tyranny which threaten to destroy the whole race of [humankind] and the world with [it] . . . . I make monastic silence a protest against the lies of politicians, propagandists, and agitators, and when I speak it is to deny that my faith and my church can ever be aligned with these forces of injustice and destruction. But it is true, nevertheless, that the faith in which I believe is also invoked by many who believe in war, believe in racial injustices, believe in self-righteous and lying forms of tyranny. My life must, then, be a protest against these also, and perhaps against these most of all. —Thomas Merton More about this quote Tags: justice war humanity politics life silence rejection church crime protest faith lies racism tyranny Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email