THIS IS YOUR MIND ON PLANTS

by Michael Pollan

I have been a Michael Pollan fan since I read The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s Eye View of the World (2001). In this fascinating book, Pollan looks at apples, tulips, marijuana and potatoes and argues that plants have a clever ability to use humans to better propagate themselves. After that, I enjoyed The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006), where Pollan tracks how humans have changed over time from hunter/gatherers to industrial food producers and what that’s done to our diets. And, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (2008) untangles the eating web in which we find ourselves, where our obsession with nutrients has made us eat less healthy and weigh more.  I recommend all of these books.

But, when it comes to This is Your Mind on Plants (2021), my advice is to steer clear. Pollan looks at opium, caffeine and mescaline and spends an inordinate amount of time advocating for opium and mescaline.  I found the overall tone of the book sophomoric and self-reverential.  It seems like Pollan wants to legitimize his personal exploration of opium and mescaline by “studying” them – and then writing a book.  This is Your Mind on Plants reminds me of listening to a lame friend-of-a-friend telling stories about all the great times he had getting high when he was younger.  This Is Your Mind on Plants most definitely is not my cup of tea. (Liz)