selma90's Flickr photostream/Creative Commons

Michael Pollan has been awfully busy these days, and in addition to the new Omnivore’s Dilemma for Kids (out now!), his upcoming Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, and a live online chat last week, PBS will soon premiere The Botany of Desire,  a television special based on one of his earlier books.

The Botany of Desire was the first of Michael’s books that I read, and it helped ignite my fascination with food history and zeal for understanding where our food comes from, so I am really excited to see the show.  By examining the intricate relationship between humans and four plants (apples, potatoes, tulips, and marijuana), Botany reveals how certain plant species have used us to their advantage and proliferated exponentially by offering attractive qualities to us.

The manipulative intentions of these plants are of course metaphoric, yet by viewing the natural world from this unique perspective helps to us to understand how in the end we are really at the mercy of nature, despite our best efforts to control it.  Check out the trailer below and tune in to PBS on October  28th at 8pm to watch The Botany of Desire.  Use the action links below to learn more with special features on the web and explore the educator’s guide.