---
title: "2 Contradictions Capitalism Quotes By Michael Pollan"
description: "2 Contradictions Capitalism quotes by Michael Pollan. Plus more from Michael Pollan and more Contradictions Capitalism sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e6/michael-pollan-408_art-of-conversation_the-shared-meal-is-no-small-thing-it-is_887759.jpg"
---

> [“The shared meal is no small thing. It is a foundation of family life, the place where our children learn the art of conversation and acquire the habits of civilization: sharing, listening, taking turns, navigating differences, arguing without offending. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/the-shared-meal-is-no-small-thing-it-is-a-foundation-of-family-life-2/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e6/michael-pollan-408_art-of-conversation_the-shared-meal-is-no-small-thing-it-is_887759.jpg)

> [A tension has always existed between the capitalist imperative to maximize efficiency at any cost and the moral imperatives of culture, which historically have served as a counterweight to the moral blindness of the market. This is another example of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/a-tension-has-always-existed-between-the-capitalist-imperative-to/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/michael-pollan-408_animal_a-tension-has-always-existed-between-the_2407148.jpg)

## More by Michael Pollan

> [“In the same way that the picturesque designers were always careful to include some reminder of our mortality in their gardens -- a ruin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-the-same-way-that-the-picturesque-designers-were-always-careful-to/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [My hope is that if people have the knowledge, and if they actually see where their food comes from and have access to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/my-hope-is-that-if-people-have-the-knowledge-and-if-they-actually-see/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [The problem is that we let special-occasion food become everyday food. That goes for soda and french fries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/the-problem-is-that-we-let-special-occasion-food-become-everyday-food/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [Every peasant cuisine has incredible ingenious tricks for getting a lot of nutrition out of a small amount of ingredients. There are people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/every-peasant-cuisine-has-incredible-ingenious-tricks-for-getting-a/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [“In ancient Greece, the word for “cook,” “butcher,” and “priest” was the same—mageiros—and the word shares an etymological root with “magic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-ancient-greece-the-word-for-cook-butcher-and-priest-was-the-same/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [In the end I'm still a writer. I'm still a journalist, and my first responsibility is to my readers. That's where I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-the-end-i-m-still-a-writer-i-m-still-a-journalist-and-my-first/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to counter economic monopoly and to check the advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/seeds-have-the-power-to-preserve-species-to-enhance-cultural-as-well/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [“The bubble logic driving tulipomania has since acquired a name: “the greater fool theory.” Although by any conventional measure it is folly to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/the-bubble-logic-driving-tulipomania-has-since-acquired-a-name-the/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [“Of the seven deadly sins, surely it is pride that most afflicts the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/of-the-seven-deadly-sins-surely-it-is-pride-that-most-afflicts-the/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn into food, has in no small measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/growing-corn-which-from-a-biological-perspective-had-always-been-a/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [Eat with consciousness. When you eat with consciousness, and you know what you're eating, and you eat it in full appreciation of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/eat-with-consciousness-when-you-eat-with-consciousness-and-you-know/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [This is part of human nature, the desire to change consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/this-is-part-of-human-nature-the-desire-to-change-consciousness/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [“...whenever I hear people say clean food is expensive, I tell them it's actually the cheapest food you can buy. That always gets their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/whenever-i-hear-people-say-clean-food-is-expensive-i-tell-them-it-s/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [“Imagine if we had a food system that actually produced wholesome food. Imagine if it produced that food in a way that restored the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/imagine-if-we-had-a-food-system-that-actually-produced-wholesome-food/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [“CONSULT YOUR GUT.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/consult-your-gut/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions-capitalism/michael-pollan/#itemlist",
            "name": "2 Contradictions Capitalism Quotes By Michael Pollan",
            "numberOfItems": 2,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“The shared meal is no small thing. It is a foundation of family life, the place where our children learn the art of conversation and acquire the habits of civilization: sharing, listening, taking turns, navigating differences, arguing without offending. What have been called the “cultural contradictions of capitalism”—its tendency to undermine the stabilizing social forms it depends on—are on vivid display today at the modern American dinner table, along with all the brightly colored packages that the food industry has managed to plant there.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Michael Pollan"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/the-shared-meal-is-no-small-thing-it-is-a-foundation-of-family-life-2/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e6/michael-pollan-408_art-of-conversation_the-shared-meal-is-no-small-thing-it-is_887759.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e6/michael-pollan-408_art-of-conversation_the-shared-meal-is-no-small-thing-it-is_887759.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e6/michael-pollan-408_art-of-conversation_the-shared-meal-is-no-small-thing-it-is_887759.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The shared meal is no small thing. It is a foundation of family life, the place where our children learn the…” — Michael Pollan",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "A tension has always existed between the capitalist imperative to maximize efficiency at any cost and the moral imperatives of culture, which historically have served as a counterweight to the moral blindness of the market. This is another example of the cultural contradictions of capitalism - the tendency over time for the economic impulse to erode the moral underpinnings of society. Mercy toward the animals in our care is one such casualty.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Michael Pollan"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/a-tension-has-always-existed-between-the-capitalist-imperative-to/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/michael-pollan-408_animal_a-tension-has-always-existed-between-the_2407148.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/michael-pollan-408_animal_a-tension-has-always-existed-between-the_2407148.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/michael-pollan-408_animal_a-tension-has-always-existed-between-the_2407148.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“A tension has always existed between the capitalist imperative to maximize efficiency at any cost and the…” — Michael Pollan",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions-capitalism/michael-pollan/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions-capitalism/michael-pollan/",
            "name": "Contradictions Capitalism Quotes by Michael Pollan",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions-capitalism/michael-pollan/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e6/michael-pollan-408_art-of-conversation_the-shared-meal-is-no-small-thing-it-is_887759.jpg"
            },
            "description": "2 Contradictions Capitalism quotes by Michael Pollan. Plus more from Michael Pollan and more Contradictions Capitalism sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions-capitalism/michael-pollan/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions-capitalism/michael-pollan/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Contradictions Capitalism",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions-capitalism/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Michael Pollan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions-capitalism/michael-pollan/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```