--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Absence of that knowledge has rendered us…" description: "\"“Absence of that knowledge has rendered us a nation of wary label-readers, oddly uneasy in our obligate relationship with the things we eat ... Our wor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c5/barbara-kingsolver-200_food_absence-of-that-knowledge-has-rendered-u_1266827.jpg" --- # Absence of that knowledge has rendered us a nation of wary… ![“Absence of that knowledge has rendered us a nation of wary label-readers, oddly uneasy in our obligate relationship with the things we eat ... Our words for unhealthy contamination--"soiled" or "dirty"--suggest that if we really knew the number-one ingredient of a garden, we'd all head straight…” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c5/barbara-kingsolver-200_food_absence-of-that-knowledge-has-rendered-u_1266827.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c5/barbara-kingsolver-200_food_absence-of-that-knowledge-has-rendered-u_1266827.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c5/barbara-kingsolver-200_food_absence-of-that-knowledge-has-rendered-u_1266827.jpg) > ““Absence of that knowledge has rendered us a nation of wary label-readers, oddly uneasy in our obligate relationship with the things we eat ... Our words for unhealthy contamination--"soiled" or "dirty"--suggest that if we really knew the number-one ingredient of a garden, we'd all head straight into therapy. I used to take my children's friends out to the garden to warm them up to the idea of eating vegetables, but this strategy sometimes backfired: they'd back away slowly saying, "Oh man, those things touched dirt!" Adults do the same by pretending it all comes from the clean, well-lighted grocery store. We're like petulant teenagers rejecting our mother. We know we came out of her, but ee-ew.”” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We label food as dirty, creating fear, which blocks healthy eating habits. **In simple terms:** Food labels cause fear and avoidance. Key Takeaway Reframe food as natural, not contaminated. Themes food perception culture health psychology Mood thoughtful analytical Type commentary observational When to use this quote - parental education - school nutrition programs - public health campaigns - media messaging Key Concepts cognitive bias food safety myths Questions to Reflect On - What experiences shape your food fears? - How can you cultivate curiosity about soil? A Different Perspective Changing labels alone won’t change deep-seated anxieties. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Grocery store](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grocery-store/) ## Related quotes > [The mind that becomes soiled in youth can never again be washed clean. 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I'm feeling soiled. Too much contact with cold reality, I think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-greenwood/first-a-bath-i-m-feeling-soiled-too-much-contact-with-cold-reality-i/) [Kerry Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-greenwood/) > [A soiled baby with a neglected nose cannot be conscientiously regarded as a thing of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-soiled-baby-with-a-neglected-nose-cannot-be-conscientiously/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“First the fact that the only items on open display seem to be tampons, breast pumps, and douches, making one feel as a female…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belle-de-jour/first-the-fact-that-the-only-items-on-open-display-seem-to-be-tampons/) [Belle de Jour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belle-de-jour/) > [My death, taking the light from my eyes, gives back to the day the purity which they soiled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-racine/my-death-taking-the-light-from-my-eyes-gives-back-to-the-day-the/) [Jean Racine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-racine/) > [That the hands of the sisters Death and Night incessantly softly wash again and ever again, this soiled world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/that-the-hands-of-the-sisters-death-and-night-incessantly-softly-wash/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Sometimes I still have American dreams. 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When somebody actually picked up a copy, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-jones/i-remember-being-a-kid-and-seeing-the-national-inquirer-at-the/) [Rashida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-jones/) > [“I don’t mean to interrupt your gossip free-for-all, but do you know if there’s a non-GMO or organic section in this grocery store? This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-march/i-don-t-mean-to-interrupt-your-gossip-free-for-all-but-do-you-know-if/) [Meghan March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-march/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. 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Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More Food quotes > [On Sundays, that's my pig out day and I do the pizza and the beer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-silvstedt/on-sundays-that-s-my-pig-out-day-and-i-do-the-pizza-and-the-beer/) [Victoria Silvstedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-silvstedt/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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