--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We need the humbleness and clarity to see…" description: "\"We need the humbleness and clarity to see that our food, while benefitting from technological advances, has benefitted even more from free ecological r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/dan-barber-22128_advances_we-need-the-humbleness-and-clarity-to-se_1874814.png" --- # We need the humbleness and clarity to see that our food… ![“We need the humbleness and clarity to see that our food, while benefitting from technological advances, has benefitted even more from free ecological resources: Cheap energy, lots of water everywhere, and a stable climate.” quote by Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/dan-barber-22128_advances_we-need-the-humbleness-and-clarity-to-se_1874814.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/dan-barber-22128_advances_we-need-the-humbleness-and-clarity-to-se_1874814.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/dan-barber-22128_advances_we-need-the-humbleness-and-clarity-to-se_1874814.png) > “We need the humbleness and clarity to see that our food, while benefitting from technological advances, has benefitted even more from free ecological resources: Cheap energy, lots of water everywhere, and a stable climate.” [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our food system relies heavily on cheap, abundant natural resources like energy, water, and a stable climate, which are often taken for granted despite technological progress. **In simple terms:** Food depends on free natural resources. Key Takeaway Recognize and protect essential ecological inputs. Themes sustainability food systems environment technology resource management Mood reflective concerned Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - Agricultural planning - policy making - consumer education - business strategy - urban farming Key Concepts Ecological economics systems thinking climate dependence Questions to Reflect On - How can we reduce reliance on cheap resources? - What policies can safeguard water and energy for food production? A Different Perspective Technological advances cannot replace the need for stable natural resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clarity/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [“Technological advances happen so quickly, and integrate themselves so seamlessly into the fabric of our existence, that we hardly note their arrival anymore, let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-currie-jr/technological-advances-happen-so-quickly-and-integrate-themselves-so/) [Ron Currie Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-currie-jr/) > [Technological advances could allow us to see more clearly into our own lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/technological-advances-could-allow-us-to-see-more-clearly-into-our/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Until we become the architects of a society that is truly free and ecological, it will always seem that when the human brain is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/until-we-become-the-architects-of-a-society-that-is-truly-free-and/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [This has increased with the tremendous technological advances in communications. We have a vast new world of images brought into our sitting rooms electronically.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-bandura/this-has-increased-with-the-tremendous-technological-advances-in/) [Albert Bandura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-bandura/) > [The demographic weight of countries such as China and India exercise a massive pressure on our wages and salaries. They have accomplished massive technological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurent-fabius/the-demographic-weight-of-countries-such-as-china-and-india-exercise/) [Laurent Fabius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurent-fabius/) > [Over the last ten years, technological advances have dramatically lowered the financial bar for starting a new company, but the courage bar for building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-horowitz/over-the-last-ten-years-technological-advances-have-dramatically/) [Ben Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-horowitz/) > [“In the half-century of his life, a tick on the Doomsday clock, he had borne witness to the most unbelievable technological advances. He had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/in-the-half-century-of-his-life-a-tick-on-the-doomsday-clock-he-had/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [The future of food security will depend on a combination of the ecological prudence of the past and the technological advances of today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-s-swaminathan/the-future-of-food-security-will-depend-on-a-combination-of-the/) [M. S. Swaminathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-s-swaminathan/) > [Internet entrepreneurs are using technology at every level of their company - from a one-person agency to a small firm, the newest technological advances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ostrofsky/internet-entrepreneurs-are-using-technology-at-every-level-of-their/) [Marc Ostrofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ostrofsky/) > [“Technological advances now allow us to work 24/7, but they also tempt us to procrastinate 24/7!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-b-burka/technological-advances-now-allow-us-to-work-24-7-but-they-also-tempt/) Jane B. Burka > [We are now living in a fast paced technological era where every skill that we teach our children becomes obsolete in the 10 to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-jain/we-are-now-living-in-a-fast-paced-technological-era-where-every-skill/) [Naveen Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-jain/) > [You live in a deranged age, more deranged than usual because in spite of great scientific and technological advances, man has not the faintest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/you-live-in-a-deranged-age-more-deranged-than-usual-because-in-spite/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [I grew up in a generation that had exponential technological advances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/i-grew-up-in-a-generation-that-had-exponential-technological-advances/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [Greenhouse gas production, water usage and environmental issues more broadly are being mitigated by Canadian technological advances more and more each year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-toole/greenhouse-gas-production-water-usage-and-environmental-issues-more/) [Erin O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-toole/) > [Most technological advances in our life now come from serendipitous discoveries. That is a contraction of rocket technology and computer technology and atomic clock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-haroche/most-technological-advances-in-our-life-now-come-from-serendipitous/) Serge Haroche ## More by Dan Barber > [Conventional agriculture has never succeeded in feeding the world, and it's never produced anything good to eat. For the future, we need to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/conventional-agriculture-has-never-succeeded-in-feeding-the-world-and/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [People complain that cities don't have fresh, sustainable food, but it's just not true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/people-complain-that-cities-don-t-have-fresh-sustainable-food-but-it/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [In food, issues that surround purchasing and that whole realm have a very political component and they branch into stories that can be really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/in-food-issues-that-surround-purchasing-and-that-whole-realm-have-a/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [Clean plates don't lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/clean-plates-don-t-lie/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [Vegetables deplete soil. They're extractive. If soil has a bank account, vegetables make the largest withdrawals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/vegetables-deplete-soil-they-re-extractive-if-soil-has-a-bank-account/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [In the rush to industrialize farming, we've lost the understanding, implicit since the beginning of agriculture, that food is a process, a web of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/in-the-rush-to-industrialize-farming-we-ve-lost-the-understanding/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [It takes fifteen pounds of wild fish to get you one pound of farm tuna. Not very sustainable. It doesn't taste very good either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/it-takes-fifteen-pounds-of-wild-fish-to-get-you-one-pound-of-farm/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [I'm not here to say I don't eat vegetables - I do, a lot of them - but, from a soil perspective, they're actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/i-m-not-here-to-say-i-don-t-eat-vegetables-i-do-a-lot-of-them-but/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [If you look at the carrying capacity of agricultural areas throughout the world, their ecological habitats are changing. So I think we're looking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/if-you-look-at-the-carrying-capacity-of-agricultural-areas-throughout/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [“modern agriculture has thoroughly separated the agri from the culture. They’ve killed the meaning of the word—bifurcated it, completely, in just the last thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/modern-agriculture-has-thoroughly-separated-the-agri-from-the-culture/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [If you just think exclusively about what would be the best tasting or the most profitable, you're just not seeing the big picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/if-you-just-think-exclusively-about-what-would-be-the-best-tasting-or/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [“of some nutrients than we need in an attempt to get enough of others to meet our basic nutritional requirements,” Ikerd once said. “The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/of-some-nutrients-than-we-need-in-an-attempt-to-get-enough-of-others/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [It's a fallen world. We eat and sacrifice in the process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/it-s-a-fallen-world-we-eat-and-sacrifice-in-the-process/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [“With few ingrained food habits, Americans are among the least tradition-bound of food cultures, easily swayed by fashions and influences from other countries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/with-few-ingrained-food-habits-americans-are-among-the-least/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [“Then he discovered the library’s collection of agriculture books, which included works by Sir Albert Howard and Rudolf Steiner. “I read them and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/then-he-discovered-the-library-s-collection-of-agriculture-books/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) [Explore all 28 Dan Barber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) ## More Advances quotes > [Advances in technology neither impede nor augment literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/advances-in-technology-neither-impede-nor-augment-literature/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [I have done this before but I'll do it again, Please comment :) Thanks in advances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/i-have-done-this-before-but-i-ll-do-it-again-please-comment-thanks-in/) Unkown > [What I imagined doesn't require anti-gravity beams or anything too spectacular, just advances in analysing different genes, finding out what they can do and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-trigell/what-i-imagined-doesn-t-require-anti-gravity-beams-or-anything-too/) [Jonathan Trigell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-trigell/) > [“Even as technology advances, we don't”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-morgan/even-as-technology-advances-we-don-t/) Elliot Morgan > [I'm not sure the least educated members of the population are missing out on the advances in medical technology as much as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jay-olshansky/i-m-not-sure-the-least-educated-members-of-the-population-are-missing/) [S. Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [The idea would be in my mind - and I know it sounds strange - is that the most important advances in medicine would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-soon-shiong/the-idea-would-be-in-my-mind-and-i-know-it-sounds-strange-is-that-the/) [Patrick Soon-Shiong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-soon-shiong/) > [We live increasingly in a world of haves and have-nots, of gated communities next to ghettos, of extreme poverty and unbelievable riches. Some enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noreena-hertz/we-live-increasingly-in-a-world-of-haves-and-have-nots-of-gated/) [Noreena Hertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noreena-hertz/) > [“Advances in technology can be empowering, progressive and enriching. History has shown this across civilisations and societies. But it has also shown, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-ogunlaru/advances-in-technology-can-be-empowering-progressive-and-enriching/) [Rasheed Ogunlaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-ogunlaru/) > [“Advances are made by answering questions. Discoveries are made by questioning answers. —Bernard Haisch”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-houston/advances-are-made-by-answering-questions-discoveries-are-made-by/) [Philip Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-houston/) > [My mother often mailed me articles from 'Reader's Digest' about advances in DNA chemistry. No matter how I tried to explain it to her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-mother-often-mailed-me-articles-from-reader-s-digest-about/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Evolution advances, not by a priori design, but by the selection of what works best out of whatever choices offer. We are the products…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/evolution-advances-not-by-a-priori-design-but-by-the-selection-of/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [For the concept of a circuit of the blood does not destroy, but rather advances traditional medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/for-the-concept-of-a-circuit-of-the-blood-does-not-destroy-but-rather/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [Advances are Made by Answering Questions. Discoveries are Made by Questioning Answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-haisch/advances-are-made-by-answering-questions-discoveries-are-made-by-2/) [Bernard Haisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-haisch/) > [From stoplights to skyscrapers, turn anywhere in civilization and you will see imagination at work. It's in our inventions, advances and remedies and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-s-fletcher/from-stoplights-to-skyscrapers-turn-anywhere-in-civilization-and-you/) [Geoffrey S. Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-s-fletcher/) > [The most important advances, the qualitative leaps, are the least predictable. Not even the best scientists predicted the impact of nuclear physics, and everyday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-most-important-advances-the-qualitative-leaps-are-the-least/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) Browse all 109 Advances quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We need the humbleness and clarity to see that our food, while benefitting from technological advances, has benefitted even more from free ecological resources: Cheap energy, lots of water everywhere, and a stable climate.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Barber" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/we-need-the-humbleness-and-clarity-to-see-that-our-food-while/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Advances" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/we-need-the-humbleness-and-clarity-to-see-that-our-food-while/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/dan-barber-22128_advances_we-need-the-humbleness-and-clarity-to-se_1874814.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/dan-barber-22128_advances_we-need-the-humbleness-and-clarity-to-se_1874814.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/dan-barber-22128_advances_we-need-the-humbleness-and-clarity-to-se_1874814.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We need the humbleness and clarity to see that our food, while benefitting from technological advances, has…” — Dan Barber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Dan Barber", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We need the humbleness and clarity...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/we-need-the-humbleness-and-clarity-to-see-that-our-food-while/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/we-need-the-humbleness-and-clarity-to-see-that-our-food-while/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```