--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We’ve discovered that any species that…" description: "\"“We’ve discovered that any species that exempts itself from the rules of competition ends up destroying the community in order to support its own expan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/daniel-quinn-1786_food-supply_we-ve-discovered-that-any-species-that-e_583089.png" --- # We’ve discovered that any species that exempts itself from… ![“We’ve discovered that any species that exempts itself from the rules of competition ends up destroying the community in order to support its own expansion.” “Any species? Including man?” “Yes, obviously. That’s in fact what’s happening here.” “So you see that this—at least this—is not some…” quote by Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/daniel-quinn-1786_food-supply_we-ve-discovered-that-any-species-that-e_583089.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/daniel-quinn-1786_food-supply_we-ve-discovered-that-any-species-that-e_583089.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/daniel-quinn-1786_food-supply_we-ve-discovered-that-any-species-that-e_583089.png) > ““We’ve discovered that any species that exempts itself from the rules of competition ends up destroying the community in order to support its own expansion.” “Any species? Including man?” “Yes, obviously. That’s in fact what’s happening here.” “So you see that this—at least this—is not some mysterious wickedness peculiar to the human race. It isn’t some imponderable flaw in man that has made the people of your culture the destroyers of the world.” “No. The same thing would happen with any species, at least with any species strong enough to bring it off. Provided that every increase in food supply is answered by an increase in population.”” [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Species that escape competition rules tend to overexploit resources, harming the community. **In simple terms:** Avoiding competition leads to environmental collapse. Key Takeaway Balance growth with ecological limits. Themes environment competition ethics Mood concerned reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - environmental activism - education - community planning Key Concepts sustainability population dynamics resource management Questions to Reflect On - What policies can curb overconsumption? - How can competition be structured sustainably? A Different Perspective Human societies can create systems that mitigate unchecked expansion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Food supply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-supply/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Strong enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-enough/) ## Related quotes > [ \[A\]ny species that exempts itself from the rules of competition ends up destroying the community in order to support its own expansion. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/a-ny-species-that-exempts-itself-from-the-rules-of-competition-ends/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [We, as the Marley family, won't be responsible for destroying the community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohan-marley/we-as-the-marley-family-won-t-be-responsible-for-destroying-the/) [Rohan Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohan-marley/) > [Thus, just as animals of many species, including man, are disposed to respond with fear to sudden movement or a marked change in level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bowlby/thus-just-as-animals-of-many-species-including-man-are-disposed-to/) [John Bowlby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bowlby/) > [There are millions and millions of species, including organisms most people have never heard of. There is so much that waits to be told.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/there-are-millions-and-millions-of-species-including-organisms-most/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I didn't marry. I didn't have children. I followed the food supply for jobs. I kept writing at night. And that kept me moving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-didn-t-marry-i-didn-t-have-children-i-followed-the-food-supply-for/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [The United States has taken pride in maintaining the 'safest food supply in the world.' And we can still have it, as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/the-united-states-has-taken-pride-in-maintaining-the-safest-food/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [Environmental science is telling us a lot about our future and what it could look like, whether we're talking about global warming (the current…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/environmental-science-is-telling-us-a-lot-about-our-future-and-what/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [The pet food recall, which was after all just about pets, and treated as if it were an inconsequential matter, was an absolute forerunner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-nestle/the-pet-food-recall-which-was-after-all-just-about-pets-and-treated/) [Marion Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-nestle/) > [The fight to save family farms isn't just about farmers. It's about making sure that there is a safe and healthy food supply for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/the-fight-to-save-family-farms-isn-t-just-about-farmers-it-s-about/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [There is one thing that very reliably try to trumps the food supply and that is food demand. At the end of the day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-katz/there-is-one-thing-that-very-reliably-try-to-trumps-the-food-supply/) [David Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-katz/) > [“Almost two hundred years ago, during the War of 2062, back when the world was inhabited exclusively by humans, a war between North American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-martucci/almost-two-hundred-years-ago-during-the-war-of-2062-back-when-the/) [Jennifer Martucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-martucci/) > [I'm confident that we have measures in place. And the additional measures that we announced yesterday will be even more protective of our food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-veneman/i-m-confident-that-we-have-measures-in-place-and-the-additional/) [Ann Veneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-veneman/) > [We use competitive markets to arrange for delivery of our food supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lay/we-use-competitive-markets-to-arrange-for-delivery-of-our-food-supply/) [Kenneth Lay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lay/) > [We're facing growing climate change, more floods, more droughts, more crisis on a planetary level, and the systems we put in place in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/we-re-facing-growing-climate-change-more-floods-more-droughts-more/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [We are at the moment looking at space as something to be entered by the tremendous thrust of a rocket because that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/we-are-at-the-moment-looking-at-space-as-something-to-be-entered-by/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## More by Daniel Quinn > [“Because we imagine that we are what humanity was divinely destined to become, we assume that our prehistoric ancestors were trying to be us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/because-we-imagine-that-we-are-what-humanity-was-divinely-destined-to/) [daniel quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [The deer aren't our prey or our possessions -- they're us. They're us at one point in the cycle of life and we're them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/the-deer-aren-t-our-prey-or-our-possessions-they-re-us-they-re-us-at/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [ “\[N\]ow we have a clearer idea what this story is all about: The world was made for man, and man was made to rule… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/n-ow-we-have-a-clearer-idea-what-this-story-is-all-about-the-world/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [The premise of the Taker story is 'the world belongs to man'. … The premise of the Leaver story is 'man belongs to the world'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/the-premise-of-the-taker-story-is-the-world-belongs-to-man-the/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“Pharaohs It took Khufu twenty-three years to build his Great Pyramid at Giza, where some eleven hundred stone blocks, each weighing about two and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/pharaohs-it-took-khufu-twenty-three-years-to-build-his-great-pyramid/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [Man's destiny was to conquer and rule the world, and this is what he's done.. almost. He hasn't quite made it, and it looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/man-s-destiny-was-to-conquer-and-rule-the-world-and-this-is-what-he-s/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“Many peoples practiced agriculture, but they were never obsessed by the delusion that what they were doing was \*right\*, that everyone in the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/many-peoples-practiced-agriculture-but-they-were-never-obsessed-by/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“No undesirable behavior has ever been eliminated by passing a law against it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/no-undesirable-behavior-has-ever-been-eliminated-by-passing-a-law/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“How easy it is first to leap to a false conclusion about someone and then to view everything he does in light of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/how-easy-it-is-first-to-leap-to-a-false-conclusion-about-someone-and/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [Far and away the most futile admonition Christ ever offered was when he said, 'Have no care for tomorrow. Don't worry about whether you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/far-and-away-the-most-futile-admonition-christ-ever-offered-was-when/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [During your lifetime, the people of our culture are going to figure out how to live sustainably on this planet--or they're not. Either way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/during-your-lifetime-the-people-of-our-culture-are-going-to-figure/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“Everyone in your culture knows this. Man was born to turn the world into a paradise, but tragically he was born flawed. And so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/everyone-in-your-culture-knows-this-man-was-born-to-turn-the-world/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [Most beginning writers - and I was the same - are like chefs trying to cook great dishes that they've never tasted themselves. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/most-beginning-writers-and-i-was-the-same-are-like-chefs-trying-to/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“Westereners often think that the East is one vast Buddhist temple, which is rather like thinking the West is one vast Carthusian monastery. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/westereners-often-think-that-the-east-is-one-vast-buddhist-temple/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“Man's destiny was to conquer and rule the world, and this is what he's done--almost. He hasn't quite made it, and it looks as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/man-s-destiny-was-to-conquer-and-rule-the-world-and-this-is-what-he-s-2/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) [Explore all 208 Daniel Quinn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) ## More Food supply quotes > [We are at the moment looking at space as something to be entered by the tremendous thrust of a rocket because that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/we-are-at-the-moment-looking-at-space-as-something-to-be-entered-by/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [We're facing growing climate change, more floods, more droughts, more crisis on a planetary level, and the systems we put in place in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/we-re-facing-growing-climate-change-more-floods-more-droughts-more/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [We use competitive markets to arrange for delivery of our food supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lay/we-use-competitive-markets-to-arrange-for-delivery-of-our-food-supply/) [Kenneth Lay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lay/) > [I'm confident that we have measures in place. And the additional measures that we announced yesterday will be even more protective of our food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-veneman/i-m-confident-that-we-have-measures-in-place-and-the-additional/) [Ann Veneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-veneman/) > [“Almost two hundred years ago, during the War of 2062, back when the world was inhabited exclusively by humans, a war between North American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-martucci/almost-two-hundred-years-ago-during-the-war-of-2062-back-when-the/) [Jennifer Martucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-martucci/) > [There is one thing that very reliably try to trumps the food supply and that is food demand. At the end of the day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-katz/there-is-one-thing-that-very-reliably-try-to-trumps-the-food-supply/) [David Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-katz/) > [The fight to save family farms isn't just about farmers. It's about making sure that there is a safe and healthy food supply for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/the-fight-to-save-family-farms-isn-t-just-about-farmers-it-s-about/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [The pet food recall, which was after all just about pets, and treated as if it were an inconsequential matter, was an absolute forerunner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-nestle/the-pet-food-recall-which-was-after-all-just-about-pets-and-treated/) [Marion Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-nestle/) > [Environmental science is telling us a lot about our future and what it could look like, whether we're talking about global warming (the current…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/environmental-science-is-telling-us-a-lot-about-our-future-and-what/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [The United States has taken pride in maintaining the 'safest food supply in the world.' And we can still have it, as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/the-united-states-has-taken-pride-in-maintaining-the-safest-food/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [I didn't marry. I didn't have children. I followed the food supply for jobs. I kept writing at night. And that kept me moving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-didn-t-marry-i-didn-t-have-children-i-followed-the-food-supply-for/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [The air that people breathe in many Chinese cities has become dangerously polluted. Their food supply is subject to constant contamination scandals. Now it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fallows/the-air-that-people-breathe-in-many-chinese-cities-has-become/) [James Fallows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fallows/) > [People in my neighborhood are so disconnected from the fresh food supply that kids don't know an eggplant from a sweet potato. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-finley/people-in-my-neighborhood-are-so-disconnected-from-the-fresh-food/) [Ron Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-finley/) > [Food is "everyday"-it has to be, or we would not survive for long. But food is never just something to eat. It is something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-visser/food-is-everyday-it-has-to-be-or-we-would-not-survive-for-long-but-2/) [Margaret Visser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-visser/) > [The first and most important impact of climate change on human civilisation will be an acute and permanent crisis of food supply. Eating regularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwynne-dyer/the-first-and-most-important-impact-of-climate-change-on-human/) [Gwynne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwynne-dyer/) [Browse all 95 Food supply quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-supply/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We’ve discovered that any species that exempts itself from the rules of competition ends up destroying the community in order to support its own expansion.” “Any species? Including man?” “Yes, obviously. That’s in fact what’s happening here.” “So you see that this—at least this—is not some mysterious wickedness peculiar to the human race. It isn’t some imponderable flaw in man that has made the people of your culture the destroyers of the world.” “No. The same thing would happen with any species, at least with any species strong enough to bring it off. 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