--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can move water easily with plastic…" description: "\"We can move water easily with plastic pipes. We can move shade around with nursery cloth like a tinker toy for animals and plants. Yet we have develope..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/joel-salatin-3103_animals_we-can-move-water-easily-with-plastic-pi_2102152.png" --- # We can move water easily with plastic pipes. We can move… ![“We can move water easily with plastic pipes. We can move shade around with nursery cloth like a tinker toy for animals and plants. Yet we have developed this necessity to grow food with chemical fertiliser because we have forgotten the magic of manure.” quote by Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/joel-salatin-3103_animals_we-can-move-water-easily-with-plastic-pi_2102152.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/joel-salatin-3103_animals_we-can-move-water-easily-with-plastic-pi_2102152.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/joel-salatin-3103_animals_we-can-move-water-easily-with-plastic-pi_2102152.png) > “We can move water easily with plastic pipes. We can move shade around with nursery cloth like a tinker toy for animals and plants. Yet we have developed this necessity to grow food with chemical fertiliser because we have forgotten the magic of manure.” [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques modern agriculture’s reliance on chemicals, urging a return to natural manure for soil health. **In simple terms:** Modern farming forgets manure’s value. Key Takeaway Use natural methods to nourish soil. Themes sustainability agriculture soil health Mood concerned hopeful Type environmental agricultural reform When to use this quote - farm management - gardening - policy advocacy Key Concepts organic farming nutrient cycling Questions to Reflect On - How can small farms adopt natural fertilization? - What barriers exist for larger operations? A Different Perspective Transition may be costly for large farms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Chemical Fertiliser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemical-fertiliser-4204034/) [Fertiliser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fertiliser-4204036/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Grow Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow-food-236841/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Manure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manure/) [Plants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plants/) [Plastic Pipes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plastic-pipes-4204037/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [We now live in a world where the only thing to have is success, but failure is marvelous. It's fertiliser, it's like living fertiliser,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-everett/we-now-live-in-a-world-where-the-only-thing-to-have-is-success-but/) [Rupert Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-everett/) > [We need to respect the fact that cows are herbivores, and that does not mean feeding them corn and chicken manure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/we-need-to-respect-the-fact-that-cows-are-herbivores-and-that-does/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [Through our space program we can find land that's tillable and grow food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-swigert/through-our-space-program-we-can-find-land-that-s-tillable-and-grow/) [Jack Swigert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-swigert/) > [I want to create my own living space and grow my own food instead of paying someone to supply those for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fumio-sasaki/i-want-to-create-my-own-living-space-and-grow-my-own-food-instead-of/) [Fumio Sasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fumio-sasaki/) > [I think that if people would be willing to grow some of their own food or eat locally grown organic foods on a regular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-player/i-think-that-if-people-would-be-willing-to-grow-some-of-their-own/) [Gary Player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-player/) > [Permacultures - where you use the immediate environment to grow food - should be mandatory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-brown/permacultures-where-you-use-the-immediate-environment-to-grow-food/) [Ian Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-brown/) > [Why do we have to have people come from afar to come and grow food for us, or to grow food to sell to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/why-do-we-have-to-have-people-come-from-afar-to-come-and-grow-food/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [ \[On her Freedom Farm Cooperative:\] If you give a hungry man food, he will eat it. \[But\] if you give him land, he will… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/on-her-freedom-farm-cooperative-if-you-give-a-hungry-man-food-he-will/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [We should all grow our own food and do our own waste processing, we really should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/we-should-all-grow-our-own-food-and-do-our-own-waste-processing-we/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Always acknowledge your position in the food chain... They eat because you grow the food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/always-acknowledge-your-position-in-the-food-chain-they-eat-because/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [How we grow food has enormous effects on the environment - climate change as well as pollution of air, water, and soil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-nestle/how-we-grow-food-has-enormous-effects-on-the-environment-climate/) [Marion Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-nestle/) > [My dream is to be a farmer myself, but also to provide opportunities to others who don't have the land or the resources, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-namajunas/my-dream-is-to-be-a-farmer-myself-but-also-to-provide-opportunities/) [Rose Namajunas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-namajunas/) > [I think now, with our technology, our capacity to grow food, our ability to stop raping the Earth and destroying the ecology and killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-belafonte/i-think-now-with-our-technology-our-capacity-to-grow-food-our-ability/) [Harry Belafonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-belafonte/) > [I think someday, out in space, perhaps, some people might be able to grow some of their own food or hopefully on another planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-a-ford/i-think-someday-out-in-space-perhaps-some-people-might-be-able-to/) [Kevin A. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-a-ford/) > [“One of the most radical and revolutionary things you can do is grow your own food and eat from the land.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/one-of-the-most-radical-and-revolutionary-things-you-can-do-is-grow/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) ## More by Joel Salatin > [Read things you're sure will disagree with your current thinking. If you're a die-hard anti-animal person, read Meat. If you're a die-hard global warming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/read-things-you-re-sure-will-disagree-with-your-current-thinking-if/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [Know you food, know your farmers, and know your kitchen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/know-you-food-know-your-farmers-and-know-your-kitchen/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [If we fail to appreciate the soul that Easternism gives us, then what we have is a disconnected, Greco-Roman, Western, egocentric, compartmentalized, reductionist, fragmented,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/if-we-fail-to-appreciate-the-soul-that-easternism-gives-us-then-what/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [Remember, machines don't forgive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/remember-machines-don-t-forgive/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [Instead of buying into the global agenda, which is using food as just industrial stuff, we would say we view food as biological, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/instead-of-buying-into-the-global-agenda-which-is-using-food-as-just/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [Ecology should be object lessons that the world sees, that explains in a visceral, physical way, the attributes of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/ecology-should-be-object-lessons-that-the-world-sees-that-explains-in/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [I'm a Christian-libertarian-environmentalist-capitalist-lunatic. It's a humorous way for me to describe that I'm not stereotypical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/i-m-a-christian-libertarian-environmentalist-capitalist-lunatic-it-s/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [Frankly, any city person who doesn't think I deserve a white-collar salary as a farmer doesn't deserve my special food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/frankly-any-city-person-who-doesn-t-think-i-deserve-a-white-collar/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [Think of all the mesquite in Texas, the pinyon pines, the acorns in Appalachia, every place has the possibility of mass production. It's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/think-of-all-the-mesquite-in-texas-the-pinyon-pines-the-acorns-in/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [Our culture doesn't ask about preserving the essence of pig; it just asks how can we grow them faster, fatter, bigger, and cheaper. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/our-culture-doesn-t-ask-about-preserving-the-essence-of-pig-it-just/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [We only want autonomous collaborators that are incentivized to make or break their own income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/we-only-want-autonomous-collaborators-that-are-incentivized-to-make/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [The wealth of any ecosystem is its perennials. The primal herbivore-predator-disturbance-rest dance is literally the breath and pulse of the earth. Grasses recycle oxygen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/the-wealth-of-any-ecosystem-is-its-perennials-the-primal-herbivore/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [From zoning to labor to food safety to insurance, local food systems daily face a phalanx of regulatory hurdles designed and implemented to police…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/from-zoning-to-labor-to-food-safety-to-insurance-local-food-systems/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [On a grander scale, when a society segregates itself, the consequences affect the economy, the emotions, and the ecology. That's one reason why it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/on-a-grander-scale-when-a-society-segregates-itself-the-consequences/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [When faith in our freedom gives way to fear of our freedom, silencing the minority view becomes the operative protocol.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/when-faith-in-our-freedom-gives-way-to-fear-of-our-freedom-silencing/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) [Explore all 139 Joel Salatin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) ## More Animals quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We can move water easily with plastic pipes. We can move shade around with nursery cloth like a tinker toy for animals and plants. 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