--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But carbon 13 [the carbon from corn]…" description: "\"But carbon 13 [the carbon from corn] doesn't lie, and researchers who have compared the isotopes in the flesh or hair of Americans to those in the same..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/michael-pollan-408_animal_but-carbon-13-the-carbon-from-corn-doesn_1740195.png" --- # But carbon 13 \[the carbon from corn\] doesn't lie, and… ![“But carbon 13 [the carbon from corn] doesn't lie, and researchers who have compared the isotopes in the flesh or hair of Americans to those in the same tissues of Mexicans report that it is now we in the North who are the true people of corn… Compared to us, Mexicans today consume a far more…” quote by Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/michael-pollan-408_animal_but-carbon-13-the-carbon-from-corn-doesn_1740195.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/michael-pollan-408_animal_but-carbon-13-the-carbon-from-corn-doesn_1740195.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/michael-pollan-408_animal_but-carbon-13-the-carbon-from-corn-doesn_1740195.png) > “But carbon 13 \[the carbon from corn\] doesn't lie, and researchers who have compared the isotopes in the flesh or hair of Americans to those in the same tissues of Mexicans report that it is now we in the North who are the true people of corn… Compared to us, Mexicans today consume a far more varied carbon diet: the animals they eat still eat grass (until recently, Mexicans regarded feeding corn to livestock as a sacrilege); much of their protein comes from legumes; and they still sweeten their beverages with cane sugar. So that's us: processed corn, walking.” [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how modern American diets rely heavily on processed corn, while traditional Mexican diets remain diverse, making Americans the “true people of corn.” **In simple terms:** Americans eat mostly processed corn; Mexicans eat varied foods. Key Takeaway Recognize the impact of industrial agriculture on diet. Themes food systems industrial agriculture culture nutrition Mood concerned critical Type analytical informative When to use this quote - policy planning - public health education - environmental advocacy Key Concepts isotopic analysis dietary diversity food sovereignty Questions to Reflect On - How does industrial food production affect cultural identity? - What steps can diversify American diets? A Different Perspective The comparison oversimplifies complex cultural and economic factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Beverages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beverages/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Protein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protein/) [Sacrilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrilege/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [It was necessary to have an even depth of corn on the top compared to the sides, so the air would not take the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orville-redenbacher/it-was-necessary-to-have-an-even-depth-of-corn-on-the-top-compared-to/) [Orville Redenbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orville-redenbacher/) > [If we will measure other people's corn in our own bushel, let us first take it to the Divine standard, and have it sealed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/if-we-will-measure-other-people-s-corn-in-our-own-bushel-let-us-first/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [Anyone who dares to lay hands on the highest image of the Lord commits sacrilege against the benevolent creator of this miracle and contributes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/anyone-who-dares-to-lay-hands-on-the-highest-image-of-the-lord/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Each instrument has something to say to you. It's got its own character. Each horn has its own character and will say to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-richardson/each-instrument-has-something-to-say-to-you-it-s-got-its-own/) [Jerome Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-richardson/) > [I was a kid and it was kind of scabrous, and it wasn't the sacrilege that bothered me so much as the obscenity that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-simon/i-was-a-kid-and-it-was-kind-of-scabrous-and-it-wasn-t-the-sacrilege/) [Scott Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-simon/) > [The rice bowl is to me the most valid reason in the world for doing anything. A piece of one's soul to the multitudes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/the-rice-bowl-is-to-me-the-most-valid-reason-in-the-world-for-doing/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [People learn to shop for churches; there is no loyalty to the church. They're consumers being attracted to one product or another. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/people-learn-to-shop-for-churches-there-is-no-loyalty-to-the-church/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [There is nothing more serious than the sacrilege of schism because there is no just cause for severing the unity of the Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/there-is-nothing-more-serious-than-the-sacrilege-of-schism-because/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [To regard Christ as God, and to pray to him, are to my mind the greatest possible sacrilege.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-regard-christ-as-god-and-to-pray-to-him-are-to-my-mind-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [At times on quiet waters one does not speak aloud but only in whispers, for then all noise is sacrilege.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigurd-f-olson/at-times-on-quiet-waters-one-does-not-speak-aloud-but-only-in/) [Sigurd F. Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigurd-f-olson/) > [Becoming conscious is of course a sacrilege against nature; it is as though you had robbed the unconscious of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/becoming-conscious-is-of-course-a-sacrilege-against-nature-it-is-as/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Most people are walking around the city like corpses; they aren't alive enough to notice the trash. They come from other places and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/most-people-are-walking-around-the-city-like-corpses-they-aren-t/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [For me, it is the worst kind of sacrilege if you are given some of special talent and you don't take advantage of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaromir-jagr/for-me-it-is-the-worst-kind-of-sacrilege-if-you-are-given-some-of/) [Jaromir Jagr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaromir-jagr/) > [When a man's life is destroyed or damaged by some wound or privation of soul or body, which is due to other men's actions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/when-a-man-s-life-is-destroyed-or-damaged-by-some-wound-or-privation/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is a kind of pleasure which comes from sacrilege or the profanation of the objects offered us for worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/there-is-a-kind-of-pleasure-which-comes-from-sacrilege-or-the/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) ## 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. 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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/) [Explore all 584 Michael Pollan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. 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He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. 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The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. 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It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But carbon 13 [the carbon from corn] doesn't lie, and researchers who have compared the isotopes in the flesh or hair of Americans to those in the same tissues of Mexicans report that it is now we in the North who are the true people of corn… Compared to us, Mexicans today consume a far more varied carbon diet: the animals they eat still eat grass (until recently, Mexicans regarded feeding corn to livestock as a sacrilege); much of their protein comes from legumes; and they still sweeten their beverages with cane sugar. 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