--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can grow good wheat and make good…" description: "\"We can grow good wheat and make good bread only if we understand that we do not live by bread alone.\" — Wendell Berry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/712/wendell-berry-236_bread_we-can-grow-good-wheat-and-make-good-bre_1842193.jpg" --- # We can grow good wheat and make good bread only if we… ![“We can grow good wheat and make good bread only if we understand that we do not live by bread alone.” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/712/wendell-berry-236_bread_we-can-grow-good-wheat-and-make-good-bre_1842193.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/712/wendell-berry-236_bread_we-can-grow-good-wheat-and-make-good-bre_1842193.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/712/wendell-berry-236_bread_we-can-grow-good-wheat-and-make-good-bre_1842193.jpg) > “We can grow good wheat and make good bread only if we understand that we do not live by bread alone.” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding that spiritual and relational needs outweigh material sustenance. **In simple terms:** We need more than food for fulfillment. Key Takeaway Prioritize relationships over consumption. Themes spirituality gratitude community Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - family meals - community gatherings - philanthropy - mindful consumption Key Concepts sustainability human needs materialism Questions to Reflect On - What non‑material need are you ignoring? - How can you balance nourishment with purpose? A Different Perspective Neglecting material needs can cause hardship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bread/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) ## Related quotes > [“What many bakers don't realise is that good wheat can make bad bread. The magic of bread baking is in the manipulation and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-poilane/what-many-bakers-don-t-realise-is-that-good-wheat-can-make-bad-bread/) Lionel Poilane > [“What makes good bread? It is a question of good flour and slow fermentation. In the old days we used to leave the dough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hillaby/what-makes-good-bread-it-is-a-question-of-good-flour-and-slow/) [John Hillaby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hillaby/) > [Man shall not live by bread alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/man-shall-not-live-by-bread-alone/) [Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/) > [Man can not live by bread alone ... he must have peanut butter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/man-can-not-live-by-bread-alone-he-must-have-peanut-butter/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Man cannot live by bread alone. Every once in awhile he needs a salad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/man-cannot-live-by-bread-alone-every-once-in-awhile-he-needs-a-salad/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [You have but mistook me all the while... I live by bread like you, taste grief, feel want, need friends. Conditioned thus how can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-have-but-mistook-me-all-the-while-i-live-by-bread-like-you-taste/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A city that had learned to make good bread had learned to make good cake also. A city that built itself up by good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/a-city-that-had-learned-to-make-good-bread-had-learned-to-make-good/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-k-fisher/the-smell-of-good-bread-baking-like-the-sound-of-lightly-flowing/) [M. F. K. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher/) > [ The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight... \[Breadmaking is\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-smell-of-good-bread-baking-like-the-sound-of-lightly-flowing-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can travel fifty thousand miles in America without once tasting a piece of good bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/you-can-travel-fifty-thousand-miles-in-america-without-once-tasting-a/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“No deception lasts forever. Truth rises like good bread dough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-p-kiernan/no-deception-lasts-forever-truth-rises-like-good-bread-dough/) [Stephen P. Kiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-p-kiernan/) > [Good bread and good butter go together. They are one of the perfect marriages in gastronomy, and they never fail to cheer me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-beard/good-bread-and-good-butter-go-together-they-are-one-of-the-perfect/) [James Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-beard/) > [“Mamá was mixing bread dough by the kitchen window, pressing and pulling in a culinary tug of war. It took all her strength to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-almend-rez-lojacono/mam-was-mixing-bread-dough-by-the-kitchen-window-pressing-and-pulling/) Tess Almend�rez Lojacono > [“The baker’s skill in managing fermentation, not the type of oven used, is what makes good bread.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-robertson/the-baker-s-skill-in-managing-fermentation-not-the-type-of-oven-used/) Chad Robertson > [“Perhaps this war will make it simpler for us to go back to some of the old ways we knew before we came over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-k-fisher-2/perhaps-this-war-will-make-it-simpler-for-us-to-go-back-to-some-of/) [M.F.K. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher-2/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Bread quotes > [French women don't eat Wonder Bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mireille-guiliano/french-women-don-t-eat-wonder-bread/) [Mireille Guiliano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mireille-guiliano/) > [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [I don't eat meat - chicken, fish, none of that. I eat a lot of vegetable sandwiches, like lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers, whatever I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gza/i-don-t-eat-meat-chicken-fish-none-of-that-i-eat-a-lot-of-vegetable/) Gza > [“We should remark the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature's processes.. When a loaf of bread,. for instance,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-should-remark-the-grace-and-fascination-that-there-is-even-in-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [When I met you you were oh so sweet, now you give me the bread and you take all the meat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/when-i-met-you-you-were-oh-so-sweet-now-you-give-me-the-bread-and-you/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [When you fight to give your family bread, that's not passion anymore: that's conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoel-romero/when-you-fight-to-give-your-family-bread-that-s-not-passion-anymore/) [Yoel Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoel-romero/) > [I think the best Thanksgiving we ever had was one where we didn't even have a turkey. Mom and Dad sat us kids down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/i-think-the-best-thanksgiving-we-ever-had-was-one-where-we-didn-t/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [Bread is a second cause; the LORD Himself is the first source of our sustenance. He can work without the second cause as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bread-is-a-second-cause-the-lord-himself-is-the-first-source-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Even if we have to go without bread, we Albanians do not violate principles. We do not betray Marxism - Leninism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enver-hoxha/even-if-we-have-to-go-without-bread-we-albanians-do-not-violate/) [Enver Hoxha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enver-hoxha/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [“Nine times out of ten, people pick the wrong food. No, it’s not the sugar (GI = 68), it’s not the candy bar (GI…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/nine-times-out-of-ten-people-pick-the-wrong-food-no-it-s-not-the/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [Waffles аrе јust awesome bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/waffles-r-ust-awesome-bread/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [At my age, I don't buy but a half a loaf of bread, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-haggard/at-my-age-i-don-t-buy-but-a-half-a-loaf-of-bread-you-know/) [Merle Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-haggard/) > [Jesus Christ would have been considered just another long-haired hippie freak if he hadn't been crucified. The folks weren't impressed with healing the sick,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/jesus-christ-would-have-been-considered-just-another-long-haired/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [“To consume the Eucharist is an act of anticonsumption, for here to consume is to be consumed, to be taken up into participation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-cavanaugh/to-consume-the-eucharist-is-an-act-of-anticonsumption-for-here-to/) [William T. Cavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-cavanaugh/) [Browse all 2,164 Bread quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bread/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We can grow good wheat and make good bread only if we understand that we do not live by bread alone.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendell Berry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-can-grow-good-wheat-and-make-good-bread-only-if-we-understand-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bread" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-can-grow-good-wheat-and-make-good-bread-only-if-we-understand-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/712/wendell-berry-236_bread_we-can-grow-good-wheat-and-make-good-bre_1842193.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/712/wendell-berry-236_bread_we-can-grow-good-wheat-and-make-good-bre_1842193.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/712/wendell-berry-236_bread_we-can-grow-good-wheat-and-make-good-bre_1842193.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We can grow good wheat and make good bread only if we understand that we do not live by bread alone.” — Wendell Berry", "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": "Wendell Berry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We can grow good wheat and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-can-grow-good-wheat-and-make-good-bread-only-if-we-understand-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-can-grow-good-wheat-and-make-good-bread-only-if-we-understand-that/#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 } } ] } ```