--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What we must think about is an…" description: "\"“What we must think about is an agriculture with a human face. We must give standing to the new pioneers, the homecomers bent on the most important wor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/wes-jackson-26171_agriculture_what-we-must-think-about-is-an-agricultu_2790284.png" --- # What we must think about is an agriculture with a human… ![“What we must think about is an agriculture with a human face. We must give standing to the new pioneers, the homecomers bent on the most important work for the next century - a massive salvage operation to save the vulnerable but necessary pieces of nature and culture and to keep the good and…” quote by Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/wes-jackson-26171_agriculture_what-we-must-think-about-is-an-agricultu_2790284.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/wes-jackson-26171_agriculture_what-we-must-think-about-is-an-agricultu_2790284.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/wes-jackson-26171_agriculture_what-we-must-think-about-is-an-agricultu_2790284.png) > ““What we must think about is an agriculture with a human face. We must give standing to the new pioneers, the homecomers bent on the most important work for the next century - a massive salvage operation to save the vulnerable but necessary pieces of nature and culture and to keep the good and artful examples before us. It is time for a new breed of artists to enter front and center, for the point of art, after all, is to connect. This is the homecomer I have in mind: the scientist, the accountant who converses with nature, a true artist devoted to the building of agriculture and culture to match the scenery presented to those first European eyes.”” [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Agriculture must be human-centered, preserving nature and culture, requiring new artists—scientists, accountants, true creators—to blend art and science. **In simple terms:** Agriculture needs human-focused, culturally aware creators. Key Takeaway Promote agriculture that respects nature and culture. Themes sustainability culture interdisciplinary art Mood hopeful thoughtful Type philosophical visionary When to use this quote - farm planning - community art projects - educational programs - policy advocacy Key Concepts ecology human-centered design Questions to Reflect On - How can artists collaborate with farmers? - What cultural elements should guide modern agriculture? A Different Perspective Balancing artistic vision with practical farming can be difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agriculture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture/) [Agriculture Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture-culture-2429713/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Building Agriculture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building-agriculture-3374429/) [Converses Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/converses-nature-3374428/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Important work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-work/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Pioneers Homecomers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pioneers-homecomers-3374430/) [Think Agriculture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-agriculture-1579189/) [True artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-artist/) ## Related quotes > [As we search for a less extractive and polluting economic order, so that we may fit agriculture into the economy of a sustainable culture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/as-we-search-for-a-less-extractive-and-polluting-economic-order-so/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [“That one American farmer can now feed himself and fifty-six other people may be, within the narrow view of the specialist, a triumph of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-one-american-farmer-can-now-feed-himself-and-fifty-six-other/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I think that the agriculture system in general is rooted in racism - consider that historically black labor on plantations was the backbone of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-terry/i-think-that-the-agriculture-system-in-general-is-rooted-in-racism/) [Bryant Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-terry/) > [...think of agriculture as something the grasses did to people to conquer the trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/think-of-agriculture-as-something-the-grasses-did-to-people-to/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [We might hope that the law as a profession does not vanish, because justice may vanish with it - but we could probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/we-might-hope-that-the-law-as-a-profession-does-not-vanish-because/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [I feel like it's not about the music anymore-it's about how many friends you have on Facebook and your Instagram pictures. I hate that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-gonzalez/i-feel-like-it-s-not-about-the-music-anymore-it-s-about-how-many/) [Anthony Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-gonzalez/) > [If you practice for ten years, you may begin to please yourself, after 20 years you may become a performer and please the audience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-akbar-khan/if-you-practice-for-ten-years-you-may-begin-to-please-yourself-after/) [Ali Akbar Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-akbar-khan/) > [The joy of a true artist is to see his finished work in the sunlight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bamikole/the-joy-of-a-true-artist-is-to-see-his-finished-work-in-the-sunlight/) [Paul Bamikole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bamikole/) > [“I've had people come up to me with the strangest interpretations of what my lyrics might mean, and I'm like, "You go! I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serj-tankian/i-ve-had-people-come-up-to-me-with-the-strangest-interpretations-of/) [Serj Tankian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serj-tankian/) > [I always try to be the Madonna of wrestling in that she always changed her look and her style, but she always stayed true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-jericho/i-always-try-to-be-the-madonna-of-wrestling-in-that-she-always/) [Chris Jericho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-jericho/) > [True artists are prophets. I don't want to be that prophetic in that sense because it's so lonely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/true-artists-are-prophets-i-don-t-want-to-be-that-prophetic-in-that/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [“Life's a beautiful struggle. That's why I document mine, because I hope it'll help you maneuvering through yours. That's why I stay up at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-renderos/life-s-a-beautiful-struggle-that-s-why-i-document-mine-because-i-hope/) [Alexis Renderos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-renderos/) > [It is true that every artist has his own religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/it-is-true-that-every-artist-has-his-own-religion/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [I see a lot of true artists... then you see them on the cover of Maxim. That's the lowest of low to me. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheyenne-kimball/i-see-a-lot-of-true-artists-then-you-see-them-on-the-cover-of-maxim/) [Cheyenne Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheyenne-kimball/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) [Fernando Bujones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-bujones/) ## More by Wes Jackson > [We the people, so to speak, need to realize that if we can keep ourselves fed, we might get through this long dark tunnel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/we-the-people-so-to-speak-need-to-realize-that-if-we-can-keep/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [When people, land, and community are as one, all three members prosper; when they relate not as members but as competing interests, all three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/when-people-land-and-community-are-as-one-all-three-members-prosper/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [We recognize that our progress as a species does not have to be defined in terms of wealth or material and physical growth any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/we-recognize-that-our-progress-as-a-species-does-not-have-to-be/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [Politicians are simply reflections of the public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/politicians-are-simply-reflections-of-the-public/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [Our task is to build cultural fortresses to protect our emerging nativeness. They must be strong enough to hold at bay the powers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/our-task-is-to-build-cultural-fortresses-to-protect-our-emerging/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [Since nature has the most sustainable ecosystem and since ultimately agriculture comes out of nature, our standard for a sustainable world should be nature's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/since-nature-has-the-most-sustainable-ecosystem-and-since-ultimately/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [“We have become a more juvenile culture. We have become a childish "me, me, me" culture with fifteen-second attention spans. The global village that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/we-have-become-a-more-juvenile-culture-we-have-become-a-childish-me/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [Instead of trying to understand agriculture in its own terms, acknowledge that agriculture ultimately comes out of nature. Right now agriculture is the No.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/instead-of-trying-to-understand-agriculture-in-its-own-terms/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [As we search for a less extractive and polluting economic order, so that we may fit agriculture into the economy of a sustainable culture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/as-we-search-for-a-less-extractive-and-polluting-economic-order-so/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [The agriculture we seek will act like an ecosystem, feature material recycling and run on the contemporary sunlight of our star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/the-agriculture-we-seek-will-act-like-an-ecosystem-feature-material/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [When we conduct agriculture, we are, therefore, altering the ecological arrangement that was responsible for our genesis as a species. I think that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/when-we-conduct-agriculture-we-are-therefore-altering-the-ecological/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [If your life's work can be accomplished in your lifetime, you're not thinking big enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/if-your-life-s-work-can-be-accomplished-in-your-lifetime-you-re-not/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [If we don't get sustainability right in agriculture first, it won't happen anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/if-we-don-t-get-sustainability-right-in-agriculture-first-it-won-t/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [If we are really serious about protecting the environment, the discharge pipes and stacks of industry would all plug directly into their intake side,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/if-we-are-really-serious-about-protecting-the-environment-the/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [The farmer and the farm, like "the environment," are looked upon, for example, as means to offset trade deficits. The farm is a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/the-farmer-and-the-farm-like-the-environment-are-looked-upon-for/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) [Explore all 22 Wes Jackson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) ## More Agriculture quotes > [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/) [Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/) > [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/) > [As the first Member of Congress from western Washington to serve on the House Agriculture Committee in over 50 years, I am proud to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-larsen/as-the-first-member-of-congress-from-western-washington-to-serve-on/) [Rick Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-larsen/) > [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/) > [I would say my fraternity was nothing but a bunch of farm boys; we weren't really in the whole fraternity scene, but yeah, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-would-say-my-fraternity-was-nothing-but-a-bunch-of-farm-boys-we/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [I grew up in Italy, and our country is a country of great agriculture and food produce. It wasn't like I was urban and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/i-grew-up-in-italy-and-our-country-is-a-country-of-great-agriculture/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [Farmers, get out your sense of humor. Congress meets to relieve you again next week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/farmers-get-out-your-sense-of-humor-congress-meets-to-relieve-you/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Sara Scherr and Jeff McNeely have given us a thoughtful, sensible book about a topic of great importance to the world. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-serageldin/sara-scherr-and-jeff-mcneely-have-given-us-a-thoughtful-sensible-book/) [Ismail Serageldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-serageldin/) > [People want development, modern thinking. They want to encourage and support research in agriculture and other fields.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharad-pawar/people-want-development-modern-thinking-they-want-to-encourage-and/) [Sharad Pawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharad-pawar/) > [Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn into food, has in no small measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/growing-corn-which-from-a-biological-perspective-had-always-been-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [When politicians talk of loan waiver, they are accepting that agriculture is not economically viable. They are giving a wrong signal that farming is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-s-swaminathan/when-politicians-talk-of-loan-waiver-they-are-accepting-that/) [M. S. Swaminathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-s-swaminathan/) > [Nitrogen-based fertilizers, which came into wide use after World War II, helped prompt the agricultural revolution that has allowed the Earth to feed its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/nitrogen-based-fertilizers-which-came-into-wide-use-after-world-war/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [Agriculture is one economic activity that does not obey the laws of demand and supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/agriculture-is-one-economic-activity-that-does-not-obey-the-laws-of/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [More than a mere alternative strategy, regenerative agriculture represents a fundamental shift in our culture’s relationship to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/more-than-a-mere-alternative-strategy-regenerative-agriculture/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) [Browse all 889 Agriculture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What we must think about is an agriculture with a human face. 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