"Botany of Desire" Documentary Premier at WLA Conference

Join us on October 20, 7 pm, at the WLA Conference for a special Reel to Real event, a screening of the film adaptation of journalist Michael Pollan's best-selling book, "Botany of Desire." Two of Pollan's desires, sweetness and beauty, are featured in this screening; the entire documentary will air October 28, 7 pm, on Wisconsin Public Television.

The documentary begins in the author's own home garden before the film journeys to the apple orchards of Kazakhstan, the tulip markets of Amsterdam, a medical marijuana hot house and the potato fields of South America. These four famous plants share histories with corresponding human desires for sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control over food production. The developmental relationship between human beings and the plants is what Pollan calls 'the botany of desire'.

This Reel to Real event is supported by program innovation funding from the UW Extension Chancellor's Office and UW Health. For more information about how you can get involved in Reel to Real showings at your library, please contact the WLA office.