And like most epigrams, the universality of its syntax forces me to quibble. It depends entirely on which advertising circles you move in and what you consider advertising. California-grown avocados? Those giant billboards advertisements apply to farmers market produce as well as Sysco crates. If I'm a subscriber to, say, intentional communities magazine, my local beekeeper might very well have an advertisement. I found out about my local Strauss creamery through an advertisement.

And obviously, Pollan's prescription works perfectly well for most people most of the time. But our reliance on this wise sage for his epigrams and prescriptions sometimes irks me--the real prescription is something like, "know what you're doing and think hard about its repercussions." We can't expect him to know all the varieties of that.