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8/7/2019 DECHAPTER 3

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SELF-STUDY

CHAPTER 3: LIVING TO EAT OR EATING TO LIVE?

BEFORE YOU READ

VOCABULARY 1

In each of the following groups of words, do the vocabulary items belong together because they

have the same or similar meanings? If so, choose S for similar. Or do the vocabulary items haveopposite meanings? If so, choose O.

1. nutritional / nourishing2. cheap / expensive

3. fast / quickly

4. bugs / insects5. fast food / convenience foods

6. fresh / packaged

7. decrease / go up

8. ingredients / elements

VOCABULARY 2

Match the words with their definitions. Write the correct letter in the blank.

a. caffeine

b. dairy

c. damage

d. decrease

e. diet

f. dried

g. industrialized

h. nutrients

i. universal

j. whole grains

1. without water or liquid2. to go down; to make smaller

3. to hurt or harm

4. milk and products made from milk

5. the chemical found in tea and coffee that makes you feel awake andenergetic

6. a plan to lose weight

7. what the body needs in order to live and grow8. involving everyone or everything

9. seeds from plants such as wheat or oats

10. having developed industries, such as the production of goods in factories

READ

Controlling the Food We Eat

The Food Critic

A There is a famous saying that goes, "You are what you eat." But how much do we really know

about the food we eat? One of the first people to pose this question publicly was the American

writer Upton Sinclair. In 1906 he published The Jungle. The Jungle talked about the unhealthyconditions in Chicago's meatpacking industry. Sinclair wanted to show people the evils of

industrialization. Instead, he started a controversy surrounding the unhealthy standards of the

meatpacking industry. People who read the book became scared that they were eating unhealthyor contaminated beef. Sinclair's book caused so much controversy that it led to the historic Pure

Food and Drug Act of 1906. With this legislation it became illegal to sell adulterated food (food

that has been changed so that it is impure or of poor quality) or to mislabel food (to label food

incorrectly). This was the first time that the United States federal government officially regulated

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the country's food. More recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a department of the

U.S. government, made it mandatory to label all packaged food with special, easy-to-read labels.

The label includes nutritional content such as calories, fat, sodium, cholesterol, vitamins, andminerals. Consumers now have access to all the information they need to make healthy eating

choices. But do they really?

Fields of Genes

B While Sinclair exposed unhealthy conditions and contaminated food, the twenty-first century

has made us ask more difficult questions about the food we eat. One thing that worries manyconsumers today is the production of genetically modified (GM) food. As industrialized nations

learn more about the science of genetics and genetic engineering, they have been able to take

genes, the cells that control the characteristics of all living things, from one species and insertthem into another. With this process, scientists have produced foods that can resist specific

insects, diseases, and herbicides (chemicals that kill certain plants). There is no law that says that

genetically engineered food has to be clearly labeled on packaging. For instance, if you buy bread

made with GM corn, only the word corn must be listed. As a result, many of us are eating GMfoods, such as engineered soybeans and maize, without even knowing it. In fact, according to

some sources, GM soy and maize products appear in 50 to 60 percent of all processed foods.

Supporters of GM foods eventually want to produce special crops high in certain nutrients, suchas fiber and starch, as well as factory-produced crops. They believe that GM foods are necessary

to feed a growing population, claiming that GM crops grow faster, have higher yields, and are

less expensive to produce.

Bad Science

C There are many organizations that are against genetic engineering. They say that genetically

engineered food is dangerous. According to these organizations, because genetically modifiedplants do not grow naturally, they are difficult to understand and control. For instance, GM plants

that have "foreign" genes are dangerous to people with allergies. If people who are allergic to

nuts eat a soybean that has been engineered with genes from a Brazil nut, they could have anallergic reaction. Critics argue that GM foods can also have a negative effect on ecosystems, the

environment, and the economies of developing nations that grow cash crops. In Europe there is a

lot of criticism of GM food among farmers, citizens, scientists, specialists, and ordinaryconsumers. Many of these critics believe that producers of GM food want only to make money

and that they do not care about feeding the world.

Go Organic

D One answer to genetically modified food is the raising of organic crops and livestock (animals

such as cows, sheep, and chickens). Organic foods are foods grown without chemical fertilizers,

pesticides, or hormones. Groups devoted to organic foods not only tell people about organicfoods and where to find them (not all supermarkets sell organic food), but they also teach about

the dangers of genetic modification. They condemn the use of hormones in raising livestock and

have proposed that companies label all genetically modified food. Some people criticize thesegroups saying that there is no proof that organic food is healthier than other food. They point out

that organic foods can be very expensive. Not everyone can afford to buy them. So when you sit

down to your next meal, ask yourself, "Do I really know what I'm eating?" Unless you grow yourown food, you may not!

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Choosing Paragraph Titles

In the list below are four topic phrases. Write the number of the title next to the matching topic.

1. Criticisms of Genetically Engineered Food

2. Questioning the Food We Eat3. Genetically Engineered Food: Feeding the Future?

4. Organic Foods as an Alternative to Genetically Modified Foods

AFTER YOU READ 1

Here are some possible main-idea statements from "Controlling the Food We Eat." Choose Trueor False for each statement.

1. In 1906 Upton Sinclair wrote a book that exposed unhealthy conditions in the meatpacking

industry. The controversy surrounding the book led to a law that regulated food. Now all

packaged food in the U.S. has to have a label that tells consumers what it contains.

2. Genetically modified foods are special foods that grow naturally. Food products are clearly

labeled if they contain GM foods. Consumers are very aware of when they are eating GMfoods.

3. Some people say that GM food is dangerous and that it can affect people, the environment,and developing economies in negative ways.

4. Organic foods are foods grown with chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or hormones. They are

cheap and widely available.

AFTER YOU READ 2

Find the words from the reading in the list below that fit each of these definitions. Write the word

on the line next to the definition. (The letters in parentheses are the letters of the paragraphs.)

a. adulterated

b. afford

c. allergyd. condemn

e. critic

f. crop

g. regulateh. yield

1. contaminated, impure, or of bad quality: (A)

2. to control with official rules: (A)

3. the amount of food produced: (B)4. a plant such as a grain, fruit, or vegetable grown in large quantities: (B)

5. the condition which causes someone to react badly to certain foods or

substances that are harmless to other people: (C)

6. a person who expresses a negative opinion of something: (C)7. to publicly criticize: (D)

8. to be able to pay for: (D)

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