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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Dave Hjelle from Monstanto tells Pollan something that makes him a little concerned. He says, "______________."
(a) I'm worried too.
(b) Trust us.
(c) No problem.
(d) It's problematic.

2. The book suggests that gardens used to be planted as a kind of living _____ that cared little for aesthetics.
(a) Display of beauty.
(b) Apothecary.
(c) Mandala.
(d) Art form.

3. Where are the Monsanto headquarters located, according to Pollan's description in the book?
(a) New York.
(b) Ausin.
(c) St. Louis.
(d) Chicago.

4. One way to look at ___________ engineering is to think that it allows humans to insert their intelligence into a crop.
(a) Weather.
(b) Farmer.
(c) Genetic.
(d) Equipment.

5. _______ are substances studied by ethnobotanists and refer to "the god within."
(a) Entheogens.
(b) Hallucinogens.
(c) Pathogens.
(d) Carcinogens.

Short Answer Questions

1. When the ___________ harvest failed in England in 1794, it seems that the poor were not going to be able to buy the bread they needed.

2. ____________ were the ones who seized land from the Irish, causing them to have meager plots of arable land on which to grow.

3. Potatoes today are descended from the center of _________ in the Andean altiplano, where wild ancestors grew them.

4. The author speculates that in order to transcend the normal day experience, we may need to a single volume of knowledge, which is a natural history of the __________.

5. According to the book, drugs that alter the user's perception of time and space are taboo because they disrupt the _______.

Short Essay Questions

1. What are some of the intoxicants and ingredients for intoxicants which Pollan admits to growing in his garden now?

2. What are some of the possible genetically modified food advances people might see in the future, according to Pollan?

3. Compare and contrast the tastes of plants which are supposed to be eaten with those which are not supposed to be eaten.

4. What does genetic engineering promise to do for the crops which are growing with these modifications?

5. How does Heath avoid the purchases of many inputs on his farm so that he can save money?

6. How does one begin to grow potatoes, according to Pollan in the book?

7. What were the dangers of the potato, according to Malthus during the time of the rise of the potato?

8. Why were the Irish open to farming the potato in order to provide food for themselves?

9. What causes the Great Potato Famine and the many deaths over the area of Europe?

10. What is the rationale that Pollan gives for growing pot as he decides to do when it is not as much of a legal issue?

(see the answer keys)

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