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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Pollan hopes to bring the reader back to their original _______ of food.

2. What is NOT one of the parts of corn that is separated out in the newly used process?

3. What is NOT one of the threads of the worldwide food chain that humans fit into?

4. Corn takes in more carbon _______ during the process of photosynthesis than other plants.

5. The grass also gets a chance to ________ when the cattle is moved around.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Pollan point out as a downside of there being more organic farms around today?

2. What is another impact of the push for corn in farming, related to another type of industrialized food supply?

3. What indicates a higher ratio of corn being eaten in a human's diet?

4. What are the three different parts of the food chain that Pollan follows in this book?

5. What is the hybrid corn that is described in this section of the book?

6. What does the lack of a good culture in America cause among people?

7. What happens to the cows that produce organic milk for places like Whole Foods, according to Pollan?

8. Describe the Salatin farm as Pollan views it in the book from his experiences visiting there.

9. What was the role of Earl Butz in the corn industry, according to the book?

10. What is corn starch broken down into after it has been processed in the wet milling process?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Farmers continue to have to grow more and more corn to keep up with the supply and demand, but it's harming their farms.

Part 1: What are some of the problems of only growing corn in a field?

Part 2: Do you think that farmers should be pushed to grow so much corn?

Part 3: Why do you think farmers aren't trying to grow more diverse crops?

Essay Topic 2

The main theme of the book is the omnivore's dilemma and it's one that Pollan returns to again and again.

Part 1: Do you think you face a dilemma when you sit down to eat?

Part 2: Why do you think Pollan believes that the dilemma is important?

Part 3: Should people think about where their food comes from or why they choose certain foods?

Essay Topic 3

The idea behind grass farming is to begin and end with a highly renewable resource - grass.

Part 1: Why do you think Salatin decided to be a grass farmer?

Part 2: Does the idea of being a grass farmer seem like a lot of work?

Part 3: How do you think an industrial farmer could implement the ideas of grass farming. Or couldn't they?

(see the answer keys)

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