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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 wants to say ________ to the animals for the meal, but realizes this is already in the meal.

2. Mushrooms, Pollan points out, can be ________, but they can also be deadly.

3. Supporting farms help animals to have safer lives than they might have in the ________, according to Pollan.

4. What is the name of Peter's Singer's book that informs the beginning of this chapter?

5. Assuming a higher intelligence in humans does not equate to a right to use others for our own _________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What do omnivores do when they are faced with a new food?

2. Why does Salatin disagree with the argument that organic food costs too much?

3. What is the fundamental argument in Singer's book about the ethics of meat?

4. Why does Pollan think that the hunter-gatherer food chain is not a realistic choice?

5. What does Pollan suggest that our intelligence allows a person to do that an animal cannot?

6. What does Pollan feel when a boar is right before him and his gun was not cocked?

7. What are some of the ways in which humans have learned to overcome the plant's defenses?

8. What are some of the downsides for shopping for local, sustainably grown foods?

9. What does Pollan believe that CAFO does not take into consideration when processing meat?

10. Where can Pollan buy some of the Salatin farm's produce?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Polyface Farm also strives to live off the grid in an effort to use as few resources as possible.

Part 1: Do you think it's possible for you to live without depending on the grid?

Part 2: Why do you think a person might want to live off the grid?

Part 3: How would your live change if you were to start living off the grid?

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

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?

(see the answer keys)

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