The Omnivore’s Dilemma



The Omnivore’s Dilemma

The Secrets Behind What You Eat

Author: Michael Pollan Name: ________________________

Introduction (p. 7-13)

Vocabulary

Omnivore ____________________________________________________________________

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Dilemma ____________________________________________________________________

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Industrial ____________________________________________________________________

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Sustainable ____________________________________________________________________

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How does food impact the environment? ____________________________________________

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What are the issues of social equity surrounding the production and consumption of food? ____

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How does food affect local economies? _____________________________________________

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What is the Omnivore’s Dilemma? (p. 10-11) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

List and define the FOUR chains (p. 5)

1. _______________________ __________________________________________

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2. _______________________ __________________________________________

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3. _______________________ __________________________________________

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4. _______________________ __________________________________________

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Place a star next to the food chain that is most like the one you use. (()

Place a minus sign next to the food chain that is least like the one you use. (-)

Place three stars next to the food chain you think is the healthiest for people (((()

Place an exclamation point next to the food chain you think is healthiest for the environment. (!)

Part I The Industrial Meal Chapter 1: How Corn Took Over America (p. 17-29)

Do you ever think about where your food comes from? ________________________________

List ten food products in a supermarket produced with corn.

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List six non-food products in a supermarket produced with corn.

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List ten “Hidden Corn” ingredients commonly found on food labels.

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Where did corn or maize originate? ________________________________________________

How did corn use people? ________________________________________________________

Part I The Industrial Meal Chapter 2: The Farm (p. 30-39)

One Farm, 140 Eaters

| |1919 and 1920 |Today |Difference |

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|Crops raised | | | |

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|Americans living on a farm | | | |

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|The average farmer grows enough food to feed “x” number of | | | |

|people | | | |

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|Population of Green County | | | |

How do the changes affect the environment? _________________________________________

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Why is bio-diversity beneficial on a farm for economic reasons? _________________________

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What is a hybrid? _______________________________________________________________

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What is the “catch” or drawbacks with hybrid corn? ___________________________________

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What are the benefits of hybrid corn? _______________________________________________

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What are the economic impacts of hybrid corn for the farmer, and for the seed company? _____

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How did growing corn affect the people living in farming communities? ___________________

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What happens in a community that loses its farms? ____________________________________

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Why do farmers like George Naylor refuse to grow GMO crops? _________________________

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Part I The Industrial Meal Chapter 3: From Farm to Factory (p. 40-51)

Agri-business: _________________________________________________________________

Calorie : _________________________________________________________________

How can a weapons plant (factory) make fertilizer? ____________________________________

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Why do plants and all living organisms need nitrogen? _________________________________

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Plants and Nitrogen

| |Animal Manure as Fertilizer |Chemical Fertilizer |

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|Benefits | | |

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|Negative impacts | | |

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|Fossil fuel energy used to produce| | |

|1 calorie of food | | |

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|Analyze: Which system do you think| | |

|is best, why? | | |

How do chemical fertilizers change the ecology of a farm? ______________________________

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What are the impacts of nitrogen run-off? ____________________________________________

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Who gets rich in the industrial food system? __________________________________________

Is using corn to make ethanol a good idea? Why or why not? ____________________________

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Part I The Industrial Meal Chapter 4: The Grain Elevator (p. 52-58)

How much corn do American farmers produce in a year? ______________________________

Since we can’t eat all that corn, how else is corn used? _________________________________

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What two corporations control at least a third of “golden river of corn” grown in America?

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What two companies sell the pesticides and fertilizer to the farmers?

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What two companies own and operate most of America’s grain elevators?

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What two companies ship most of the corn exported to other countries?

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What two companies mill the corn?

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What two companies feed the corn to livestock and then slaughter corn fattened animals?

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What two companies write the rules that govern the industrial food process?

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What is the problem? ___________________________________________________________

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Part I The Industrial Meal Chapter 5: The Feedlot—Turning Corn into Meat (p. 59-77)

CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) _____________________________________

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Rumen _______________________________________________________________________

Raising Beef

| |Old Fashioned Way |CAFO |

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|Method (description) | | |

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|Benefits | | |

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|Impact to the Economy | | |

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|Impact to the Environment | | |

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|Issues of Equity | | |

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How do grasses benefit from being eaten by cows? ____________________________________

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Why are cows on CAFOs forced to eat corn instead of grass? ____________________________

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What are the ingredients mixed together to make food for the cows at a CAFO?

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What ingredient shocked/surprised you the most? _______________

“Basically, almost all of the cattle in the feedlot are sick.

And it’s their corn-based died that makes them all ill” (p. 58).

What illnesses do cows raised on a CAFO suffer from? ________________________________

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What is E. Coli 0157:H7? ________________________________________________________

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What is the problem with feeding cattle antibiotics? ____________________________________

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Part I The Industrial Meal Chapter 6: Processed Food (p. 78-90)

HFCS ________________________________________________________________________

How much “corn” does the average American eat in a year? _____________________________

What two corporations own most of the “wet mills” in the USA? (sound familiar?)

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Why do you think a company might refuse to allow a journalist like Michael Pollan tour their facilities? _____________________________________________________________________

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What is the most “valuable” product refined from corn? ________________________________

Who makes more money? Farmers Companies

|Processed Foods | | |

|Whole Foods | | |

Why would a company try to convince people to eat more than they need to? _______________

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What does “added value” mean? ___________________________________________________

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Why do companies try to convince people that they have “added value” to their food? ________

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What is the problem with “added value” food? _______________________________________

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Why are food scientists so excited about “resistant starch”? _____________________________

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Part I The Industrial Meal Chapter 7: Fat From Corn (p. 91-100)

“Americans are getting fatter and it is killing us” (p.92).

Fraction of Americans that are overweight _____, obese _____?

How much “sweetener” does the average American consume in a year?

| |1985 |2006 |% increase |

|HFCS | | | |

|Combined | | | |

What is the problem with HFCS? __________________________________________________

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Find and list five products that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup.

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Where do people consume the most HFCS? __________________________________________

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How has processing food, and manipulating portion size, encourage people to consume more sugar, fat, and calories than they need? ______________________________________________

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Who is most affected by the health problems of eating too much? Why? _____________________________________________________________________________

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How is this a social equity issue? __________________________________________________

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WHAT IS THE OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA? ______________________________________

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Part I The Industrial Meal Chapter 8: The Omnivore’s Dilemma (p. 101-114)

Omnivore _____________________________________________________________________

Carnivore _____________________________________________________________________

Herbivore _____________________________________________________________________

Why does being an omnivore increase brain size? _____________________________________

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Why do humans like sweet?_______________________________________________________

Why do humans avoid bitter? _____________________________________________________

Why is “disgust” a tool for an omnivore’s survival? ____________________________________

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Why are food cultures important? __________________________________________________

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Why do you think America lacks a strong food culture? _________________________________

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Describe French culture’s customs for eating. Why do you think these things promote health?

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Why is the Omnivore’s Dilemma growing? ________________________________________

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Who benefits from the omnivore’s dilemma? _________________________________________

Does your family regularly eat the same food together at a table? _____

What difference does it make if families don’t eat together? _____________________________

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Part I The Industrial Meal Chapter 9: My Fast Food Meal (p. 115-126)

Name of the company who manufactures these nuggets: ________________________________

Research: What ingredients are found in chicken nuggets?

|Ingredients I recognize |Ingredients I don’t recognize |

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Reading the nutritional label

|Sugar (g) | |

|Salt (mg) | |

|Fat (g) | |

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Concerns about Nuggets based on your research: ______________________________________

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Part I The Industrial Meal Chapter 9: My Fast Food Meal (p. 115-126)

“One in three American kids eat fast food every single day” (p. 115).

WHY? _______________________________________________________________________

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What health risks are involved with eating fast food regularly? ___________________________

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How is this an issue of social equity, or inequity? _____________________________________

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How does this impact the American economy in terms of health care costs? ________________

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Why do you think McDonald’s offers salads, and why are they the most expensive item on the menu? _______________________________________________________________________

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What is TBHQ? _____________________________________

Why is TBHQ sprayed on chicken nuggets? __________________________________________

How many ingredients are in a McDonald’s chicken nugget? ________

What fraction and percent of items on the McDonald’s menu contain HFCS? ______ ______

What is the “hidden price tag” of diets filled with HFCS, and processed foods? _____________

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Why is America’s industrial food chain a complete disaster for poor people in other countries?

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What are the environmental impacts of growing so much corn and only corn? _______________

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Part II The Industrial Organic Meal (p. 129-161)

What does “organic” mean? _________________________________________________________________

When did the idea of organic food catch on? Why? _______________________________________________

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When was the first Earth Day? _______________________________________________________________

What are organic food co-ops? ________________________________________________________________

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What drove the food co-ops out of business? _____________________________________________________

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Why does Michael Pollan call this food chain “industrial organic”? What factors make it industrial? What factors make it organic? ____________________________________________________________________

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Part III The Local Sustainable Meal (p. 165-234)

Why are the pens floorless? ________________________________________________________________

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Why are the pens moved 10 feet each day? ____________________________________________________

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Why does Joel wait three or four day before moving the chickens to where his cattle have been? ____________

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Why does Joel think the “Eggmobile” would be worth it, even if the chickens never laid a single egg? __________________________________________________________________________________________

Why does Joel not buy more chickens when the eggs bring in more money than anything else he sells? _______

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Part IV The Do-It-Yourself Meal (p. 237-320)

What emotions did he feels as soon as he’d killed the pig? Why? _____________________________________

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What was one emotion he expected to feel, but did not feel immediately? _______________________________

Why did he find seeing the inside of the pig more disturbing than the chicken guts on Joel’s farm? __________

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Why did he tell Angelo he wanted to take a picture? _______________________________________________

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What new dilemma is he faced with? __________________________________________________________

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What is his final feeling about killing the pig? Why? ______________________________________________

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What does he say hunters ought to be aware of? ___________________________________________________

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Afterward (p. 323-328)

After reading, “Vote with Your Fork,” name one way you can “vote with your fork.”

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Which meal did you choose at the beginning of the unit? Why?

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Which meal would you choose now? Why?

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