The Omnivore’s Dilemma

The Secrets Behind What You Eat

Author: Michael PollanName: ______

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)

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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 IThe 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 IThe Industrial MealChapter 2: The Farm (p. 30-39)

One Farm, 140 Eaters

1919 and 1920 / Today / Difference
Crops raised
Americans living on a farm
The average farmer grows enough food to feed “x” number of people
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 IThe 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
Benefits
Negative impacts
Fossil fuel energy used to produce 1 calorie of food
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 IThe 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 IThe 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
Method (description)
Benefits
Impact to the Economy
Impact to the Environment
Issues of Equity

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 IThe 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?FarmersCompanies

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 IThe 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 IThe 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 IThe 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

Reading thenutritional label

Sugar (g)
Salt (mg)
Fat (g)

Concerns about Nuggets based on your research: ______

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Part IThe 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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