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Chapter 3
Controlling the Food We Eat
The Food Critic
A There is a famous saying that goes; "You are what you eat." But how much do we really
know about the food we eat? One of the first people to pose this question publicly was the
American writer Upton Sinclair. In 1906 he published The Jungle. The Jungle talked about
the unhealthy conditions in Chicago's meatpacking industry. Sinclair wanted to show people
the evils of industrialization. Instead, he started a controversy surrounding the unhealthy
standards of the meatpacking industry. People who read the book became scared that they
were eating unhealthy or contaminated beef. Sinclair's book caused so much controversy
that it led to the historic Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. With this legislation it became
illegal to sell adulterated food (food that has been changed so that it is impure or of poor
quality) or to mislabel food (to label food incorrectly). This was the first time that the
United States federal government officially regulated the country's food. More recently, the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a department of the U.S. government, made it
mandatory to label all packaged food with special, easy-to-read labels. The label includes
nutritional content such as calories, fat, sodium, cholesterol, vitamins, and minerals.
Consumers now have access to all the information they need to make healthy eating
choices. But do they really?
Fields of Genes
B While Sinclair exposed unhealthy conditions and contaminated food, the twenty-first
century has made us ask more difficult questions about the food we eat. One thing that
worries many consumers today is the production of genetically modified (GM) food. As
industrialized nations learn more about the science of genetics and genetic engineering, they
have been able to take genes, the cells that control the characteristics of all living things,
from one species and insert them into another. With this process, scientists have produced
foods that can resist specific insects, diseases, and herbicides (chemicals that kill certain
plants). There is no law that says that genetically engineered food has to be clearly labeled
on packaging. For instance, if you buy bread made with GM corn, only the word corn must
be listed. As a result, many of us are eating GM foods, such as engineered soybeans and
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maize, without even knowing it. In fact, according to some sources, GM soy and maize
products appear in 50 to 60 percent of all processed foods. Supporters of GM foods
eventually want to produce special crops high in certain nutrients, such as fiber and starch,
as well as factory-produced crops. They believe that GM foods are necessary to feed a
growing population, claiming that GM crops grow faster, have higher yields, and are less
expensive to produce.
Bad Science
C There are many organizations that are against genetic engineering. They say that
genetically engineered food is dangerous. According to these organizations, because
genetically modified plants do not grow naturally, they are difficult to understand and
control. For instance, GM plants that have "foreign" genes are dangerous to people with
allergies. If people who are allergic to nuts eat a soybean that has been engineered with
genes from a Brazil nut, they could have an allergic reaction. Critics argue that GM foods
can also have a negative effect on ecosystems, the environment, and the economies of
developing nations that grow cash crops. In Europe there is a lot of criticism of GM food
among farmers, citizens, scientists, specialists, and ordinary consumers. Many of these
critics believe that producers of GM food want only to make money and that they do not
care about feeding the world.
Go Organic
D One answer to genetically modified food is the raising of organic crops and livestock
(animals such as cows, sheep, and chickens). Organic foods are foods grown without
chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or hormones. Groups devoted to organic foods not only tell
people about organic foods and where to find them (not all supermarkets sell organic food),
but they also teach about the dangers of genetic modification. They condemn the use of
hormones in raising livestock and have proposed that companies label all genetically
modified food. Some people criticize these groups saying that there is no proof that organic
food is healthier than other food. They point out that organic foods can be very expensive.
Not everyone can afford to buy them. So when you sit down to your next meal, ask yourself,
"Do I really know what I'm eating?" Unless you grow your own food, you may not!
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In the list below are four paragraph titles from the reading. Below them are less interesting but clearer
topic phrases. Write the number of the title next to the matching topic.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Fields of Genes
Bad Science
Go Organic
The Food Critic
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Criticisms of Genetically Engineered Food
Questioning the Food We Eat
Genetically Engineered Food: Feeding the Future?
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Organic Foods as an Alternative to Genetically Modified Foods
* This Reading Material is obtained from:
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com
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