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Organic Food: Why Reading Answers

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Sayantani Barman

Experta en el extranjero | Updated On - Jan 3, 2023

Organic Food: Why Reading Answers contains a write up about the emerging importance of organic food. Organic Food: Why Reading Answers contains a total of 7 paragraphs. Related to the paragraphs are 12 questions. Organic Food: Why Reading Answers comprises two types of questions: Choose the appropriate heading and choose the correct option. To choose the appropriate headings candidate must be aware of the central idea for each paragraph.Candidates in this IELTS Section will be shown various question types with clear instructions.

To answer the questions provided in the IELTS Reading passage,Applicants must attentively read each passage. The paragraph contains all the information required to answer the question. The paragraph provides information regarding organic food,its importance and benefits.To gain proficiency, candidates can practice from IELTS reading practice test.

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Organic Food: Why Reading Answers

Today, many governments are promoting organic or natural farming methods that avoid the use of pesticides and other artificial products. The aim is to show that they care about the environment and about people's health.But is this the right approach?

Europe is now the biggest market for organic food in the world, expanding by 25 percent a year over the past 10 years. So what is the attraction of organic food for some people? The really important thing is that organic sounds more ‘natural’. Eating organic is a way of defining oneself as natural, good, caring, different from the junk-food-scoffing masses. As one journalist puts it: It feels closer to the source, the beginning, the start of things.' The real desire is to be somehow close to the soil, to Mother Nature.
Unlike conventional farming, the organic approach means farming with natural, rather than man-made, fertilizers and pesticides. Techniques such as crop rotation improve soil quality and help organic farmers compensate for the absence of man-made chemicals. As a method of food production, organic is, however, inefficient in its use of labor and land; there are severe limits to how much food can be produced. Also, the environmental benefits of not using artificial fertilizer are tiny compared with the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by transporting food (a great deal of Britain’s organic produce is shipped in from other countries and transported from shop to home by car).
Organic farming is often claimed to be safer than conventional farming - for the environment and for consumers. Yet studies into organic farming worldwide continue to reject this claim. An extensive review by the UK Food Standards Agency found that there was no statistically significant difference between organic and conventional crops. Even where results indicated there was evidence of a difference, the reviewers found no sign that these differences would have any noticeable effect on health.
The simplistic claim that organic food is more nutritious than conventional food was always likely to be misleading. Food is a natural product, and the health value of different foods will vary for a number of reasons, including freshness, the way the food is cooked, the type of soil it is grown in, the amount of sunlight and rain crops have received, and so on. Likewise, the flavor of a carrot has less to do with whether it was fertilized with manure or something out of a plastic sack than with the variety of carrot and how long ago it was dug up. The differences created by these things are likely to be greater than any differences brought about by using an organic or nonorganic system of production. Indeed, even some ‘organic’ farms are quite different from one another.
The notion that organic food is safer than ‘normal’ food is also contradicted by the fact that many of our most common foods are full of natural toxins. Parsnips cause blisters on the skin of agricultural workers. Toasting bread creates carcinogens. As one research expert says: ‘People think that the more natural something is, the better it is for them. That is simply not the case. In fact, it is the opposite that is true: the closer a plant is to its natural state, the more likely it is that it will poison you. Naturally, many plants do not want to be eaten, so we have spent 10,000 years developing agriculture and breeding out harmful traits from crops.'
Yet educated Europeans are more scared of eating traces of a few, strictly regulated, man-made chemicals than they are of eating the ones that nature created directly. Surrounded by plentiful food, it’s not nature they worry about, but technology. Our obsessions with the ethics and safety of what we eat - concerns about antibiotics in animals, additives in food, GM crops and so on - are symptomatic of a highly technological society that has little faith in its ability to use this technology wisely. In this context, the less something is touched by the human hand, the healthier people assume it must be.
Ultimately, the organic farming movement is an expensive luxury for shoppers in well-manicured Europe. For developing parts of the world, it is irrelevant. To European environmentalists, the fact that organic methods require more labor and land than conventional ones to get the same yields is a good thing; to a farmer in rural Africa, it is a disaster. Here, land tends to be so starved and crop yields so low that there simply is not enough organic matter to put back into the soil. Perhaps the focus should be on helping these countries to gain access to the most advanced farming techniques, rather than going back to basics.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 14-19

The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-G from the list of headings below.
Example: Paragraph A: viii

List of Headings

i. Research into whether organic food is better for us
ii Adding up the cost of organic food
iii The factors that can affect food quality
iv The rich and poor see things differently
v A description of organic farming
vi Testing the taste of organic food
vii Fear of science has created the organic trend
viii The main reason for the popularity of organic food
ix The need to remove hidden dangers from food

Paragraph B

Answer: v
Supporting Statement: Contrary to conventional farming, organic farming uses natural fertilizers and pesticides rather than synthetic ones.
Keywords: organic farming
Keyword Location : Paragraph B
Explanation: The paragraph B, gives a description about organic farming. It mentions various techniques and the meaning of organic farming. Also the process of using tools, fertilizers and its efficiency has been clearly stated. So, the correct answer is v.

Paragraph C

Answer: i
Supporting Statement: It's frequently asserted that organic farming is safer than conventional farming, both for the environment and for customers. However, research on organic farming across the globe continues to refute this assertion.The reviewers found no evidence that differences would have any discernible impact on health, even in cases where results suggested there was evidence of a difference.
Keywords: impact on healthy, organic farming safer.
Keyword Location: Paragraph C
Explanation: The paragraph C deals with the question, whether organic food is good for health or not. There has been a comparison made between conventional farming and organic farming. The paragraph concludes that organic food is safer and impacts our health positively. Si, the correct answer is i.

Paragraph D

Answer: iii
Supporting Statement: Food is a natural product, and the nutritional content of various meals varies depending on a variety of factors, such as their freshness, cooking method, kind of soil they were produced in, quantity of sunlight and rainfall they had, etc.
These changes are likely to be more significant than any differences resulting from the use of an organic or non-organic production system. Even some "organic" farms differ greatly from one another.
Keywords: Natural product, variety of factors.
Keyword Location: Paragraph D
Explanation: The paragraph D states the factors that play a key role in food quality. These factors are freshness, cooking methods, and the kind of soil they are produced in. Even the amount of sunlight and rainfall also affects the quality of food. So, the correct answer is iii.

Paragraph E

Answer: ix
Supporting Statement: The reality that many of our most popular meals are loaded with natural poisons refutes the idea that organic food is safer than "regular" food. Agricultural laborers' skin develops blisters as a result of parsnips.
Since many plants naturally do not want to be consumed, humans have spent 10,000 years perfecting agriculture and breeding undesirable qualities out of crops.
Keywords: undesirable qualities, poisons.
Keyword Location: Paragraph E
Explanation: The paragraph E states the importance of warding off the dangers from the crops. This states that there are many toxins and poisons in today's food that it affects our skin and overall health. It is important to discard these toxins and the dangers it affects us. So, the correct answer is ix.

Paragraph F

Answer: vii
Supporting Statement: Our preoccupations with the morality and safety of the food we consume concerns about the use of antibiotics in animals, food additives, GM crops, and other issues are signs of a culture that relies heavily on technology but has little faith in its capacity to apply it responsibly. The less something is handled by a human hand, the healthier it is perceived to be in this setting.
Keywords: concerns, safety of food.
Keyword Location: Paragraph F
Explanation: The paragraph F states that science and great science made the emergence of organic food. We humans are too concerned about our health. WE are aware of the medicine put in crops and agriculture. The need to save ourselves from diseases has become a threat. This led to the emergence of organic farming.n So, the correct answer is vii.

Paragraph G

Answer: iv
Supporting Statement: The organic farming movement is ultimately a pricey luxury for consumers in well-groomed Europe. It has no bearing on developing regions of the world. Environmentalists in Europe may view the fact that organic farming requires more time and resources to produce the same amount of produce as conventional farming as a positive; nevertheless, an African farmer in a remote area would view it negatively.
Keywords: luxury, african farmer
Keyword Location: Paragraph G
Explanation: The paragraph G focuses on the different viewpoints of different people. While organic farming might be very beneficial for people of rich class. AS it requires more labor it's a disaster for the poor ones. Akso, these foods are costly which might be difficult for poor people to afford. Sio, the correct answer is iv.

Questions 20-21

Choose TWO letters, A-E for questions 20-21

Which TWO of the following points does the writer mention in connection with organic farming?

the occasional use of pesticides
using the same field for different crops
testing soil quality
reducing the number of farm workers
the production of greenhouse gasses

Question 20)

Answer: B and E
Supporting Statement: Crop rotation is one technique that helps organic farmers make up for the lack of synthetic fertilizers by improving the condition of the soil. There are significant restrictions to how much food can be produced organically; yet, this kind of food production is inefficient in how it uses labor and land.
Keywords: Crop rotation
Keyword Location: Paragraph B
Explanation: there has been mentioned about the soil and gasses in paragraph B. It states that organic farming is effective sas it uses only the same field. There are no harmful toxins and gasses released from organic farming. So, the correct answer is B and E.

Question 21)

Answer: B and E
Supporting Statement: Crop rotation is one technique that helps organic farmers make up for the lack of synthetic fertilizers by improving the condition of the soil. There are significant restrictions to how much food can be produced organically; yet, this kind of food production is inefficient in how it uses labor and land.
Keywords: Organic farming
Keyword Location: paragraph B
Explanation: there has been mentioned about the soil and gasses in paragraph B. It states that organic farming is effective sas it uses only the same field. There are no harmful toxins and gasses released from organic farming. So, the correct answer is B and E.

Questions 22-23

According to the writer, which TWO factors affect the nutritional content of food?

who prepares the food
the weather conditions during growth
where the food has been stored
when the plants were removed from the earth
the type of farm the food was grown on

Question 22)

Answer: B and D
Supporting Statement: The flavor of a carrot also depends more on the type of carrot and how long ago it was dug out than on whether it was fertilized with manure or something from a plastic bag. These changes are likely to be more significant than any differences resulting from the use of an organic or non-organic production system. Even some "organic" farms differ greatly from one another.
Keywords: weather, dug out
Keyword Location: Paragraph D
Explanation: The paragraphS, states the factors that affect the quality of the food. While the factors like freshness, sunlight, rainfall, matter. The factors like the time it was dug out and weather plays a key role. So the answer is B and D.

Question 23)

Answer: B and D
Supporting Statement: The flavor of a carrot also depends more on the type of carrot and how long ago it was dug out than on whether it was fertilized with manure or something from a plastic bag. These changes are likely to be more significant than any differences resulting from the use of an organic or non-organic production system. Even some "organic" farms differ greatly from one another.
Keywords: Weather, dug out
Keyword Location: Paragraph D.
Explanation: The paragraphS, states the factors that affect the quality of the food. While the factors like freshness, sunlight, rainfall, matter. The factors like the time it was dug out and weather plays a key role. So the answer is B and D.

Questions 24-25

Which TWO negative aspects of organic farming does the writer mention?

Consumers complain about the extra cost.
Organic food may make people ill.
Farm workers have to be specially trained.
It requires too much technological expertise.
It is not possible in some countries.

Question 24)

Answer: B and E
Supporting Statement: Contrary to popular belief, the likelihood that a plant will harm you increases the closer it is to its natural state. Since many plants naturally do not want to be consumed, humans have spent 10,000 years perfecting agriculture and breeding undesirable qualities out of crops.
The reality that many of our most popular meals are loaded with natural poisons refutes the idea that organic food is safer than "regular" food. Agricultural laborers' skin develops blisters as a result of parsnips.
Keywords: Toxic, undesirable
Keyword Location: Paragraph E
Explanation: The paragraph E mentioned that not every organic food might be healthy. There are a few toxins present in organic food as well which cause skin allergy to agricultural people. Also organic food is not grown in all countries. So, the correct answer is B and E.

Question 25)

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Organic Food: Why Reading Answers

Section 1

Organic Food: Why Reading Answers

Section 2

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