F O O D L I T E R A C Y Q U I Z 1

FOOD LITERACY QUIZ

QUESTION: Which of these are tomato seeds?

ANSWER: C. Tomato seeds

Seeds are basically baby plants, wrapped up in a protective coat with the nutrients needed

to grow. ("Just add water," as they say—and sunlight and room to grow, of course.) Plants,

including edible ones, propagate themselves by spreading their seeds around to increase

their chances of ending up in fertile soil. This process is called "dispersal."

You can usually tell how a seed is dispersed just from looking at it. Lightweight, wispy seeds

are most likely wind-dispersed. Hollow, round seeds are probably dispersed in water. Sticky,

barbed seeds might "hitchhike" for dispersal by sticking to animals' fur. And seeds that are

embedded in the soft, sweet flesh of a fruit—like tomatoes—tend to be eaten by animals

and defecated. In other words, fruits are basically just seed-dispersal mechanisms!

QUESTION: Which of the following is LEAST disruptive to a natural ecosystem?

ANSWER: A. Native pests

Native pests and weeds are both part of a natural ecosystem, where plant and animal

populations interact in concert with one another to sustain themselves over time.

Unfortunately, due to such modern phenomena as climate change and global trade, some

pests have invaded ecosystems to which they would otherwise have never been introduced,

wreaking havoc on nature's delicate balance.

Although farms and gardens depend on ecosystem processes, they are different from natural

ecosystems. In farms and gardens, people deliberately plant seeds, add non-rain water,

amend the soil, weed, and remove pests to increase production, all of which can affect both

balance and sustainability.

F O O D L I T E R A C Y Q U I Z 2

QUESTION: Which of the following methods is LEAST essential for promoting healthy soil

(and, by extension, healthy food)?

ANSWER: C. Regular use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers

Fertile soil is the vital force of any farm, and the most effective way to nourish it is through

nature's own cycles: recycling organic matter back into the soil, rotating crops, and grazing

animals on the land so that their manure is the main fertilizer. By comparison, overuse of

additives such as pesticides and synthetic fertilizers—which are commonly used by farmers

large and small—may harm the ecosystem. The challenge is to make it more economically

viable to farm with minimal use of industrial chemicals.

QUESTION: On average, how much water is required to produce one serving of hamburger

versus one serving of lettuce?

ANSWER: C. Approximately 167 times as much

Despite the fact that lettuce is made up of roughly 95 percent water, it takes only about 3 gallons

of water to produce one serving of lettuce and about 500 gallons to produce one serving of a

typical hamburger (i.e. not including grass-fed, pasture-raised beef).

It's easy to forget about the amount of water it takes to grow, feed, and harvest the food we eat

because we don’t see it. Fresh water is a vital and finite resource on the planet, so it is important

to conserve water by making conscious food choices. For example, vegetables, fruits, and whole

grains grown without irrigation require much less water to produce than chocolate, meat, and

typical packaged foods.

QUESTION: Which of the following accounts for the largest portion of a given food item's

"carbon footprint"?

ANSWER: A. Production and processing

While the conversation about the environmental effect of food tends to focus on "food miles,"

freight transportation accounts for just 6 percent of the total carbon emissions in the U.S.

food supply. By comparison, production and processing make up 82 percent of emissions!

(Cooking is 8 percent and waste disposal 4 percent.)

Much of our food supply is dominated by meat products and junk foods, which require more

energy to produce, process, and package than ready-to-eat vegetables, fruits, and whole

grains. As a result, focusing our diets on whole, unprocessed foods is more likely to have a

profound, positive ecological effect than "eating locally."

F O O D L I T E R A C Y Q U I Z 3

QUESTION: Of the following, which represents the largest portion of the U.S. food supply?

ANSWER: B. Thrown away

Americans waste approximately 40 percent of the U.S. food supply, or the equivalent of about

20 pounds of food per person each month. Honeybees are responsible for pollinating about

one-third of the entire food supply (and about 75 percent of all fruits, nuts, and vegetables)

in the United States. Imported foods account for about 15 percent of the U.S. food supply,

while only about four percent is certified organic.

QUESTION: What does this label NOT tell you about a food item?

ANSWER: B. It was produced using the best sustainable agricultural methods.

The organic label is a useful tool for supporting food that has been grown with a higher

standard of respect for land and animals. Organic products are produced without synthetic

pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or sewage sludge, which could harm the environment. Also,

organic foods do not contain ingredients made from genetically modified organisms and are

not irradiated to kill pathogens. Animals that produce organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy

products are not treated with antibiotics or growth hormones.

Although it is a big step in the right direction, organic certification does not necessarily mean

a farm is using the best sustainable agricultural practices, so it is still important to know how

your food was raised.

QUESTION: How were these bananas grown?

ANSWER: A. Conventionally

The price look-up (PLU) code system used by most distributors identifies the type of produce.

n PLUs that begin with the number 4 are conventionally grown. (For example, #4011 is the

code for a standard yellow banana.)

n The number 9 prefix added to a PLU signifies that an item is organic. (For example,

#94011 is the code for an organic yellow banana.)

n Codes for genetically engineered produce are rarely used, but when they are they carry a

number 8 prefix. (For example, #84011 would be the code for a genetically engineered

yellow banana.)

F O O D L I T E R A C Y Q U I Z 4

QUESTION: What does the pictured logo represent?

ANSWER: B. Fair Trade Certified

While it's nice to buy locally grown foods, most people enjoy foods from all around the world.

Chocolate. Coffee. Seafood. Bananas. Our food choices connect us to people all over the

globe, and Fair Trade ensures that farmers overseas are treated equitably. By choosing Fair

Trade Certified products, we support small farmers in developing countries.

QUESTION: How many milligrams of sodium does this package contain?

ANSWER: C. 1,365

With 105 milligrams of sodium per serving, and 13 servings per box, the total sodium content

of the package is 1,365 milligrams (13 x 105). Limiting sodium is important because too

much sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and strokes.

Food labels recommend that the average American adult should consume about 2,000

calories per day, and the Institute of Medicine recommends an upper limit of 2,300 milligrams

of daily sodium intake for healthy, young, white adults and 1,500 milligrams for most other

adults. To make it easy, let's say the ratio of sodium to calories should be about 1:1. With this

product, you get 105 milligrams of sodium for every 20 calories, a ratio of more than 5:1—

much more than recommended.

QUESTION: A typical 20-oz. bottle of soda, like those sold in vending machines, contains the

equivalent of how many teaspoons of sugar?

ANSWER: C. 17

A typical 20-oz. bottle of soda contains lots of high-fructose corn syrup—the equivalent of

about 17 teaspoons of sugar and around 250 calories. Because beverages don't make us feel

as full as when we eat solid food with the same number of calories, we tend to drink more

calories than our bodies need. That's one reason why sugary drinks have contributed to the

obesity epidemic, in addition to increasing our risk for diabetes and heart disease.

Of course, added sugars are not limited to sodas. They're present in jams, cakes, cookies, ice

cream, and many other foods. You might find sugar hiding in a product's ingredients list

under a variety of names—sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, fructose, glucose,

dextrose, sucrose, honey, molasses, and evaporated cane juice among them. (And many foods

include several sugars, which results in their being listed lower in the ingredients list.)

F O O D L I T E R A C Y Q U I Z 5

QUESTION: Of the average dollar spent on food, what share goes to farmers and farm

workers?

ANSWER: B. 11 cents

For every U.S. dollar spent on food, only about 11 cents ends up in the hands of farmers and

farm workers, according to the USDA. Meanwhile, 30 cents goes to processing, packaging

and transportation; 43 cents goes to retail and service establishments (grocery stores,

restaurants); and the remaining 16 cents goes to cover other costs, such as advertising,

insurance, and accounting.

There are steps we can take to better support the producers of our food, however. By

concentrating our food choices on whole or minimally processed foods, we ensure more of

our money goes back to the source. (For example, farmers earn almost 44 cents out of every

dollar spent on carrots.) Importantly, by shopping at farmers markets, we can cut out the

"middlemen," potentially giving farmers as much as 100 percent of the profits.

QUESTION: Which of these seafoods represents the best choice?

ANSWER: D. Oysters

Although all of these seafoods are equally healthful, orange roughy, grouper, and snapper

are wild-caught fish whose populations have mostly been overfished. Meanwhile, about 95

percent of the world's total oyster consumption is sourced from well-managed, sustainable

farming operations.

Like their related species—clams, mussels, and scallops—oysters are extremely well-suited

to aquaculture, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program. Because

they don't rely on wild-caught fish for food, these shellfish minimally affect marine resources

and, thanks to the oyster's filter-feeding action, oyster farms can actually benefit the

surrounding coastal waters.

F O O D L I T E R A C Y Q U I Z 6

QUESTION: Which herb is pictured?

ANSWER: C. Thyme

Many people know herbs as the dried-up little bits stored in spice bottles, but fresh herbs

have unbeatable flavor and aroma—and they’re easy to grow at home. If a recipe calls for

dried herbs and you'd rather use fresh, use the following rule of thumb for conversion:

1 teaspoon of the dried herb = 1 tablespoon of the fresh

QUESTION: Which of the items pictured is not recommended for composting?

ANSWER: D. Meat and bones

Although meat and bones will biodegrade and turn into a soil that is usable in your garden or

for plants, they're not recommended for composting for several reasons:

n They give off an unpleasant smell.

n They attract pests, such as animals and insects.

n They're often cooked with oils, which can coat other materials and act as a preservative,

slowing the composting process.

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