Unit 7 The Best Produce There Is1) Reading One ASK MR. GREEN: Organic Produce vs.

Regular Produce Dear Confused Shopper: 1 You're right. Sometimes organic produce2) doesn't look as nice as regular

produce, and it often costs twice as much. Let me explain why.3) 2 Since about 1950, farmers in the United States have used4) chemicals5) to grow6)

their fruits and vegetables. They use pesticides7) to kill insects that eat their plants. They use herbicides8) to kill the weeds that kill their plants. These chemicals are a great help to farmers. By using them farmers can grow more produce on the same amount of land. This means that shoppers can find more produce in the store. 3 Farmers also use chemicals to make fruits and vegetables ripe.9)10) For example,

they often pick tomatoes while they are still green, and then put them in a box to go to a supermarket. The green tomatoes turn red and get ripe because of a chemical that is in the box with them. Because some produce can be picked early, it can travel11) long distance to stores. As a result, we can find most12) kinds of regular fruits and vegetables all year long.13) 4 Some people argue,14) however, that there are problems with using all these

chemicals. When we eat produce, we're also eating15) a little bit of the chemicals. Small
1) The Best Produce There is . 2) produce: ; organic produce: produce . 3) Let me explain why sometimes organic produce doesn't look as nice as regular produce, and it often costs twice as much. why . 4) have used: 1950 . 5) chemicals: 6) grow ~ . 7) pesticides: (() ) herbicide . chemicals that kill insects and other small animals that eat crops 8) herbicides: chemicals that kill weeds 9) ripe: (, ) , 10) make fruits and vegetables ripe: make 5 (fruits and vegetables) (ripe) . 11) travel = move; . ) News travels fast these days. . 12) most: 13) all year long: 14) argue: clearly explains that something is true 15) .

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amounts of these are safe to eat. But larger amounts - a little bit every day - can cause illness. Many scientists believe that these farming chemicals cause cancer. 5 Herbicides and pesticides can also be very bad for nature. They sometimes kill

animals such as fish16) and birds, and they can poison17) rivers that are near farms. Farm workers who pick the crops often get very sick from the chemicals. Because of problems like these, some farmers are going back to growing produce the old-fashioned way18) - without chemicals. We call19) this kind of produce organic. 6 Organic produce is more expensive than other produce for several reasons. For

instance,20) many organic farmers can't grow as much produce as other farmers. Their farms are usually smaller, and, of course, they don't use herbicides and pesticides. Also, because they don't use ripening chemicals,21) their produce has to arrive at the stores very soon after it's picked. So it is usually fresh, but this too costs money. 7 Is it worth22) it? That's up to you to decide. But if you're not familiar with

organic produce, you might want to try it. More and more shoppers are buying organic produce. Many of these shoppers say that they're not just concerned about their own health. They are concerned about the health of our whole world. Mr. Green

. 16) fish . 17) poison: make land, lakes, rivers, air, etc., dirty and dangerous 18) growing produce the old-fashioned way: the old-fashioned way . 19) call A B: A B B . 20) For instance,: For example For instance . . 21) ripening chemicals: 22) worth + (): ~ , ~ ; be worthy of + ()

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Reading Two Miles to Go Before You Eat23) by Paul Rauber 1 Your refrigerator is empty. You get on your bike to go grocery shopping. You

bring your own bags so that you don't have to use plastic bags24) from the store. You buy organic bananas, a beautiful pine apples, and organic grapes, strawberries, and spinach. You are feeling good about feeding your family healthy25) food. You think about how lucky you are.26) You can buy all of these fruits and vegetables in November in Des Moines, Iowa! 2 You are doing good things27) for your family and for the environment, but you

could do better. 3 Riding your bike saves gasoline. But the pineapple you just bought28) traveled29)

to your town on an airplane from Hawaii. Your grapes traveled about 7,000 miles by boat and truck from Costa Rica. As a matter of fact, food in the United States travels an average of 1,500 miles30) from the farm to the dinner plate. 4 Buying organic food, riding a bike, and avoiding plastic bags are all good

things to do for the environment. But if you are buying organic pineapples from Hawaii, you may not be seeing the whole picture. Maybe one of the best things we can do for the environment is to eat local produce.31) It uses less gasoline. It pollutes32) less. And it probably tastes better, too, since it is fresher. 5 Buying only local produce33) won't be easy at first. You will have to stop eating

produce that doesn't grow nearby, like bananas. And you will be spending a little more on your food. But the world will be healthier, and so will you.34)
23) Miles to Go Before You Eat: . 24) plastic bags: 25) healthy: 26) how lucky you are: 27) do good things: 28) the pineapple you just bought: 29) travel: 30) an average of 1,500 miles: 1,500 [an average of + ] OO . ) Parents spend an average of $220 a year on toys. 1 220 . 31) local produce: local , , , provincial . region () , . 32) pollute A (with B): A (B) 33) Buying only local produce: only local produce . 34) so will you = you will be healthier, too.(you will be healthier as well.)

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Take a look at how much gasoline each of these fruits uses to get to Des

Moines, Iowa:35) Pineapple(Costa Rica) 0.03 gallon of gasoline Pineapple(Hawaii) 0.53 gallon of gasoline 7 Pineapples use a lot of gasoline. But if you must buy one, notice36) that the

Costa Rican pineapple makes more than half of its trip by boat.37) Boats don't use very much gasoline. Pineapples from Hawaii, however, travel by air. Apple(Iowa) 0.10 tablespoon of gasoline Apple(Washington) 1.92 tablespoon of gasoline 8 Apples from Iowa travel only 60 miles in small trucks to Des Moines. The ones

from Washington must travel 1,722 miles in large trucks. Grapes(California) 3.5 tablespoons of gasoline Grapes(Chile) 4.2 tablespoons of gasoline 9 About the same amount of gasoline is used to bring grapes from Chile or

California. This might be surprising. The reason is that the grapes from Chile made most of their journey by boat.38) Then both kinds of grapes came to Des Moines in big trucks. Source: Adapted39) from "Miles to Go Before You Eat, Why it Pays40) to Buy Locally Grown Food" by Paul Rauber in Sierra Magazine, May/June 2006. Reprinted with permission of Sierra, the magazine of the Sierra Club.41)

35) how much gasoline each of these fruits uses to get to Des Moines, Iowa: how at . 36) notice: ~ () 37) make more than half of its trip by boat: 38) make most of their journey by boat: 39) adapt: . 40) pay: , 41) Sierra Club: , 1892 .

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