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Environmental Science: A Global Concern, 7/e
William P. Cunningham, University of Minnesota
Mary Ann Cunningham, Vassar College
Barbara Woodworth Saigo, St. Cloud State University

Food and Agriculture

Practice Quizzing



1

The most common dietary problem in rich countries is
A)iron deficiency.
B)overeating.
C)inadequate intake of vitamins.
D)inadequate intake of minerals.
2

A diet with adequate calories but inadequate protein produces a disease condition called
A)scurvy.
B)kwashiorkor.
C)maraasmus.
D)anemia.
3

A diet inadequate in iron produces a condition called
A)scurvy.
B)kwashiorkor.
C)marasmus.
D)anemia.
4

The crops providing the majority of nutrients and calories for people are
A)sugar cane, rice, and wheat.
B)corn, wheat, and rice.
C)potatoes, wheat, and rice.
D)fish/seafood, potatoes, and rice.
5

Nutritionists recommend that we eat twice as many servings of _______ as any other food group.
A)dairy products
B)vegetables
C)bread/cereal
D)meat
6

Fish and other seafood
A)are an important source of protein for many people.
B)availability is being jeopardized by excessive fishing pressure on the majority of marine fisheries.
C)exploitation is often associated with habitat destruction.
D)are characterized by all of the above.
7

Soil is composed of
A)mineral material.
B)partially decomposed plant and animal bodies.
C)air spaces.
D)all of the above.
8

Humus is
A)composed of partly decayed organic matter.
B)helpful in water retention.
C)responsible for soil structure.
D)all of the above.
9

Organisms that live in soil
A)actually hinder plant uptake of minerals.
B)while not critically important, do facilitate plant uptake of soil nutrients.
C)on balance have neither particularly helpful nor harmful effects.
D)are crucial to soil’s ability to produce food.
10

Projections indicate that by 2025, world cropland per person will
A)decrease significantly.
B)remain essentially unchanged.
C)increase slightly.
D)increase significantly.
11

________ accounts for the greatest amount of water use globally.
A)Manufacturing.
B)Food processing.
C)Sanitation.
D)Agriculture.
12

Plants called high responders
A)outproduce conventional plants under optimal conditions.
B)require substantially more water and nutrients than other crop plants.
C)are more expensive for farmers to use than other plants.
D)are characterized by all of the above.
13

Genetic engineering refers to the process of
A)moving genes from one type of organism to another.
B)carefully selecting pollinators for crop plants.
C)creating synthetic genes for favorable traits.
D)all of the above.
14

Public skepticism about genetically modified crops includes fear that
A)since the new varieties are expensive, poor farmers may be driven out of farming.
B)genes resistant to antibiotics might be passed to bacteria.
C)unsafe food products can result.
D)all of the above could occur.
15

Genes for natural pesticides that are toxic to potato bugs have recently been transferred into potato plants making the plants lethal to these bugs. A main concern is that
A)these genes will escape from potatoes and disrupt other natural ecosystem functions.
B)these genes will mutate to become lethal to the potato plants that contain them.
C)natural selection will rapidly produce strains of potato bugs that are immune to the toxin in the plant.
D)the cost to farmers will exceed the benefits.
16

Farmers using the new varieties of potatoes are being urged to plant nonresistant potatoes in part of their fields in order to
A)reduce the cost of putting in the crop.
B)keep pesticide companies in business.
C)perpetuate nonresistant genes in future generations of potato bugs.
D)confuse potato bugs.
17

Compared to high intensity industrial agriculture, sustainable agriculture would involve
A)reduced use of pesticides.
B)more crop rotation.
C)less inorganic fertilizer.
D)all of the above.
18

A benefit to reduced tillage systems is that
A)energy consumption is lowered.
B)soil disturbance is reduced.
C)more plant debris is left on the surface where it can reduce erosion.
D)all of the above are benefits.
19

World food production is losing ground, unable to keep up with our growing population.
A)True
B)False
20

There are about 800 million people that are chronically hungry worldwide.
A)True
B)False
21

People inadequately fed are especially vulnerable to death from disease.
A)True
B)False
22

Famine is often a byproduct of political and civil strife in some parts of the world.
A)True
B)False
23

Genetically modified crops are created by inserting genetic material from one species into another.
A)True
B)False
24

Perhaps as much as one half of the cropland existing worldwide is losing soil faster than it is being regenerated.
A)True
B)False
25

The problem of soil erosion has been largely eliminated in the U.S.
A)True
B)False
26

Application of fertilizer above certain levels produces diminished returns.
A)True
B)False
27

Transgenic plants are those that have had genes from other organisms incorporated into their cells.
A)True
B)False
28

Significant public opposition has arisen in response to the use of transgenic crop plants.
A)True
B)False