Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[jasonlulu_2000]

When we Americans shop at the grocery shores today, we don�t seem to be surprised at the sight of strawberries in the winter or perfect tomatoes from Holland. In the space of a generation, we've become accustomed to eating food that's never grown roots in local soil. In fact, most produce grown in the United States travels an average of 1,500 miles before it gets sold.

Trucking, shipping and flying in food from around the country and the globe has a very bad effect on the environment and on public health. Take grapes for example. Every year, nearly 270 million pounds of grapes arrive in California, most of them shipped from Chile to the Port of Los Angeles. Their 5,900-mile journey in cargo ships and trucks gives off 7,000 tons of global warming pollution each year, and enough air pollution to cause dozens of asthma attacks and hundreds of missed school days in California.

The way we eat has a great influence on the health of the planet. By choosing to eat lower on the food chain, and focusing on local and organic produce, we can reduce global warming and air pollution, avoid poisonous chemicals, support local farmers and enjoy fresh, tasty food.

People are rediscovering the benefits of buying local food. How your food is grown, stored, transported, processed and cooked can all influence how it affects climate and the environment. Transportation-related influences are particularly important for imported foods. NRDC calculated the transportation influences of importing fresh produce and wine widely consumed in California. They directly compared the climate and air quality influenced by importing these foods instead of growing and consuming them in California. Their analysis shows that�all else being equal---locally grown foods are a better choice.
1. From the passage we can learn that most produce sold at the grocery shops in the US _______.
A. is from foreign countries B. comes from far away

Which one is better? Why?


2.The main purpose of the passage is __________.
A. to warn people of the harmfulness of food transportation.
B. to get local people to reject the imported foods.

Which one is better? Why?
what is the difference between "harm" and "harmfulness"?

Thanks

[dragn]

[jasonlulu_2000]

That helps a lot