Food for Thoughts Reading Answers

Oct 1, 2022

Food for thoughts Reading Answers 13 questions that have to be answered in 20 minutes. Reading Answers comprises question types, namely-. Write the correct number, and complete the notes. Candidates are required to write the appropriate number from options i-xi and complete the table using no more than three words for each answer.
Candidates must read the IELTS reading passage, identify keywords, and recognize synonyms to answer the question.

Check: Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now

Reading Passage Question

Why not eat insects? So asked British entomologist Vincent M. Holt in the title of his 1885 treatise on the benefits of what he named entomophagy – the consumption of insects (and similar creatures) as a food source. The prospect of eating dishes such as “wireworm sauce” and “slug soup” failed to garner favour amongst those in the stuffy, proper, Victorian social milieu of his time, however, and Holt’s visionary ideas were considered at best eccentric, at worst an offence to every refined palate. Anticipating such a reaction, Holt acknowledged the difficulty in unseating deep-rooted prejudices against insect cuisine, but quietly asserted his confidence that “we shall some day quite gladly cook and eat them”.
It has taken nearly 150 years but an eclectic Western-driven movement has finally mounted around the entomophagy cause. In Los Angeles and other cosmopolitan Western cities, insects have been caught up in the endless pursuit of novel and authentic delicacies. “Eating grasshoppers is a thing you do here”, bugsupplier Bricia Lopez has explained. “There’s more of a ‘cool’ factor involved.” Meanwhile, the Food and Agricultural Organization has considered a policy paper on the subject, initiated farming projects in Laos, and set down plans for a world congress on insect farming in 2013.
Eating insects is not a new phenomenon. In fact, insects and other such creatures are already eaten in 80 per cent of the world’s countries, prepared in customary dishes ranging from deep-fried tarantula in Cambodia to bowls of baby bees in China. With the specialist knowledge that Western companies and organisations can bring to the table, however, these hand-prepared delicacies have the potential to be produced on a scale large enough to lower costs and open up mass markets. A new American company, for example, is attempting to develop pressurisation machines that would de-shell insects and make them available in the form of cutlets. According to the entrepreneur behind the company, Matthew Krisiloff, this will be the key to pleasing the uninitiated palate.
Insects certainly possess some key advantages over traditional Western meat sources. According to research findings from Professor Arnold van Huis, a Dutch entomologist, breeding insects results in far fewer noxious by-products. Insects produce less ammonia than pig and poultry farming, ten times less methane than livestock, and 300 times less nitrous oxide. Huis also notes that insects – being coldblooded creatures – can convert food to protein at a rate far superior to that of cows, since the latter exhaust much of their energy just keeping themselves warm.
Although insects are sometimes perceived by Westerners as unhygienic or disease-ridden, they are a reliable option in light of recent global epidemics (as Holt pointed out many years ago, insects are “decidedly more particular in their feeding than ourselves”). Because bugs are genetically distant from humans, species-hopping diseases such as swine flu or mad cow disease are much less likely to start or spread amongst grasshoppers or slugs than in poultry and cattle. Furthermore, the squalid, cramped quarters that encourage diseases to propagate among many animal populations are actually the residence of choice for insects, which thrive in such conditions.
Then, of course, there are the commercial gains. As FAO Forestry Manager Patrick Durst notes, in developing countries many rural people and traditional forest dwellers have remarkable knowledge about managing insect populations to produce food. Until now, they have only used this knowledge to meet their own subsistence needs, but Durst believes that, with the adoption of modern technology and improved promotional methods, opportunities to expand the market to new consumers will flourish. This could provide a crucial step into the global economic arena for those primarily rural, impoverished populations who have been excluded from the rise of manufacturing and large-scale agriculture.
Nevertheless, much stands in the way of the entomophagy movement. One problem is the damage that has been caused, and continues to be caused, by Western organisations prepared to kill off grasshoppers and locusts – complete food proteins – in favour of preserving the incomplete protein crops of millet, wheat, barley and maize. Entomologist Florence Dunkel has described the consequences of such interventions. While examining children’s diets as a part of her field work in Mali, Dunkel discovered that a protein deficiency syndrome called kwashiorkor was increasing in incidence. Children in the area were once protected against kwashiorkor by a diet high in grasshoppers, but these had become unsafe to eat after pesticide use in the area increased.
A further issue is the persistent fear many Westerners still have about eating insects. “The problem is the ick factor—the eyes, the wings, the legs,” Krisiloff has said. “It’s not as simple as hiding it in a bug nugget. People won’t accept it beyond the novelty. When you think of a chicken, you think of a chicken breast, not the eyes, wings, and beak.” For Marcel Dicke, the key lies in camouflaging the fact that people are eating insects at all. Insect flour is one of his propositions, as is changing the language of insect cuisine. “If you say it’s mealworms, it makes people think of ringworms”, he notes. “So stop saying ‘worm’. If we use Latin names, say it’s a Tenebrio quiche, it sounds much more fancy”. For Krisiloff, Dicke and others, keeping quiet about the gritty reality of our food is often the best approach.
It is yet to be seen if history will truly redeem Vincent Holt and his suggestion that British families should gather around their dining tables for a breakfast of “moths on toast”. It is clear, however, that entomophagy, far from being a kooky sideshow to the real business of food production, has much to offer in meeting the challenges that global societies in the 21st century will face.

Solution with Explanation
Questions 14–21:
Reading Passage has nine paragraphs, A–I.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A–H from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i–xi, in boxes 14–21 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings A historical delicacy The poor may benefit Presentation is key to changing attitudes Environmentally friendly production Tradition meets technology A cultural pioneer Western practices harm locals Good source of nutrients Growing popularity A healthy choice A safety risk

Section A

Answer: VI
Supporting Sentence: Why not eat insects? So asked British entomologist Vincent M. Holt in the title of his 1885 treatise on the benefits of what he named entomophagy – the consumption of insects (and similar creatures) as a food source.
Keywords: treatise, entomophagy, consumption, food source
Keyword Locations: Paragraph A, 1st line
Explanation: The first sentence of paragraph A says, In the title of his 1885 essay on the advantages of what he called "entomophagy," the practise of eating insects (and other similar species) as sustenance, British entomologist Vincent M. Holt raised this question, "Why not consume insects?". These statements definitely indicate that Vincent Holt was a cultural pioneer (someone who initiates something) in terms of incorporating insects into our diets.

Section B

Answer: IX
Supporting Sentence: In Los Angeles and other cosmopolitan Western cities, insects have been caught up in the endless pursuit of novel and authentic delicacies
Keywords: Los Angeles, cosmopolitan, insects, pursuit, delicacies
Keyword Locations: Paragraph B, 2nd line
Explanation: It is said in paragraph B that "it has taken nearly 150 years, but an eclectic Western-driven movement has finally mounted around the entomophagy cause." In Los Angeles and other metropolitan Western cities, insects have become entangled in the never-ending search for unique and genuine delights. According to supplier Bricia Lopez, "Eating grasshoppers is a thing you do here." This shows that entomophagy has become more and more popular throughout time and that individuals are now including insects in their meals. Therefore, the expanding popularity option is the proper one.

Section C

Answer: V
Supporting Sentence: A new American company, for example, is attempting to develop pressurisation machines that would de-shell insects and make them available in the form of cutlets.
Keywords: American company, pressurisation, machines, insects, cutlets
Keyword Locations: Paragraph C, 2nd last line
Explanation: It has been said in paragraph C that "A new American company, for instance, is trying to build pressurisation devices that would de-shell insects and make them available in the form of cutlets. This will be necessary to satisfy the uninitiated palate, claims Matthew Krisiloff, the businessman behind the operation. This demonstrates the advantages of leveraging science and innovation to incorporate insects into many cultural cuisines.

Section D

Answer: IV
Supporting Sentence: According to research findings from Professor Arnold van Huis, a Dutch entomologist, breeding insects results in far fewer noxious by-products. Insects produce less ammonia than pig and poultry farming, ten times less methane than livestock, and 300 times less nitrous oxide.
Keywords: breeding insects, fewer, noxious, less ammonia, less methane
Keyword Locations: Paragraph D, 2nd and 3rd line
Explanation: The second and third lines of paragraph D read as follows: According to research results from Professor Arnold van Huis, a Dutch entomologist, breeding insects produces significantly fewer toxic by-products. Insects generate ten times less methane than animals, 300 times less nitrous oxide, and less ammonia than pig and poultry farms. These advantages of eating insects over meat are amply demonstrated by these points. In terms of environmental safety, it amply demonstrates how advantageous and secure eating insects is.

Section E

Answer: X
Supporting Sentence: Because bugs are genetically distant from humans, species-hopping diseases such as swine flu or mad cow disease are much less likely to start or spread amongst grasshoppers or slugs than in poultry and cattle.
Keywords: less likely, swine flu, grasshoppers, slugs, genetically, bugs
Keyword Locations: Paragraph E, 2nd line
Explanation: The second line of paragraph E states that as slugs and grasshoppers are genetically more remote from humans than chickens and cattle are, diseases that jump species, such as the swine flu or mad cow disease, are considerably less likely to infect or spread among them. In addition, insects like to live in filthy, overcrowded environments that let diseases spread among various animal species because they flourish there. These paragraphs outline the advantages of entomophagy, or the consumption of insects, when health is taken into account. It demonstrates how crucial it is to prefer insects over farm animals when it comes to eating their meat.

Section F

Answer: II
Supporting Sentence: As FAO Forestry Manager Patrick Durst notes, in developing countries many rural people and traditional forest dwellers have remarkable knowledge about managing insect populations to produce food. Until now, they have only used this knowledge to meet their own subsistence needs, but Durst believes that, with the adoption of modern technology and improved promotional methods, opportunities to expand the market to new consumers will flourish.
Keywords: population, developing countries, subsistence needs, modern technology
Keyword Locations: Paragraph F, line 1st and 2nd line
Explanation: In paragraph F, it is claimed that many rural residents and traditional forest dwellers in developing nations possess impressive knowledge about controlling insect populations to provide food. Up until now, they have only used this information to suit their own basic needs, but Durst thinks that with the use of contemporary technology and better marketing strategies, chances to open the market to new customers would flourish. For those predominantly rural, disadvantaged people that have been left out of the growth of industrial and large-scale agriculture, this could be a significant step into the global economic arena. This shows that the poor and tribal population (forest dwellers) are familiar with eating insects and preparing them so they are safe to eat because of their traditional history. In that scenario, a thriving insect market would also improve the standard of living for those living in poverty.

Section G

Answer: VII
Supporting Sentence: One problem is the damage that has been caused, and continues to be caused, by Western organisations prepared to kill off grasshoppers and locusts – complete food proteins – in favour of preserving the incomplete protein crops of millet, wheat, barley and maize.
Keywords: problem, damage, western organisation, grasshoppers, locusts
Keyword Locations: Paragraph G, 2nd line
Explanation: According to the second line of paragraph G, one issue is the harm done and still being done by Western organisations willing to exterminate grasshoppers and locusts, which are complete food proteins, in order to protect the incomplete protein crops of millet, wheat, barley, and maize. This amply illustrates the role that various Western practices, such as the use of pesticides and farm sanitation, have played in the spread of diseases among children and the general public.

Section H

Answer: III
Supporting Sentence: For Krisiloff, Dicke and others, keeping quiet about the gritty reality of our food is often the best approach.
Keywords: quiet, gritty reality, food, best approach
Keyword Locations: Paragraph H, last line
Explanation: The key, according to Marcel Dicke, is hiding the fact that people are even consuming insects, as was mentioned in paragraph H. One of his ideas is to change the language of insect food and to produce insect flour. He observes that if you refer to them as mealworms, people may imagine ringworms. "So stop calling people worms. It sounds much finer if we use Latin names, like as Tenebrio quiche. The greatest strategy, according to Krisiloff, Dicke, and others, is to remain silent about the grim reality of our diet. ” This demonstrates how making something attractive to the eye and ear can influence how well a novel meal is received. It would be easier to accept insects as food if they were made appealing.

Questions 22–26:
Complete the notes below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 22–26 on your answer sheet.

Van Huis

Insects are cleaner & do not release as many harmful gases
Insects use food intake economically in the production of protein as they waste less 22…………………

Answer: Energy
Supporting Sentence: Huis also notes that insects – being coldblooded creatures – can convert food to protein at a rate far superior to that of cows, since the latter exhaust much of their energy just keeping themselves warm.
Keywords: insects, creature, food, protein, warm, cows
Keyword Locations: Paragraph D, last line
Explanation: The last sentence of paragraph D reads, "Huis also notes that insects - being cold-blooded creatures - can convert food to protein at a rate far superior to that of cows, since the latter exhaust most of their energy just keeping themselves warm." This demonstrates how much less energy is used by insects than by animals. This makes eating insects advantageous.

Durst

Traditional knowledge could be combined with modern methods for mass production instead of just covering 23 …………………

Answer: Subsistence needs
Supporting Sentence: As FAO Forestry Manager Patrick Durst notes, in developing countries many rural people and traditional forest dwellers have remarkable knowledge about managing insect populations to produce food. Until now, they have only used this knowledge to meet their own subsistence needs, but Durst believes that, with the adoption of modern technology and improved promotional methods, opportunities to expand the market to new consumers will flourish.
Keywords: population, developing countries, subsistence needs, modern technology
Keyword Locations: Paragraph F, line 1st and 2nd line
Explanation: As mentioned in paragraph F, many rural residents and traditional forest dwellers in developing nations possess impressive knowledge about controlling insect populations to produce food. They have only used this expertise up until now to satisfy their own basic requirements, but Durst thinks that with the use of technology innovations and better marketing strategies, chances to expand the market to new consumers would flourish. According to this, if contemporary technology assists traditional entomophagy and the market for it expands, it will improve the lifestyles of the impoverished and free them from being constrained to merely surviving.

This could help 24 ………………… people gain access to world markets.

Answer: Rural/Impoverished
Supporting Sentence: This could provide a crucial step into the global economic arena for those primarily rural, impoverished populations who have been excluded from the rise of manufacturing and large-scale agriculture.
Keywords: global economic, impoverished populations, manufacturing, large scale agriculture
Keyword Locations: Paragraph F, last line
Explanation: According to the statement in paragraph F, "This might give those mostly rural, disadvantaged communities who have been left out of the growth of industrial and large-scale agriculture a key step into the global economic arena." This is partially related to the earlier argument that the poor's lifestyles would improve if contemporary technologies supported traditional entomophagy and the market for it expanded, freeing the poor from being constrained to merely surviving.

Dunkel

Due to increased 25 …………………, more children in Mali are suffering from 26…………………

Question 25:

Answer: Pesticide use
Supporting Sentence: Children in the area were once protected against kwashiorkor by a diet high in grasshoppers, but these had become unsafe to eat after pesticide use in the area increased.
Keywords: children, protected, grasshopper, unsafe, diet
Keyword Locations: Paragraph G, last line
Explanation: According to the last sentence of paragraph G, Dunkel found that the incidence of a protein deficiency illness known as kwashiorkor was rising while researching children's diets in Mali. A diet rich in grasshoppers used to prevent local children from kwashiorkor; but, as pesticide use grew, these insects became dangerous to consume. This shows that the children's protein deficiencies were caused by an incorrect and insufficient diet brought on by pesticide contamination of crops.

Question 26:

Answer: Protein Deficiency
Supporting Sentence: Children in the area were once protected against kwashiorkor by a diet high in grasshoppers, but these had become unsafe to eat after pesticide use in the area increased.
Keywords: children, protected, grasshopper, unsafe, diet
Keyword Locations: Paragraph G, last line
Explanation: The final line of Paragraph G says that while conducting fieldwork in Mali, Dunkel noticed that a protein shortage illness known as kwashiorkor was becoming more common. A diet high in grasshoppers used to protect children in the area from kwashiorkor, but these had become unhealthy to eat as pesticide use in the area rose. This means that because pesticides reduced the number of edible vegetables as well as grasshoppers (which were infected by pesticides), the youngsters were unable to achieve their protein requirements, causing them to suffer through Kwashiorkor ( a protein deficiency).