Do you Know WHERE your food comes from?

2. “We are living from mystery, from creatures we did not make and powers we cannot comprehend” (Berry 16).

3. Do you Know WHERE your food comes from? OR

4. What goes INTO it?

5. Quickwrite Consider what you know about the food that you eat, where it comes from, its quality and so forth. How much do you know about your food? Please respond in a paragraph.

6. “The Pleasures of Eating” Pre-view the article Based on the titles of the first two paragraphs, what might Berry discuss in the article? Turn the title of Berry’s essay into some questions that you might keep in mind as you read the essay.

7. Vocabulary • urban shoppers (paragraph 4): city folks who buy things • obstacles (paragraph 4): things that get in the way of something else • specialization (paragraph 5): to focus attention on one thing; to be an expert on one small aspect of something • industrial food consumer (paragraph 5): those who eat unnatural foods that are produced by a specific industry • cultural amnesia (paragraph 6): to suffer a certain forgetfulness related to one’s group history

8. Vocabulary • a pig in a poke (paragraph 6): something that is purchased without the buyer seeing it or knowing its value beforehand • food esthetics (paragraph 8): a set of principles having to do with appreciating food, its tastes, its beauty • perfunctory (paragraph 8): superficial, careless • obliviousness (paragraph 9): to be unaware, unconscious of something • relentlessly (paragraph 11): to continue without stopping, stubbornly pushing ahead

9. Vocabulary • estranged (paragraph 20): to be separated from • comely arts (paragraph 20): pleasing, attractive practices • concentration camp (paragraph 21): a prison where torture or death might occur—often the people sent to such camps are of a certain religious or ethnic identity

10. First Read While reading “The Pleasures of Eating,” stop after each paragraph and answer these questions: • What does this paragraph say? • What does this paragraph mean? • Why does it matter?

11. Example Responses • say? Here he defines an agricultural act. • mean? He suggests that we never think about food in terms of an “agricultural act” and that we are being used by the food industry. • matter? He wants us to be conscious of how central food is and to get more pleasure from it, to be more aware of our health. He believes that it’s almost sinful to be ignorant.

12. Second Read Label what the author says in the left-hand margin of the article: •The introduction •The issue or problem Berry is writing about •The author’s main arguments •Examples the author gives •The conclusion

13. Second Read Continued In the right-hand margin: • write your reactions to what the author is saying

14. Post-reading 1) Write a 1 paragraph summary of Wendell Berry’s article. 2) Generate 1 open-ended research question using what you’ve read.

15. “When a Crop Becomes King” Read the first paragraph of Pollan’s “When a Crop Becomes King.” Jot down your predictions, based on the title and this first paragraph, of what Pollan’s point of view might be.

16. Vocabulary • dubious (paragraph 1): doubtful • domestication (paragraph 2): subduing, making tame • insinuated (paragraph 3): subtle hinting or manipulation; to move in on someone or into a certain situation

17. Vocabulary • subsidize (paragraph 4): money provided by the government or state • wreaks havoc (paragraph 6): causes a great deal of chaos • metabolized (paragraph 10): to produce energy, to digest • predators (paragraph 13): those that prey on something in order to attack it

18. First Read While reading “When a Crop Becomes King,” stop after each paragraph and answer these questions: • What does this paragraph say? • What does this paragraph mean? • Why does it matter?

19. Post-reading • Write a summary of Pollan’s essay, “When a Crop Becomes King.” • Generate one open-ended research question using what you’ve read