UNIT 6: THE SCIENCE OF FOOD

The q Classroom

Teacher: In Unit 6 we're going to talk about the science of food, so let's start off with the Unit 6 question, "How has science changed the food we eat?" Yuna, what do you think?

Yuna: Science has changed packaged food a lot. They add vitamins bacause they're good for us, and they use less fat and things that aren't good for us.

Teacher: What do you think, Felix? How has science changed the food we eat?

Felix: Well, I think it's because of science that people eat so much packaged food. They've discovered ways to create food that people like, usually by adding a lot of salt or sugar. It's not healthy at all.

Teacher: How else has science changed the food we eatt? Marcus?

Marcus: They've learned to make all kinds of things out of corn. They use corn syrup to sweeten sodas and candy, and corn oil for frying. Corn is cheap to grow, so a lot of food is less expensive, like fast food. But I agree with Felix –it's not healthy.

Teacher: Sophy, do you have any other answers to this question? How else has science changed the way we eat?

Sophy: Well, science has changed the plants and animals we eat. A long time ago, corn was a small plant, but now it's a huge one. And the animals are bigger, too, because they've figured out just the right diet to feed them to make them larger.

Teacher: Some of you feel that science has made food less healthy. Do you think science has done anything good for our diets?

Sophy: Absolutely. Because of science, we're able to grow more food and feed more people. Less hunger in the world is a very good thing.

LISTENING 1: FOOD ADDITIVES LINKED TO HYPERACTIVITY IN KIDS

Listen for Main Ideas

Reporter: The controversy about food additives and children's behavior continues, this time with a study linking food additives and a common preservative to hypersctivity. But not everyone is convinced this latest resarch is definite. Certain artificial food colorings and other additives can worsen hyperactive behaviors in children aged 3 to 9, UK researchers report. Tests on more than 300 children showed significant differences in their behavior when they drank fruit drinks mixed with food colorings and preservatives, say Professor Jim Stevenson and colleagues at the University of Southampton.

"These findings show that adverse effects are not just seen in children with extreme hyperactivity but can also be seen in the general population, " the researchers write. Stevemson's team, which has been studying the effects of food additives in children for years, made up drinks to test in a group of 3-year-olds and a second group of children aged 8 and 9. Children received ordinary fruit juice or a drink indentical in look and taste that contained common additives. Some children were given a drink containing colorings typically found in a couple of 50 gram bags of candy. Others were given a higher level of colorings, equal to consuming the additives in four of these bags. Parents, teachers, and the researchers then studied the children's behavior.

Both mixtures significantly affected the older children, when compared with the regular drink.

"Athough the use of astificial coloring in food mgiht seem superfluous, the same cannot be said for sodium benzoate, which has an important preservative function," the reseachers write. "the changes to food additive rules could be substantial".

The issue of whether food additives can affect children's behavior has been controversial for decades. Dr. benjamin Feingold has written nooks arguing that not only do artificial colors, flavors, and preservtives affect children, but so do natural chemicals found in come fruit and vegetables.

Several studies have contradicted this notion. And some have only found an effect of food additives on the behavior of children diagnosed with extreme hyperactivity. In this latest research, children generally reacted poorly to the mixtures.

"We have found an adverse effect of food additives on the hyperactive behavior of 3-year-old and 8- to 9-year-old children," the researchers write.

Stevenson has this message for parents: "Parents should not think that simply taking these additives out of food will prevent all hyperactive disorders. We know that many other influences are at work, but this at least is one a child can avoid," he says.

Dr. sue Baic says that the study is well-designed and "potentially very important."

"It supports what scientists have known for a long time: that feeding children on diets that mainly consist of heavily processed foods which may also be high in fat, salt, or sugar is not optimal for health".

Other disagree.

"The paper is not a demonstation of cuase and effect" says Dr. Paul Illing.

LISTENING SKILL: UNDERSTANDING BIAS IN A PRESENTATION

A. Page 114

Speaker: Don't believe the Organic Hype.

For too many people, eating healthier means buying organic food. People think that just because the label says "organic" that the food is better for them. However, a quick look at the list of ingredients of many organic products shows that they can be just as high in salt, calories, and fat as normal foods. Just because some potato chips are made from organic potatoes doesn't mean it's a healthy choice to eat the whole bag. Furthermore, research shows that the dangers associated with eating too much high-calorie food are worse than eating food with additives or artificial coloring.

B. Page 114

Excerpt 1:

As the sale of fast food increases internationally, people's weights are increasing, too. Several important international organizations, including the World Health Organization, are very concerned about the growing rate of abesity around the world. Scientists believe that fast food restaurants play a substantial role in more and more people becoming overweight.

Excerpt 2:

Can it really hurt your heart to drink one soda a day? A recent study published by the American Heart Association says it can. The report suggests that drinking even one soda a day can increase your chances of getting heart disease.

Excerpt 3:

Tea is one of the world's lodest and most popular drinks. In spite of the recent popularity of fancy coffee in parts of Asia, most people in China still look forward to the peace and calm they associate with the ancient practice of drinking tea.

Excerpt 4:

Can we believe what the food labels claim? Labels say things like "all-naturl" or helps build healthy bones" or "made with real fruit" or "contains real chocolate," or "helps burn fat." But research shows that food labels can often be confusing. Or they try to make you believe something that isn't quite true.

LISTENING 2: THE "FLAVR SAVR" TOMATO

Listen for Main Ideas

Announcer: Turning now to thw world of science, ganetically altered food may soon be available at your local vegatable stand. The "Flavr Savr" tomato is already on sale in the United States. It's supposed to stay riper, fresher, and more flavorful than an ordinary tomato. It's also one of the first foods to be produced by biotechnology. But not everyone is a fan. As Nina Winham reports, consumers often have an uneasy reaction to scientifically improved food.

Nina Winham: At the Kensington Fruit Market in Toronto, tables are piled high with everything from rutabagas to radicchio. People are packing through the produce, comparing prices and freshness. Ask them about genetically engineered vegetables.

Speaker 1: Oh, no. No, I wouldn't go for genetically altered. I wouldn't go for it.

Winham: Yeah, and if it...

Speaker 1: If I would be sweeter and maybe more tastier, but I wouldn't go for it.

Speaker 2: I guess, to begin with, you would want to know what goes into it, to see whether it is going to affect us.

Speaker 3: I feel that if you tamper with nature, there's bound to be a rebound.

Speaker 4: I think most people are scared of what, if something can be altered that much, is it really going to be good for them in the long run?

Winham: Genertic engineering is when scientists alter te chemical blueprint of an organism. They can make it develop the traits they want, sometimes by adding a part of the blueprint from an completely different species. To some, the process seems fantastic, but to others, it's disturbing, Professor Robert Strong studies the ethics of biotechnology at the University of Redding.

Robert Strong: People think that um, certain, many aspects of our modern lifestyle are unnatural, and that is, sort of, colored with moral overtones. Because it's unatural, it must be hard.

Winham: But society has already accepted some genetic engineering, especially for medical uses, Insulin for diabetics, human growth hormone for underdeveloped chidren are two widely used products of biotechnology. It's when the science lab produces food that people start to back away. Steven Borke is vice president of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

Steven Burke: With food biotechnology, the issues are, in many cases compounded. Not only are we concerned, or at least interested in the application of the techniques and in the movement of different genes between different organisms, we are doubly interested because we are, ourselves, ingesting the result.

Winham: Burke says the biotechnology industry is realizing people have moral and cultural reactions to food, and so this very personal commodify may be the area where the debate over the ethics of biotechnology comes to a head. Susan Hariander is director of research with Land o Lakes Dairies. She says the key for food producers will be to underline the benefits of biotechology, such as higher-quality foods. And she says that people need to see the science done in a lab as a continuaton of the science that has long been a part of farming.

Susan Harlander: I think most people don't understand breeding selection and how much modification of the food supply has gone on with traditional agriculture, and how little we can actually control what's happening in a traditional breeding experiment versus what we can control with genetic engineering.

Winham: Back at the Kensington Market, Linda Arugio is busy helping customers at the checkout counter. She says genetically engineered foods aren't that different from other hybrid products she's sold in the past. She remembers a lecture, a cross between two varieties, that people just wouldn't buy. But she says watermelon with no seeds has caught on and has loyal fans.

Linda Arugio: Most people get used to trying different things, and they start thinking that it's all right or even accepting that it's all right, or knowing that it's all right, they'll start buying it and getting more into it.

Winham: The uncertain reaction of consumers is only part of the hurdle faced by food producers. Genetically engineeres foods are expected to cost considerably more than their old-fashioned counterparts, and people here will tell you that may be the ultimate turn-off.

SPEAKING SKILL: EXPRESSING INTEREST DURING A COVERSATION

A. Page 123

Noriko: hey, Marc. Is this seat free? Do you mind if I sit here?

Marc: Not at all! How are you doing?

Noriko: I'm absolutely starving!

Marc: Really? Why?

Noriko: I went the gym this morning before school, and by 11:00, any stoamch was growling in class.

Marc: Wow, that had to be embarassing.

Noriko: Definitely. So, what did you get for lunch?

Marc: Well, they're serving French onion soup today, so I got some of that. It's not bad, but not like home!

Noriko: Yeah! French food is famous around the world, but I've never had it.

Marc: Well, I am from Provence, in the south of France. People take food very seriously there.

Noriko: Mm-hmm.

Marc: People buy fresh fruit and vegetables from the market every day.

Noriko: Every day!

Marc: Yeah, and the cheese is amazing! It tastes nothing like what we buy in the grocery storess here.

Noriko: That's interesting. I feel that way about Japanese food here, too. It's not quite the same.