Name ___________________________________________
Food, Inc. – Chapter 1
Learning Goals
 By the end of the lesson, students will be able to identify new vocabulary terms relative to Food,
Inc., and literature in general.
 By the end of the lesson, students will comprehend major issues with today’s food industry.
 Students will develop and support opinions that refer to necessary food knowledge.
Vocabulary To Know
o Impoverished- reduced to ______________, living in poverty.
o Exploiting- to use in an __________________ or __________________ way; to take advantage of someone
o Retrospect- in consideration of the __________________ or past events
o NonFiction- writing that is based on _______________
o Support- to uphold or defend as being correct; _______________________
o Evidence- __________________________ that proves or disproves an idea or concept
o Plain Folks Propaganda: the use of an everyday person or people to sell a product.
o EX:
Lunch Survey Hook
Write below what factors influence what you eat for lunch. Your response can be taken from the list on
the powerpoint, or you can use a different reason.
FOOD, INC. Chapter 1- Summary
Pre-Questions
 Do you consider your food and what is in it before you consume it?

What factors do you consider?

Do you think this mindset should change?
Summary Notes

___________________________ is the writer of many award-winning books that reveal the ______________
________________ in the food industry.

Food, Inc. essentially started as an investigation into ________________________ agriculture. It was
meant to be an __________________________ for ‘Atlantic Monthly.’

He wanted to look at the __________________________ of migrant workers…

However, it opened Schlosser’s eyes to the differences between what is seen in the
____________________ vs. what you see in the ____________________.

He was then asked to do another piece for ___________________ ________________, which ultimately
progressed into a book… Food, Inc.

Schlosser says that “although he called it “_____________ ______________ _______________” it was really
never about fast food. It was about this country- about what our food system reveals about our
society.”

Schlosser set out to expose _____________________ and corruption, but most of all, just to simply
understand the times we live in. AKA ______________________________________________________________!

Workers were very eager to talk about the growing issues and problems, but ____________________
were not!

Even after __________ years, changes are still not huge. There are things that have changed and
certain stores that have become more prevalent- Whole Foods, Fresh Market, ___________________
___________________, etc- but this by no means ______________ the issues that happen.

At the moment, about ______________ of the adult population in the US is overweight or obese… It
is truly a __________________ for public disaster.

Schlosser says that breaking the ________________ starts at home and talking about food as you
eat/cook.

It should then extend into public __________________ where children learn about _________________
and the real value of what is in our school.

Create health-care that ____________________

_________________ wages in the fields

Make healthy foods more readily _____________________.

Support family farmers

Remember it’s a huge task, and will take time and __________________________!

Many meat and dairy products come from _____________________ _______________.

What is most disgusting is that the facilities cannot process all the __________________... so animals
stand in it until it’s poured into pools and sprayed onto the ________________.

This leads to serious ___________________ problems!

Factory farms have two goals
a. Fat _______________________ quickly
b. ___________________________

________________________: They feed their animals antibiotics because it makes them grow faster
and prevents more _________________________. But over time, ________________________ becomes
resistant and the dosage must become higher.

Cows are sometimes fed the ‘_______________________ ________________.” Which is the nasty leftover
bits that people would never eat.
c. Roadkill, brains, _______________ ______________, intestines, etc.

Consumers are unprotected because ______________________ has lessened and rules are vague and
filled with loop holes.

Cows can be fed poultry litter, _________________, cattle protein, etc.

The ________________________ __________________________ Hormone is created in a lab and is injected
into cattle in order to make them grow faster and produce more ____________________.

This hormone has been linked to _________________ _________________, breast cancer, twin births, and
elevated ______________________ levels- which can cause diabetes.

Disease spreads so quickly in the dairy farms. There are just too many animals and too small a
space.

Many scientists even believe that the _________________ flu originated in a poultry factory.

Cows = urine and manure.

A diary farm with __________________ cows will produce as much poop as a city of
____________________ people!!!!

The manure is washed out of the confinement buildings, and into pools nearby.

The same pools are where growing _________________ drink their water and bathe…

These are not happy cows, pigs, or chickens…

Unhappy pigs are confined in _____________________ pens, with no bedding, soil, or hay.

They get so stressed and deprived, they will bite the ______________ off of other pigs.

To prevent this behavior, factory farm operators cut the pigs _________________ off at a young age.

Unhappy chickens stand in cages so tightly that each chicken gets the space of a size of
___________________ ________________. They do not graze or peck at the ground because there is no
room.

Therefore, they peck at each other.

Farmers cut off ____________________... this is extremely painful for the chickens and lead to serious
difficulties in eating (as you saw in the movie)!

Know where your _________________ comes from!!!!!!

Check out ____________________________ or farms that sell grass-fed beef and sustainably raised
meat.

Organic meat is also a good choice because they must meet different ________________________.

Look at the milk labels to make sure they are ____________________ free dairy products!
Questions for Food Inc. Chapter 1
Directions: Answer these questions IN COMPLETE SENTENCES.
1. Comprehension: How did Schlosser’s research of the food industry come about?
2. Comprehension: What does it mean when they say: “In a way, we’re not producing chickens,
we’re producing food.”
3. Comprehension: Even after 10 years, the changes are still mostly just…
4. Comprehension: What are the dangers of the meat we are eating now?
5. Critical Thinking Question: As consumers, do we have the right to know how the chickens we
eat are being raised? Do we want to know? Explain your answer.
6. How do you think farm animals should be treated? Why should they be treated this way?
7. Write in the question:
8. Application~ As portrayed by the film, consumers wanting faster, cheaper food has altered the
way chickens are raised. Can you think of parallel situations where consumers wanted certain
products or experiences, and industry responded to meet the demand?