Lesson: What is organic food?

Conversation

Answer the following questions. You might be asked to write them down or answer them out-loud.

1. How concerned are you when choosing a meal to eat?
2. Do you believe it's possible to only eat organic food? Why?
3. In the world we live today, is it possible to think we'll be able to eat well and healthy as we did in the past? Why?
4. Do you usually read the labels of the foods before purchasing them? Does it influence your decisions?
5. Do you think these labels have the right information? How important are they?
6. Do you think about color when you are preparing a meal?
7. How many calories do most people need every day?
8. Do you know the nutritional value of the things you eat daily?
9. Do you have any food allergies/intolerance?
10. How often do you eat unhealthy foods?

Vocabulary

Look at the vocabulary below. Take time to explore the links for their definitions in English and their translations to Portuguese. When you are done, make a sentence with each word. Ask your teacher if you should write them down or say them out loud.

DT   something

DT   quick

DT   conscious

DT   regular

DT   instead

DT   stuff

DT   organic

DT   healthy

DT   ingredients

DT   chemicals

DT   pesticides

DT   sewage

DT   expose

DT   sterilize

DT   additives

DT   amount

DT   hormone

DT   pump

DT   notice

DT   nutritious

DT   package

DT   pronounce

DT   track

Video

Watch the following video but DON'T read the transcript yet.

After watching the video do this listening exercise.

Reading practice

Read the following transcript then do the associated reading comprehension exercise.

ExpandTranscript:

So you're at the store and you're looking for something quick and easy to eat. But you're also trying to be health conscious. So, instead of the regular cheesy mac, you go for the organic stuff. Instead of regular chicken nuggets you grab some organic chicken nuggets, then top it off with some organic sandwich cookies. Hmmm, cookies. It's all organic, so it's good for you, right? Well, not always. You see, while forty-five percent of Americans think the organic label means healthy or good, organic really has nothing to do with how nutritious the food is for you. Organic really just defines how the ingredients were created, prepared or raised. Let me explain. Organic means that there aren't any genetically modified ingredients. Also, organic means that no chemicals were used to kill bugs and weeds and that all pesticides are natural instead of synthetic. And, organic means nothing was fertilized with sewage sludge - yeah sewage sludge. Organic also means that nothing was exposed to radiation which some manufacturers do to sterilize food and that no industrial solvents were used to clean things up. Also, organic means there can be no chemical food additives that some foods have to make them stay fresh for an unnatural amount of time. And, if it's meat that there's no routine use of antibiotics or hormones pumped into the animals. And all this stuff is really important, but, notice, organic doesn't necessarily mean that the ingredients are nutritious. So, if you care about healthy foods, it’s more important to just eat whole foods, mostly fruits and vegetables, and avoid package like substances, and yeah, that includes organic cheesy and mac. And here is a really big tip, if you can pronounce all the ingredients in the package you're holding, then you're on the right track.

Writing practice

Write a couple of paragraphs describing your diet. What things should you avoid eating? What things do you love to eat? Etc. Make sure to use words you learned from the text and try to make it as long as you can.

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