General Awareness · Environmental Studies

Food Systems and Society

3,957 Questions

Food systems and society encompass the production, distribution, and consumption of food, including its cultural and safety aspects. This topic covers food safety regulations, sustainable agriculture, and culinary heritage. These concepts are useful for general awareness preparation in state PSC and civil services examinations.

Sustainable agriculture practicesFood safety standardsCulinary heritage and identityFood nutrition labelsFood industry innovationChemical food preservatives

Food Systems and Society Questions

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the option that best captures the essence of the text.

With the public's appetite for low carbohydrate food products on the rise, what is the right strategy for a baker or a spaghetti maker these days: Buck the trend or join in the feast? Marketing experts at Wharton say the answer will depend on what manufacturers of bread, pastries, pasta and other high carbohydrate foods think about the future of the low carbohydrate craze. If they feel it's a temporary fad, then it's smart not to spend a lot of money launching a low carbohydrate product line to supplement their existing high carbohydrate offerings. But if they feel that the low carbohydrate trend is permanent, they should go ahead and produce low carbohydrate alternatives. What's clear is that where finicky consumers and diet fads are concerned, there are no easy answers.

  1. Consumers are increasingly going for low carbohydrate food products nowadays. The marketing experts at Wharton feel that high carbohydrate food manufacturers must make the difficult decision to adapt to the market trends, depending on whether they feel the current trend is permanent or just a temporary diet fat.

  2. Market trends in the food industry are changing from high carbohydrate to low carbohydrate preferences. The manufactured product needs to change too.

  3. Change is an ongoing process in any market. Marketing experts at Wharton feel that this time the manufacturers of high carbohydrate food products are going to face a tough time deciding whether to come out with new low carbohydrate food products or ignore the current trend.

  4. According to the marketing experts at Wharton, the manufacturers of high carbohydrate products need to consider the consumers' rising preference for low carbohydrate food products. They need to study the consumer choices and then decide whether to come out with new low carbohydrate products or to ignore the new fad.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

 The element of uncertainity is apparent in option 1.

Multiple choice

To celebrate high school graduation, Pedro suggested that the group dine at Silva Steak House, the restaurant that is famous for the mouth-watering varieties of steak. Objecting to the same, Omar said “It is not the best hangout to visit especially if we have lot of vegetarian people in the group”.

What point is Omar trying to make?

  1. Silva Steak House is not so well known for vegetarian delicacies.

  2. Many of the vegetarians might not prefer going to Silva Steak House.

  3. Silva Steak House, though famous, is quite expensive and vegetarians in particular will prefer going to a cheaper restaurant.

  4. Veggies are not served in Silva Steak House.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

There would be no point of vegetarians going to Silva Steak House if they aren't served there.

Multiple choice

Most of the schools, public or private, have turned school canteens into fast food joints. This is despite the fact that fast foods have been known to cause obesity and related problems among school children. Dieticians and child health specialists are alarmed at the trend, but the school administrations have so far turned a deaf ear to their advice.

Which of the following can best be a justification for the refusal of school administrations to heed the advice?

  1. In the absence of fast foods, children might not visit school canteens.

  2. Fast foods are easy to make, easy to serve and light on pocket.

  3. The schools can wean away the children gradually first by providing better quality, then by introducing subtle changes.

  4. All the schools have day scholars who like to go home for proper meals.

  5. The school canteens also serve health drinks.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Schools are trying to slowly wean children off fast foods, and give them better quality fast foods in the mean time.

Multiple choice

I. Several persons who state that they are chefs can not actually be so described. II. Their main source of income is not from cooking at all.

The statement II above makes the assumption that

  1. several persons who enjoy cooking consider themselves as chefs

  2. chefs have a varied, vast and diverse repertoire

  3. professional chefs' take home incomes are high

  4. only a person who derives the major portion of his income from cooking can be considered a chief

  5. several chefs change their vocations to others that are more lucrative

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The argument is simple: people who claim to be chefs are not really so since cooking is not their main source of earning. Only this option logically combines the two premises of cooking and earning.

Multiple choice

Directions: Analyse the statements given and choose an appropriate answer for the question that follows:

Result of a survey showed that vegetarianism is gaining popularity worldwide at a pace faster than that in the previous decade. In the east, many people have stopped visiting restaurants that specialise in meat dishes. The reduced number of customers and the overall publicity of vegetarianism resulted in huge losses for several restaurants that were forced to close their business. The restaurants in the remaining part of the world may also go out of business pretty soon.

Which of the following is a necessary assumption of the above argument?

  1. Non-vegetarian restaurants do not serve quality vegetarian dishes.

  2. The number of converts to vegetarianism is on the up all over the world, and not just in some regions.

  3. Socio–economic conditions, food preferences and climatic factors are more or less similar in all parts of the world.

  4. Disposable income of many families has been greatly reduced due to the current global recession.

  5. The customer dissatisfaction is not temporary.

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The conclusion is based upon the premise that reduced clientele and overall publicity have resulted in several restaurants closing down. Only if socio-economic, climatic and food preferences all over the world point towards benefits of vegetarianism, will the trend become global. Option (3) states this assumption that the other parameters are also the same.

Multiple choice

Recently, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report and notes stated that there were significant disruptions in serving cooked meals in 17 states that were test-checked. Which of the following is/are the correct reasons?

  1. Shortage or delay in receipt of foodgrains

  2. Non-availability of funds

  3. Absence of cooks

  4. All of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The CAG report on the Mid-Day Meal scheme identified multiple systemic failures, including supply chain issues, funding delays, and infrastructure gaps like the lack of cooks.

Multiple choice

The satisfaction quotient of a meal is decided by an approximation of the ratio of its taste to its price, keeping the quantity constant. The higher the satisfaction quotient of a meal, the better will be the competitive position of restaurant providing it. Therefore, either increasing the taste or lowering the price of a meal will increase the possibility that patrons will select the restaurant serving the meal than a competing one. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn above?

  1. It is possible to increase both the taste and the price of a meal without affecting its competitive position.

  2. For certain classes of patrons, higher-priced meals of some restaurants are preferable to the lower-priced ones.

  3. Competing restaurants often try to appeal to different classes of patrons.

  4. The competitive position of a restaurant can be affected by such factors as ambience and word of mouth.

  5. Patrons’ perception of the satisfaction quotient of a meal is based on the actual satisfaction derived from the meal.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The question says that if the taste of a meal is enhanced, patrons will more likely come to the restaurant providing it. So, it's not enough just to raise the taste, patrons also need to experience the better taste. Option (5) is conveying this more or less. Hence option (5) is correct.

Multiple choice

Even though the summer is almost here, the prices of vegetables for retail consumers are quite low this year and likely to stay low. Therefore, unless the summer is especially harsh, the price of pulses for retail consumers is also likely to remain low.

Which of the following, if true, provides the most support for the conclusion above?

  1. A number of weather forecasters predict a mild summer.

  2. The retail consumers who consume pulses the most can quickly and cheaply switch to using vegetables instead.

  3. The sources of supply for both vegetables and pulses are unlikely to be affected by summer weather.

  4. The total consumption of pulses by retail consumers is not seriously affected by the weather.

  5. Vegetable supplies are more likely to be affected by a harsh summer than pulse supplies.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The retail prices of vegetables are low and are likely to stay there. If this be the case then the price of pulses which would be counted as a substitute of the vegetables cannot rise too much only when consumers have the flexibility to switch to the other option as and when they want. This is what option (2) states. Hence (2)

Multiple choice

Shark fin soup is a very expensive and popular delicacy in Chinese cuisine. It is prepared from the fins of sharks that are trapped, drugged to remove the fins and then returned to the ocean. These sharks are often eaten up by other sharks, thus greatly depleting their numbers. It follows that this practice will inevitably lead to the extinction of sharks.

Which of the following most weakens the above argument?

  1. Shark fin soup is usually the most expensive dish on the menu and is becoming cost prohibitive.

  2. Most governments are considering proposals to ban the trapping of sharks.

  3. Restaurants that offer shark fin soup on their menu are severely penalized.

  4. Several countries now have fish farms, both man-made and natural, where sharks are allowed to breed and multiply.

  5. More and more people are becoming aware of the ecological damage resulting from the extinction of sharks.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

4: Correct; (4) presents a situation that allows sharks to multiply even in their natural habitat and thus weakens and negates the conclusion that the sharks will become extinct.

Multiple choice

Health activists protested, seeking closure of the newly opened EatMore chain of restaurants across the nation. It was found that the restaurants use a banned preservative to increase the shelf life of food. The substance is known for causing short term memory loss in people especially teenagers. In response to the show-cause notice served, the owner has replied that the substance is widely used in majority of restaurants and therefore is not worth revolting. The activists have decided to suspend their protest and the restaurant is once again gaining popularity.

Which of the following factors has not been considered by the health activists before suspending the protests?

  1. The Drug Controller has not taken the ingredient off the list of banned substances.

  2. Widespread usage doesn't render the ingredient innocuous.

  3. The low cost of the ingredient makes it the best preservative available across the counters.

  4. The shelf life of food has much to do with the health of people who consume it.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The fact that others have been committing the same offence as I, does not make me innocent. Widespread usage of the chemical doesn't make it safe to consume. Side-effects may or may not be serious.

Multiple choice

Which among the following is not the function of feed given to broilers?

  1. To improve meat yield.

  2. To increase feed efficiency.

  3. To improve the quality of eggs.

  4. To increase growth rate.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Broilers are raised for meat production and not for egg production. Hence, feed given to broilers is not designed to improve the quality of eggs but to improve the traits which help in better meat production. 

Multiple choice

India has experienced persistent and high food inflation in the recent past. What could be the reasons?

  1. Due to a gradual switchover to the cultivation of commercial crops, the area under the cultivation of food grains has steadily decreased in the last five years by about 30%.
  2. As a consequence of increasing incomes, the consumption patterns of the people have undergone a significant change.
  3. The food supply chain has structural constraints.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. Only 1 and 2

  2. Only 2 and 3

  3. Only 1 and 3

  4. All 1, 2 and 3
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The main causes of food inflation are: � Higher Food Prices worldwide � Lower agricultural growth in India compared to the much faster GDP growth � Rising percentage of Middle Class in India which is demanding increasing quantities of better quality food products � High general Inflation � Inefficiency in the Food Supply Chain � Dependence of Indian Agriculture on Monsoon

Multiple choice

With what purpose is the Government of India promoting the concept of “Mega Food Parks”?

  1. To provide good infrastructure facilities for the food processing industry.
  2. To increase the processing of perishable items and reduce wastage.
  3. To provide emerging and eco-friendly food processing technologies to entrepreneurs.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

  1. 1 only

  2. 1 and 2 only

  3. 2 and 3 only

  4. 1, 2 and 3
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Mega food park scheme aims at facilitating achievement of the Vision 2015 of Ministry to raise: Processing of perishables in the country from the existing 6% to 20%, Value addition from 20% to 35%, Share in global food trade from 1.5% to 3% by the year 2015. Core Objectives include: • Creation of enabling infrastructure/facilities and requisite backward linkages to enable entrepreneurs to set up large number of food processing units • Increasing the level of food processing thus reducing wastages and ensuring value addition • Increasing returns for all stakeholders including farmers/producers of the region.