How has science done a disservice to people?

VIII. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the

correct answer to each of the questions

The food we eat seems to have profound effects on our health. Although science has made

enormous steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat.

Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of all human illnesses are related to diet and forty

percent of cancer is related to the diet as well., especially cancer of the colon. People of different

cultures are more prone to contract certain illnesses because of the characteristic foods they consume.

That food is related to illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, government researchers realized that

nitrates and nitrites (commonly used to preserve color in meat) as well as other food additives caused

cancer. Yet, these carcinogenic additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the

time to know which ingredients on the packaging labels of processed food are helpful or harmful.

The additives that we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to cattle and poultry,

and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cows.

Sometimes similar drugs are administered to animals not for medicinal purposes, but for financial

reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to obtain a higher price on the

market. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried repeatedly to control these

procedures, the practices continue.

A healthy diet is directly related to good health. Often we are unaware of detrimental substances we

ingest. Sometimes well-meaning farmers or others who do not realize the consequences add these

substances to food without our knowledge.

How has science done a disservice to people?

• A. Because of science, disease caused by contaminated food has been virtually eradicated.
• B. It caused a lack of information concerning the value of food.
• C. As a result of scientific intervention, some potentially harmful substances have been added to our food.
• D. The scientists have preserved the color of meats, but not of vegetables.