UPSC Prelims 2015 CSAT Paper II · Q5 of 74 Comprehension easy

Passage

Passage - 5 Foods travel more than the people who eat them. Grocery stores and supermarkets are loaded with preserved and processed foods. This, however, often leads to environmental threats, such as pollution generated by long distance food transportation and wastage of food during processing and transportation, destruction of rain forests, reduced nutritional content, increased demand for preservation and packaging. Food insecurity also increases as the produce comes from regions that are not feeding their own population properly.

With reference to the above passage, which of the following statements is/are true ? 1. Consuming regionally grown food and not depending on long travelled food is a part of eco-friendly behaviour. 2. Food processing industry puts a burden on our natural resources. Select the correct answer using the code given below :

  1. (a) 1 only
  2. (b) 2 only
  3. (c) Both 1 and 2 ✓ UPSC's answer
  4. (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Why the answer is (c)

• The passage states that long-distance food transportation generates pollution and leads to environmental threats, implying that avoiding such food is eco-friendly, which validates statement 1.

• It explicitly mentions that food processing results in wastage, increased demand for preservation and packaging, and contributes to environmental threats, confirming that the industry burdens natural resources, which validates statement 2.

• Since both statements are directly supported by the text regarding the negative environmental impacts of long-distance transport and processing, both are true.

• Therefore, the option stating that both 1 and 2 are correct is the right answer.

Why the other options are wrong

(a) 1 only
This option is incorrect because statement 2 is also true, as the passage links food processing to wastage and increased resource demand.
(b) 2 only
This option is incorrect because statement 1 is also true, as the passage identifies long-distance food transportation as a source of pollution and environmental threat.
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
This option is incorrect because both statements are explicitly supported by the passage's discussion on environmental threats from transportation and processing.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2015, held on 23 August 2015. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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