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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. ________, Pollan says, is the theme which unifies the questions being raised in agricultural biotechnology.
(a) Appeal.
(b) Uncertainty.
(c) Truth.
(d) Effectiveness.

2. According to the book, drugs that alter the user's perception of time and space are taboo because they disrupt the _______.
(a) Social order.
(b) Political order.
(c) Religious order.
(d) Verbal order.

3. Pollan suggests that on a biochemical level, psychoactive plants affect the brain much the way that the following activities except ______ affect it.
(a) Exercise.
(b) Meditation.
(c) Fasting.
(d) Cold showers.

4. What kind of storm took place in December of 1999, causing the gardens of Versailles to be ruined?
(a) Flood.
(b) Windstorm.
(c) Snow storm.
(d) Tornado.

5. _______ became a new capital for marijuana cultivation during the American drug war of the nineties.
(a) Berlin.
(b) Amsterdam.
(c) San Francisco.
(d) Paris.

Short Answer Questions

1. Darwin in his original book about the origin of species was adamant that man does not introduce or produce _____________.

2. The reasons why potatoes did not become popular in Europe at first was because they were thought to cause _________ and immorality.

3. Some of the farmers who grow potatoes are happy with Monsanto since this means they can skip a few _________, which saves them money.

4. ____________ were the ones who seized land from the Irish, causing them to have meager plots of arable land on which to grow.

5. According to the book, cannabis is now America's leading _______ with sinsemilla selling for upwards of $500 an ounce.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does genetic engineering promise to do for the crops which are growing with these modifications?

2. What causes the Great Potato Famine and the many deaths over the area of Europe?

3. How does one begin to grow potatoes, according to Pollan in the book?

4. What happens to the animal in the wild who decides to eat hallucinogens and thus takes in the toxins of these plants?

5. What has been the recurrent theme about plants which are forbidden by others? What are they supposed to provide?

6. What is the rationale that Pollan gives for growing pot as he decides to do when it is not as much of a legal issue?

7. What are some of the intoxicants and ingredients for intoxicants which Pollan admits to growing in his garden now?

8. What does Pollan begin to realize after the powerful storm that ruined a part of the famous gardens of Versailles?

9. What was going on at the time of Pollan's visit to Amsterdam for research for this book?

10. How does Heath avoid the purchases of many inputs on his farm so that he can save money?

(see the answer keys)

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