The Great Food Myth:Answers to quiz on foods from the rainforest
The Great Food Myth:
Answers to quiz on foods from the rainforest
Why do foods from the rainforest matter?
| circle yes or no | Which plants originally came from
the rainforest? | Where do you think this plant came from? | Click here for more info... |
| yes | cinnamon, black pepper, cloves | rainforest | 1 |
| yes | oranges, bananas, avocados | rainforest | 2 |
| yes | macadamia nut | Queensland rainforest | 3 |
| no | potato | Andes Mountains, Peru | 4 |
| no | corn, squash | America | 5 |
| no | tomato | South America | 6 |
| yes | peanuts, yams, rice | rainforest | 7 |
1. Right! Cinnamon, pepper, and cloves all originally came from the rainforest. Columbus was interested in these and other spices when he proposed a voyage of exploration to King Ferdinand. Spices were very valuable, and whoever knew where to get them became rich and powerful. The plan was to find a route to the countries where spices were grown. That way, Europeans wouldn't have to pay the high tax imposed by the Turks, who controlled the flow of spices into Europe. To Top
2. Right! Oranges, bananas and avocados all originally came from the rain forest. Cassowaries, the large flightless bird being studied by the School for Field Studies' student researchers, eats the fruit of over 70 trees in the Australian rain forest, and later passes the seed. This helps the fruit trees disperse their seeds. To Top
3. Right! Macadamian nuts are the fruit of a tree native to the Australian rain
forest in Queensland (the Macadamia ternfolia tree.) They are also known as
Queensland nuts. Today, Hawaii is the leading grower of macadamia nuts.
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4.No, potatoes originally came come from the Andes Mountains in Peru.
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5. No, corn and squash are native to America. Native Americans knew that it was important to eat corn along with fish, beans and green peppers (the original recipe for succotash) in order to get the protein they needed. To Top
6. No, Tomatoes originated in South America--the word tomato comes from
the Aztec word tomatl. As popular as tomatoes are today in America, there was
a time when Americans refused to eat them, believing they were poisonous. As
recently as the mid-1800s, a New Jersey Governor had to eat a basketful of
tomatoes on the courthouse steps of Salem, N.J. to prove they weren't fatal!
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7. Right! Peanuts yams, and rice originally came from the rain forest. Rice is
one of oldest cultivated crops. It is the main source of food for half the
population of the earth. Many thousands of kinds of rice exist, in different sizes
and colors, including blue, pink, yellow, purple and striped.
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