Name: WEEK 15

Compare and Contrast DAY 1

READ THE PASSAGE As you read the passage, pay attention to how eating habits from the 1930s and
today are alike and different.

The Way We Eat

During the era known as the Great Depression, which lasted from 1929 until the beginning of World
War II in 1939, many people in the United States had very little money. Most people ate at home, and they
often made do without much meat in their meals. Chicken, for example, was hard for most people to afford.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, during the 1930s, the average person ate about 10
pounds of chicken per year. Now, the average person eats 61 pounds of chicken per year.
Family meals often lacked meat or poultry in the 1930s, and they contained more vegetables than
they do today. Potatoes were very popular during the Great Depression, since a person could buy 100
pounds of potatoes for just one dollar. Many people had vegetable gardens so they could raise their own
food. Farmers tended to eat better than people in cities because they had access to fresh milk and eggs.
Since sugar was cheap, people often baked on a daily basis. In fact, people in the 1930s ate more sugar
than in any decade before or after the Great Depression.
Today, people in the United States eat more in general than their counterparts from the past. Fast
food, which did not exist as an industry in the 1930s, supplies many people with inexpensive and
convenient meals that tend to be high in calories, fat, and salt. While obesity is a growing health problem
in the United States, with 30% of adults said to be obese, more information on nutrition and fitness is
available today than at any other time in the past. Perhaps as people learn more about the relationship
between foods and health, they will take steps to change their diets.

SKILL PRACTICE Read each question. Fill in the bubble next to the correct answer.
1. Compared to the 1930s, Americans today eat 3. According to the passage, how were farmers
more . different from city dwellers in the 1930s?
 vegetables  Farmers ate better than people in cities did.
 chicken  City dwellers depended more on fast food for
their meals.
 sugar
 More farmers than city dwellers were obese.
 bread
 City dwellers ate more sugar than farmers did.
2. One reason for the difference in people’s diets in
the 1930s and today is that . 4. Which of these affected food choices both in the
 people drank more soda in the 1930s 1930s and today?
 nutritional information is no longer  convenience
available today  affordability
 obesity was a problem in the 1930s  healthfulness
 fast food is popular today  availability

STRATEGY PRACTICE What kinds of food options are available in your community? How could they be
improved?

© Evan-Moor Corp. • EMC 3458 • Daily Reading Comprehension 95

3458.indb 95 10/31/12 7:34 AM