Culinary Wellness Exam Questions and Answers Latest Update Graded A+
Communicate the importance of and strategies for sourcing the best available quality, local and
sustainable food as determined by current resources. - Answers -Increased nutrient value: food is more
nutrient-dense when grown locally and picked when ripe vs. shipped out of state/country and picked
when unripe or preserved in cold storage
-Increased social connection: we lose connection with others when we source convenience food that is
disconnected from farmers/growers, takes no time to prepare and is not shared among others
-Less damage to the planet: we reduce our carbon footprint when we support local and small farms who
are practicing sustainable farming and regenerative agriculture vs. processed foods which support big
business and contribute to pollution and health hazards
Decipher and describe food industry language and product marketing strategy - Answers -Big Food sells
customers the idea they wish to support while buying unsustainably produced and often unhealthy
foods
-Products are often marketed towards kids, women and minorities
-Unregulated terms often misused: artisan, all-natural, local/locally produced, natural flavor/natural
flavorings, superfood, spices, made with real fruit, no artificial ingredients etc.
Monocultures and Impacts - Answers -mass production of any one type of crop over a single area
-planted closely together
-swimming in chemicals-- fertilizers, fungicides, pesticides, GMOs
-impact:
=> limited nutrient uptake
=> loss of vitality
=> extreme toxicity
Regulated, Farmer's Market & Health Food Labels - Answers -CERTIFIED BIODYNAMIC: cultivation of
diverse ecosystems of plants and animals in a holistic farming practice; astronomical sowing, planting
and harvesting schedules ("biodynamic" alone is an unregulated term)
-CERTIFIED NATURALLY GROWN (CNG): 3rd party certification for small-scale farmers as alternative to
organic certification; grassroots-- for farmers by farmers; must adhere to or exceed Nat'l Organic
Program (NOP)
-CERTIFIED ORGANIC/ ORGANICALLY GROWN: see other card
-TRANISTIONAL: crops in a 3 year waiting period with NOP for organic certification
, -COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE (CSA): shares of harvest purchased in advance in exchange for
consistent local produce
-DRY-FARMED: no irrigation; relies on stored water in soil (pulses, grains, sunflowers, grapes)
-HEIRLOOM: plant varieties at least 50 years old; selectively bred for unique traits (color, appearance,
flavors, microclimates); help promote diversity and disease resilience
-LOCAL: grown within 50-100 miles of selling point
-NON-GMO/ GMO FREE/ NON-GMO VERIFIED: produced without genetic modification (most foods);
latter label is audited & certified
Certified Organic/ Organically Grown - Answers -Grown and processed in accordance with standards of
National Organic Program (NOP)
-Requires growing foods without synthetic agricultural inputs such as synthetic fertilizers, fungicides,
pesticides, insecticides or food additives
-Permits naturally derived agricultural inputs with low/no human toxicity
-Fields must be free of synthetic inputs for 3 years before crops can be certified
-less than $5000 annually = organically grown vs. certified organic
Unregulated Food Labels - Answers -ALL-NATURAL: no artificial or synthetic ingredients; meaningless as
disregards food production methods such as use of pesticides, fungicides, irradiation, pasteurization,
chemical preservatives, GMOs; only concerned with listed ingredients
-ARTIFICIAL FLAVORINGS/ FLAVORINGS: food additive to enhance palatability; synthetic, often from
petroleum
-"NO ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS OR COLORS": naturally derived, but not necessarily wholesome
-GENETICALLY MODIFIED/ GENETICALLY ENGINEERED/ BIOENGINEERED/ GMO: crops with
technologically altered gene structure for desired results; herbicide resistance, prolonged shelf life,
resistance to frost or browning; common: soybeans, corn, cotton, canola, papaya
-LOCAL/LOCALLY PRODUCED: may be trucked in from out of state; may have been produced locally, but
processed out of state and shipped back; stores may feature local farmers who may only contribute
small number of items; restaurants often misuse this term
-NATURAL FLAVOR/ NATURAL FLAVORINGS: extracted flavoring from spice, fruit, vegetable or yeast;
typically highly refined; some have high glutamic acid (like MSG); some are benign, like peppermint oil
-SPICES: come from seed, fruit, root or bark of plants; must be in whole form (not extracts or essential
oils etc.); some only put spices if proprietary blend or too long to fit (problem for people with allergies)
