Challenges
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Question 2: Scarcity is when there is not enough of something to meet people's needs and wants. Scarcity can happen when there is not enough space, when prices are high or when there aren't enough people or resources to meet a person or family's needs. |
Learn from these slides
Look at the slides below to learn more about scarcity.
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Read and think! Read the two articles below. Then you will make a chart with three columns. In the first, you will write one of the challenges you read about, in the second, what caused it, and in the third, what effect this challenge will have on people. |
Poor People Cannot Find Fresh and Healthy Food
| Poor People Cannot Find Fresh and Healthy Food |  |
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Poor people in urban communities have a hard time finding fresh, healthy food. There are few grocery stores in these neighborhoods. What is worse, the food is often unsafe. In cities, the poor mostly shop at small, corner stores. Recently, scientists checked the food in corner stores. What they found was that the food was often rotten and full of germs. Eating this food could make people sick. Jennifer Quinland is a food scientist. Her team visited many corner stores. They studied milk, eggs and vegetables. They also checked lunch meats and sandwiches. They found a lot of germs. Bad food doesn't just make poor people sick. It also wastes their money. If food goes bad, you have to throw it out. This often happens with milk. Milk that gets warm goes bad faster. Customers do not know it is bad until they open it. Then they have to throw it away. It is like throwing money away. Quinlan said that poor people should try to get fresh food. But sometimes the food is rotten. Fresh fruits and vegetables go bad quickly. Quinlan said that frozen food is a safe choice. People can also buy canned and dried food. These foods last longer. But sometimes urban stores do not have frozen food. And sometimes people cannot afford canned and dried food. The shortage of fresh, healthy food continues to be a challenge in urban communities. Many people are working to solve this problem. Original version by the Philadelphia Inquirer, adapted by Newsela, del Villar and Rowell
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Farming Problems in California
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Farming Problems in California |
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Farming Problems in California California is very dry right now. Little rain has fallen there for a long time. It is a problem for California's farmers. California grows more fruits and vegetables than any other state. Farming takes a lot of water. Now farmers have to change the way they grow their crops. Last year, California farmers stopped using some of their land. They were told not to use it to save water. Now scientists say farmers might have to set aside even more land. Dry weather is normal in California. But it has gone a long time with no rain. Many people want to help the farmers. Richard Howitt, who teaches at the University of California, wants to help, too. He says farmers should grow different kinds of crops. When dry weather hits, the crops that need the most water could die. The plants that do not need much water would survive. Original version by the Scripps National Desk, adapted by Newsela (newsela.com), del Villar and Rowell |
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