UPSC Prelims 2018 · CSAT

Question 78: Reading Comprehension

Passage beginning “The quest for cheap and plentiful…” — Passage—1 · as printed by UPSC

What is the most rational and crucial message given by the passage?

aMass production of meat through industrial farming is cheap and is suitable for providing protein nutrition to poor countries.

bMeat-producing industry violates the laws against cruelty to animals.

cMass production of meat through industrial farming is undesirable and should be stopped immediately.

dEnvironmental cost of meat production is unsustainable when it is produced through industrial farming.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (d).

The passage describes factory farming that squeezes animals into cruel conditions, links it to pandemics such as avian flu, and stresses how water-hungry meat is: about 15,000 litres per kilogram, against a few thousand for rice or eggs and a few hundred for potatoes. The crucial message is that meat produced through industrial farming carries an environmental cost that cannot be sustained. Options saying it suits poor countries or must be stopped at once do not match the passage.

Why each option is right or wrong

(a) Calls it cheap and suitable, but the passage stresses its cruelty and water cost.
(b) Violation of laws is never mentioned.
(c) An immediate stop is a prescription the passage does not make.
(d) Correct: the water-heavy, factory-farmed meat cost is unsustainable.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2018, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.