Part 1-
1. Analyze the impact of spices on trade, geography and the spread of religion.
2. Describe the role that spices played with the plague.
3. Explain how spices influenced European exploration and colonial empires, giving specific examples from the book.
a. Explain the role that botany played in the search for new plants.
b. Summarize the spread of sugar cane and its role in the world events.
c. Trace the role of the potato in society and its impact on population size, government and economic policies.
d. Discuss the impact of bio-fuels on farming and food costs as well as on the environment.
Part 2- FOOD AS A WEAPON
1. Describe the impact of food on the American Revolution and the French Army under Napoleon.
2. Analyze the role of food in the American Civil War up through World War II.
3. Analyze the impact of the Berlin Airlift on Cold War politics.
4. Compare the famines in the Soviet controlled Ukraine in the 1930s and in China during the "Great Leap Forward." How did the famine in the Ukraine influence the eventual fall of the Soviet Union in 1991?
5. Explain how food has been and continues to be a way to make a political statement.
Part 3- FOOD, POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT
1. Explain the importance of Nitrogen and Ammonia to agriculture.
2. Explain how and why "dwarf" varieties became so popular and productive.
3. What is the "Green Revolution"?
4. Analyze the impact of the Green Revolution on world economies and population.
5. Describe the problems with the Green Revolution. How might a second Green Revolution improve on those problems?
6. Summarize the Epilogue.
Part 4- OVERALL EVALUATION
1. What do you think of Standage's approach to history? Is this a useful way to think about history? What other approaches might one take?
2. Did you like this book? Why or why not?