Official Explanation:Michael: Certain business interests are lobbying lawmakers to disallow the use of the word “meat” in the sale of lab-grown meat, which is food that derives from animal cells, but does not involve the raising of an actual animal. Not allowing the word to be used, however, would be unfair to the manufacturer and to the consumer. Meat is simply food that, in some sense, comes from animal parts, and therefore ___________.
Which option best completes the passage? A. certain business interests are only concerned with protecting their own sales.B. it does not matter if the parts existed as cells or as part of a full-grown creature.C. there is no law that specifies that lab-grown meat should not be sold to consumers.
D. disallowing the use of the word “meat” to describe lab-grown meat could only be done by a change in existing laws.
E. the concerns of the consumers should be the most important when lawmakers decide whether to disallow the use of the word “meat” in the sale of any product.Question Type: Complete the Passage
Boil It Down: People are lobbying to stop lab-grown meat as being called ‘meat’ because it does not involve raising an animal. This viewpoint is wrong. Meat is food which comes from animal parts, therefore: _____________
Goal: Find the option that most logically completes the passage and gives us a solid conclusion. Analysis:Fill in the Blank questions require an absolute understanding of the prompt. We do not know the answer until we can correctly paraphrase what the author is trying to argue.
In a sense, this question is a lot closer to a reading comprehension question than a logical reasoning one. What, then, is the point the author is trying to make? He already makes a conclusion and we should take note of that: “Not allowing [lab-grown meat to be called meat], however, would be unfair to the manufacturer and to the consumer.” The author clearly thinks that lab-grown meat should be able to be called meat. This is what the author is trying to prove, so our answer should say something that helps support this conclusion. My prediction is a sentence which says something like, “lab-grown meat, which is grown from animal parts, is correctly called ‘meat.’”
With a prediction in hand, let's look at the answer choices.
A. certain business interests are only concerned with protecting their own sales.
The author would agree with this statement, but does this fill in the blank? I don’t think so. The author is trying to prove that lab-grown meat should be called meat. Does it make sense for the sentence to progress as “Meat is food that comes from animal parts, and therefore certain business interests are only concerned with protected their own sales?” That just sounds off point, but moreover, it does not go to the point. This answer choice is giving a reason why others don’t want to call it meat, but our conclusion needs to prove why it should be called meat.B. it does not matter if the parts existed as cells or as part of a full-grown creature.
This is a good answer choice. “Meat is food that comes from animal parts, and therefore it does not matter if the parts existed as cells or as part of a full-grown creature.” If this is true, then it would support the author’s ultimate conclusion that lab-grown meat should still be called meat. This is the correct choice.C. there is no law that specifies that lab-grown meat should not be sold to consumers.
This answer would be far too off-topic. I know I’m repeating myself significantly here but it’s important to always asked yourself what the author is trying to prove. Here, the author wants to prove that lab-grown meat should be called meat. Does this prove that? No. Who cares what the law says about selling it to people in general, we just care about what the label is allowed to say. I’m allowed to sell boxes of cereal to the public, but I’m not allowed to slap a “100% USDA approved beef” on it.D. disallowing the use of the word “meat” to describe lab-grown meat could only be done by a change in existing laws.
I was very much a fan of this answer choice until the end. It can only be done through a change in existing laws? Where does come from? The author never really mentions whether it can only be done through laws. Is that the conclusion we are drawing here? Again, question if this even makes sense in context. Write it out. “Meat is simply food that, in some sense, comes from animal parts, and therefore disallowing the use of the word meat can only be done through a change in the laws.” The last part of that sentence makes little sense with the first half. What’s the connection between meat being food from animal parts and only being able to change the definition through laws? This answer choice is incorrect.E. the concerns of the consumers should be the most important when lawmakers decide whether to disallow the use of the word “meat” in the sale of any product.
The author of the prompt does not care at all what consumers think. The author is making more of a theoretical argument about why it would be unfair – in general – to not call lab-grown meat ‘meat.’ Even if all consumers think lab-grown meat should not be called meat, I believe the author would still think it should be called meat. Frankly, what consumers here think is irrelevant. Meat is food that comes from animal parts. Lab-grown meat is technically made of animal parts. Therefore lab-grown meat should be called meat. There is no place for the thoughts of consumers in this argument.Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.