Meaning: 'Discarded' means thrown away or no longer kept.

Wrong options:

• due: 'Due' is an adjective that indicates something is owed or expected, which does not fit the context of food being thrown away.
• equivalent: 'Equivalent' is an adjective that means equal in value or meaning, which does not describe the action of food being disposed of.
• charged: 'Charged' is a verb that implies an accusation or a financial obligation, which is unrelated to the context of food disposal.
• standards: 'Standards' is a noun referring to criteria or benchmarks, which does not fit as a verb or adjective in this context.
• locales: 'Locales' is a noun that refers to specific places, which does not relate to the action of discarding food.

Correct answer: standards

Explanation: The term 'standards' is a plural noun that refers to the criteria or benchmarks that consumers expect from food products. It fits grammatically as it serves as the object of the preposition 'meet,' indicating what the foods fail to satisfy.

Meaning: 'Standards' refers to the level of quality or attainment expected by consumers.

Wrong options:

• due: 'Due' is an adjective that does not fit as it does not refer to criteria or benchmarks.
• equivalent: 'Equivalent' is an adjective that means equal in value, which does not apply to the context of consumer expectations.
• charged: 'Charged' is a verb that implies an accusation or financial obligation, which does not relate to consumer expectations.
• discarded: 'Discarded' is a past participle that describes food that has been thrown away, not a standard or criterion.
• locales: 'Locales' is a noun that refers to specific places, which does not relate to the concept of standards.

Correct answer: equivalent

Explanation: The word 'equivalent' is an adjective that describes the amount of carbon dioxide emission as being equal to that of thousands of cars. It fits grammatically as it provides a comparative description of the emissions, maintaining the logical flow of the sentence.

Meaning: 'Equivalent' means equal in value, amount, or meaning.

Wrong options:

• due: 'Due' is an adjective that indicates something is owed or expected, which does not fit the context of comparing emissions.
• charged: 'Charged' is a verb that implies an accusation or financial obligation, which does not relate to the comparison of emissions.
• discarded: 'Discarded' is a past participle that describes food that has been thrown away, not a comparison of emissions.
• standards: 'Standards' is a noun referring to criteria, which does not fit as a description of emissions.
• locales: 'Locales' is a noun that refers to specific places, which does not relate to the context of emissions.