美国国家公共电台 NPR--Tomato shortages hit British stores. Is Brexit to blame?

Tomato shortages hit British stores. Is Brexit to blame?

Transcript¹

Many British supermarkets are limiting sales of some fruits and vegetables as the U.K. is facing a shortage — attributed to a combination of weather, energy prices and trade politics.

British stores are experiencing shortages of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other vegetables (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP) (Photo by CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images)

CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The United Kingdom is light on tomatoes. Cucumbers, bell peppers, broccoli² and other popular produce items are also in short supply. So why are the shelves so empty? As NPR's Stacey Vanek Smith reports, it's a combination of weird³ weather, energy prices and also a little dash of trade politics.

STACEY VANEK SMITH, BYLINE⁴: It's not easy to find a tomato in the U.K. right now. And if you do, you'd better savor⁵ it because supermarkets are placing strict limits on the number that customers can buy.

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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: Now, you'll struggle to buy tomatoes in the U.K. and some other parts of Europe. Some supermarkets are rationing⁶ them.

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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: Across the country, fruit and veg aisles⁷ are increasingly bare. Tesco has joined Aldi, Asda and Morrisons in introducing rationing.

VANEK SMITH: Tim Harford is an economist⁸ and host of the podcast "Cautionary Tales." He and his family live in Oxford⁹. And they eat a lot of tomatoes. So when he heard news about shortages, he rushed to the grocery store.

TIM HARFORD: There's this whole shelf that normally has crates¹⁰ and crates of different kinds of tomatoes. And there were just three packs left. They're almost out of tomatoes. Or should I say tomatoes? Wait, let's not get into that.

VANEK SMITH: (Laughter) Over the last few years, this has been a familiar story. The pandemic created supply chain crises and shortages all across the globe. Mostly, those have been resolved. So what is going on with tomatoes?

HARFORD: There's a whole bunch of things going on.

VANEK SMITH: The main issue, says Harford, was a bad harvest in Spain and Morocco, where Europe and the U.K. get a lot of their winter produce. There was a late frost that killed a lot of the crops. In the U.S., most of our winter vegetables come from Chile, Mexico and California. So our salads are safe for now. The second issue, the war in Ukraine. It's caused energy prices in Europe to spike¹¹. So growing tomatoes in greenhouses, as they do in the U.K. and the Netherlands, has gotten so expensive, a lot of farmers have not done it this year, which has further cut back supply. But a lot of people are also pointing to Brexit as a culprit. And this has been coming up in parliament.

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LUKE POLLARD: And now we have rationing in our supermarkets. That is not because people are stockpiling and panic buying salad although you can't keep salad that long. Although, the lettuce¹² lasts longer than the last prime minister.

(LAUGHTER)

VANEK SMITH: Now that the U.K. isn't part of the all-important market, the European Union, it does not have as much muscle with suppliers when times are tight. It is in the back of the tomato line. Economist Tim Harford thinks Brexit is not the main reason for tight tomato supplies. After all, other parts of Europe are also experiencing shortages. But he says Brexit most certainly isn't helping¹³.

HARFORD: My guess is that it is mostly the weather. But Brexit doesn't make anything easier. So it's like, this is a problem. Brexit is going to make almost every problem slightly worse.

VANEK SMITH: Harford also points out that global supply chains are still normalizing from the pandemic. But overall, they've shown themselves to be impressively resilient. He thinks tomatoes will be back in abundance soon. And until then, one U.K. minister suggested Brits take a page from the past and eat turnips¹⁵ instead. They grow more easily in the clammy British climate. This suggestion sparked a raft of parodies¹⁶ on social media.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Hi. Can I get a large cheese and turnip¹⁴ pizza, please? No problem at all, mate. That's one Brexit margarita coming right up.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: I've had this freshly made. It's a BLT, bacon, lettuce and turnip. And I'm hoping that someone will at least give it a try.

VANEK SMITH: British authorities say tomatoes should turn up in supermarkets again in about a month.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: You're not going to try it?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: I don't like turnips.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: OK.

VANEK SMITH: Stacey Vanek Smith, NPR News.

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1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。

3 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 savor   

vt.品尝，欣赏；n.味道，风味；情趣，趣味

参考例句：

• The soup has a savor of onion.这汤有洋葱味。
• His humorous remarks added a savor to our conversation.他幽默的话语给谈话增添了风趣。

6 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。

7 aisles   

n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊

参考例句：

• Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
• They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

8 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

9 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

10 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

11 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

12 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

14 turnip   

n.萝卜，芜菁

参考例句：

• The turnip provides nutrition for you.芜菁为你提供营养。
• A turnip is a root vegetable.芜菁是根茎类植物。

15 turnips   

芜青( turnip的名词复数 )； 芜菁块根； 芜菁甘蓝块根； 怀表

参考例句：

• Well, I like turnips, tomatoes, eggplants, cauliflowers, onions and carrots. 噢，我喜欢大萝卜、西红柿、茄子、菜花、洋葱和胡萝卜。 来自魔法英语-口语突破（高中）
• This is turnip soup, made from real turnips. 这是大头菜汤，用真正的大头菜做的。

16 parodies   

n.拙劣的模仿( parody的名词复数 )；恶搞；滑稽的模仿诗文；表面上模仿得笨拙但充满了机智用来嘲弄别人作品的作品v.滑稽地模仿，拙劣地模仿( parody的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Later, however, they delight in parodies of nursery rhymes. 可要不了多久，他们便乐于对它进行窜改。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• Most parodies are little more than literary teases. 大多数讽刺的模仿诗文只能算上是文学上的揶揄。 来自辞典例句