2022年经济学人 植物性蛋白质越来越受到食客的欢迎（2）

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Firms are experimenting with ever more novel ingredients in the search for meat- and dairy-like properties that will attract ever more shoppers.

企业正在试验更多新奇的配料，以寻找类似肉类和乳制品的特性，来吸引更多消费者。

TerViva, an American startup, is using the oil of pongamia, an Asian tree, to mimic¹ butter.

美国初创公司TerViva正在使用亚洲树水黄皮的油来仿制黄油。

ChickP, an Israeli firm, is using chickpea extracts to mimic the texture² and nutritional³ value of eggs in mayonnaise.

以色列公司ChickP正在使用鹰嘴豆提取物来模仿蛋黄酱中鸡蛋的质地和营养价值。

Firms are also getting better at turning such bounty⁴ into consumer products.

企业也越来越善于将这种额外盈利品转化为消费品。

There are now ways of using corn protein to make plant-based cheese alternatives melt and stretch.

现在有一些方法可以利用玉米蛋白来使植物性奶酪替代品具备可融化性和可拉伸性。

Better products and lower prices--the result of both improved manufacturing techniques and scale--have coincided with the rise of “flexitarians”, who forgo⁵ meat but not always.

更好的产品和更低的价格——生产技术和规模改进的结果——恰逢“弹性素食主义者”的兴起，他们不吃肉，但并非一直不吃。

Some are trying to cut saturated⁶ fat for health reasons--a trend fuelled by the pandemic.

出于健康原因，一些人正试图减少摄入饱和脂肪--这一趋势因疫情而加剧。

Fitness fanatics⁷ on faddish⁸ diets want to develop bulging⁹ muscles without building up cholesterol¹⁰.

追求时尚饮食的健身狂热者希望在不增加胆固醇的情况下练出膨胀的肌肉。

Concerns about animal welfare and greenhouse-gas emissions¹¹ from rearing livestock¹² are driving the climate-conscious to limit their animal-derived intake¹³; producing a gram of beef generates 25 times the volume of greenhouse-gas emissions as producing a gram of tofu.

对动物福利和饲养家畜产生的温室气体排放的担忧，正在驱使具有气候意识的人限制动物源性成分的摄入量；生产一克牛肉产生的温室气体排放量是生产一克豆腐的25倍。

For all the advantages, making a plant not taste like a plant takes work, and ultra-processed substitutes seldom match animal proteins in nutritional value.

尽管有上述这些好处，但要让植物吃起来不像植物是需要付出努力的，而且超加工替代品在营养价值上很少能与动物蛋白相媲美。

Plant-based junk food is still junk.

植物性垃圾食品仍然是垃圾食品。

Soya is a common allergen and can have a disruptive effect on hormones¹⁴.

大豆是一种常见的过敏原，会对荷尔蒙产生干扰作用。

Green-minded consumers are realising that plant-based does not necessarily mean sustainable.

有环保意识的消费者正逐渐意识到，植物性并不一定意味着可持续。

Farming almonds to make a milk-like drink, for example, uses huge quantities of water.

例如，种植杏仁来制作类似牛奶的饮料需要消耗大量的水。

As inflation rises, even diehard flexitarians may turn into omnivores, and pick either the real deal (cheaper than faux animal proteins) or veg (cheaper still).

随着通货膨胀加剧，即使是顽固的弹性素食主义者也可能变成杂食者，要么选择比人造动物蛋白便宜的真正的食物，要么选择更便宜的蔬菜。

Plant-based proteins are also a tough sell in giant markets like India, where diets are already plant-rich, or Nigeria, where meat-eating is a sign of wealth.

在印度和尼日利亚这样的大市场，植物性蛋白质也很难卖。在印度，人们的饮食已经富含素食，而在尼日利亚，吃肉是财富的象征。

That limits their global appeal.

这限制了它们在全球的吸引力。

And animal products, including milk, are better for children’s bone development and nurturing¹⁵ gut¹⁶ bacteria, though lab-grown versions of meat and dairy are becoming more nutritious¹⁷.

尽管实验室培育的肉类和乳制品正变得更有营养，但包括牛奶在内的动物制品更有利于儿童的骨骼发育和肠道细菌的培养。

All this suggests that alternative proteins have far to go to replace the animal kind.

所有这些都表明，替代蛋白质要取代动物蛋白质还有很长的路要走。

The limitations may be weighing on the firms involved.

这些限制可能会给相关企业带来压力。

Oatly’s market value has fallen by about 80% since its listing, partly because of production difficulties.

自上市以来，噢麦力的市值下跌了约80%，部分原因是生产困难。

That of Beyond Meat, whose burgers feature in McDonald’s McPlant sandwich, is down by 90% from its peak in 2019.

别样肉客的夹心牛肉饼是麦当劳素肉三明治的特色，该公司与2019年的峰值相比下降了90%。

Sales slowed in 2021 and losses widened to $100m in the first quarter of 2022, compared with $27m a year earlier.

2021年销售额增速放缓，2022年第一季度亏损扩大至1亿美元，去年同期为2700万美元。

Plant-based foods may no longer be only an appetiser in diets, but their makers¹⁸ remain one in the food business.

植物性食品可能不再只是饮食中的开胃菜，但它们的制造商仍然是食品行业的一员。

1 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

2 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

3 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

4 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

5 forgo   

v.放弃，抛弃

参考例句：

• Time to prepare was a luxuary he would have to forgo.因为时间不够，他不得不放弃做准备工作。
• She would willingly forgo a birthday treat if only her warring parents would declare a truce.只要她的父母停止争吵，她愿意放弃生日宴请。

6 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

7 fanatics   

狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The heathen temple was torn down by a crowd of religions fanatics. 异教徒的神殿被一群宗教狂热分子拆除了。
• Placing nukes in the hands of baby-faced fanatics? 把核弹交给一些宗教狂热者手里？

8 faddish   

adj.好赶时髦的；一时流行的

参考例句：

• We ate at a faddish new restaurant. 我们在一家新开张的时尚餐馆吃饭。 来自辞典例句
• Dial get online to say, begin since thenceforth faddish. 拨号上网一说，从那时起开始风行。 来自互联网

9 bulging   

膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱

参考例句：

• Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里装满了礼物。
• Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那个鼓鼓囊囊的红色文件夹便告诉她：“问问是不是重要的事。”

10 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

11 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

12 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

13 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

14 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

15 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

16 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

17 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

18 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》