PBS高端访谈:转基因作物引发争议

 　　MEGAN THOMPSON: The Hawaiian island of Kauai is known as the garden isle¹, luring² hundreds of thousands of tourists to its lush northern shores. But fewer make it down to the drier southwest side, home to many native Hawaiians, who’ve lived here for generations…and where farming has always been a way of life.

　　Today these fields are home to large biotech companies developing Hawaii’s biggest agricultural product: seeds. Genetically³ modified seeds, mostly corn, to be shipped back and grown on the mainland.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: Those fields behind me belong to Pioneer, one of the big seed companies here in Kauai. The prevailing⁴ winds here blow out of the northeast. And the residents here say that when those winds blow, they bring dust and pesticides⁶ from these fields down into their neighborhoods and homes.

　　And some believe that’s making their children sick.

　　RANDI-LI DICKINSON: In 2007 I gave birth to my son. And within a day we realized he was seizing. And we found that his brain had hemorrhaged and he lost the whole, entire right frontal lobe⁷.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: Six-year-old Nakana Dickinson still has frequent seizures⁸, according to his mother, Randy-Li. After consulting with a pediatric neurologist and blood specialist, she now wonders if all of her son’s problems were caused by the location of their home, in the valley just below the fields.

　　RANDY-LI DICKINSON: And the only thing I could think of is I lived here this whole time I'm pregnant. And I'm getting this drift of dust constantly with pesticides.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: You don't know for sure what the cause was of your son's illness.

　　RANDI-LI DICKINSON: No. And I-- and that's scary to me. And I can’t know for sure because they’re not disclosing anything to us.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: A battle has erupted here in Kauai over the seed farms. More than 150 residents have sued Pioneer. Though Pioneer declined to comment on the litigation, the families allege⁹ that dust and pesticides contaminated their homes. They’re also seeking damages for lost property value.

　　Thousands of others on the island demonstrated…This county council hearing is called to order.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: And packed county council hearings in support of a bill, passed just this week, imposing¹⁰ new rules on the seed growers. It creates buffer¹¹ zones around the fields and forces the companies to disclose what pesticides they're using…when they're spraying… and how much.

　　Several local doctors had expressed support for the legislation, citing serious health concerns.

　　RICK GODING: There’s a strong anecdotal evidence that there’s a statistically¹² significant difference in the incidence of cancer, asthma¹³ and birth defects.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: One pediatrician wrote in an email that he had observed rare heart defects in babies at a rate 10 times the national average. But says years of epidemiological research would be needed to establish the cause.

　　GARY HOOSER: It's really quite simple. Tell us what you're spraying, what you're growing, and then let us do a study to determine whether people really are getting sick.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: Local politician Gary Hooser introduced the bill. He got involved in 2008 after a noxious¹⁴ odor sent several children and a teacher at a school next to one of the fields to the emergency room, complaining of dizziness and nausea¹⁵.

　　GARY HOOSER: This is serious, serious stuff that deserves our attention and deserves to be dealt with now.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: the seed companies and their employees came out in force to fight the bill.

　　KU’UHAU GARZA: I want people to know that we are good people and we do the right thing.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: the companies said they follow government guidelines on pesticide⁵ spraying, and that revealing their farming practices could make them less competitive. What’s more, as some of the largest employers on the west side, they said the bill’s other requirements could threaten their operations and the hundreds of jobs they provide.

　　CARMELITA HAUMEA: Most people on the west side is employed by the seed companies. We all live as a community, you know.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: The four biotech companies in Kauai own or lease more than 12,000 acres – close to 20 percent of the island’s usable farmland. Their fields bump up against the nearby towns.

　　Seeds are big business in the state of Hawaii, valued more than $240 million dollars a year; more than triple the second-largest commodity, sugar. Mark Phillipson works for Syngenta, and is president of Hawaii’s seed trade group, which represents Syngenta, BASF, Dow and Pioneer, a subsidiary of DuPont.

　　MARK PHILLIPSON, HAWAII CROP IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION: The reason that we're here-- is the weather. It's-- there's no winter. We're here-- 365 days a year. So, can get three crops a year. Whereas, if we did this type of research or production on the mainland, we would get one crop-- per year. So, something that would take-- ten-to-12 years to develop, we can do here in three-to-four years.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: Phillipson says seed companies have developed better and stronger plants, genetically modified to withstand drought and pests.

　　Today almost 90% of the corn grown in the United States is genetically modified…and according to one industry study, since 1996, the technology has brought an economic benefit of more than 24 billion dollars to America’s farmers.

　　KATHY HASKINS: This is a row of conventionally-bred line of corn. / And you can see that there’s a lot of damage here to the ear. That’s all from ear worm. This is the same line – same exact line of corn, but it’s got our “Agrisure Viptera” traits in it and you can see that there’s ear damage at all to this ear. It’s beautiful.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: Even though the seed companies are only growing crops for research purposes, they still use conventional farming methods. That includes the application of several so-called “restricted use pesticides” - chemicals regulated by the E.P.A. that can only be handled by people with a special license¹⁶.

　　MARK PHILLIPSON: We follow all the federal and state guidelines on pesticide use, and those guidelines are very strict and they're-- monitored.

　　MARK PHILLIPSON: We are very careful in how we apply the pesticides. We, you know-- measure wind direction, wind speed. It's-- not of any advantage for us to have things drift out anywhere.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: Because of a new state registry on pesticide sales, and the lawsuit¹⁷ against Pioneer, some information on what’s being sprayed has started to come out. But the seed companies, which invest billions of dollars in research and development, had been largely reluctant to share more specifics.

　　GARY HOOSER: On the general use pesticides that you use on an annual basis, can any – are any of you willing to disclose that amount? So I’ll take the silence as a no.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: The people in community here have been asking for a few years now to know what pesticides are being sprayed by the seed companies here. How much, when, where. Why has that information not been disclosed?

　　MARK PHILLIPSON: The reason is not so much there's trade secrets, but it's more of competitiveness.

　　Fast disclosure of those pesticide use will probably tell me the ingredients that you're using that I might not be using. We each represent a unique company that has a product in a competitive marketplace.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: There are a lot of people in this community who say they’re getting sick. And they think it might be the pesticides. What do you say to that?

　　MARK PHILLIPSON: Probably the first-- people in the community that would get sick would be our workers. And there's no indication of that.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: Phillipson also points to a recent study by the Hawaii Department of Health showing cancer rates are no higher in Kauai than in other parts of the state…and other tests showing air and water samples to be safe.

　　But critics accuse the companies of not following spraying guidelines closely enough. Attorneys in the Pioneer lawsuit say this video they shot shows pesticides blowing off a field near town. And even though many of the pesticides are the same ones used by farmers in the Midwest for example, critics point out they’re being applied¹⁸ during more months of the year here.

　　RICK GODING: How can you tell me I don’t have a right to know what they’re spraying?

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: And that’s why some residents including local doctors like Rick Goding believe more research is needed.

　　RICK GODING: The thing about the physicians is, we want to be very careful. And I think some of them are afraidto say anything because they’re afraid to be perceived to be saying, “They’re spraying, and therefore this is happening.” I’m not saying that. I don’t know any physicians that are saying that.

　　What we are saying is, they are spraying. And we have some problems. Can we find out more about what they’re spraying and can we look at the possibility as to whether it’s got an effect on some of the significant health problems we have in the community.

　　MEGAN THOMPSON: Even though that bill requiring the seed companies to create buffer zones and disclose their spraying was passed this week … at least one seed company said it’s exploring legal options to block the legislation. So it could be a long time before these residents get all the information that they’re looking for.

1 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

2 luring   

吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Cheese is very good for luring a mouse into a trap. 奶酪是引诱老鼠上钩的极好的东西。
• Her training warned her of peril and of the wrong, subtle, mysterious, luring. 她的教养警告她：有危险，要出错儿，这是微妙、神秘而又诱人的。

3 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

4 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

5 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

6 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 lobe   

n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶

参考例句：

• Tiny electrical sensors are placed on your scalp and on each ear lobe.小电器传感器放置在您的头皮和对每个耳垂。
• The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for controlling movement.大脑前叶的功能是控制行动。

8 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

9 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

10 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

11 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

12 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

13 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

14 noxious   

adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• Heavy industry pollutes our rivers with noxious chemicals.重工业产生的有毒化学品会污染我们的河流。
• Many household products give off noxious fumes.很多家用产品散发有害气体。

15 nausea   

n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶)

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。

16 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

17 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

18 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。