VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-01-26 Meat Demand Leads to Changes in Farming 肉类的大量需求导致了农业生产上的变化

 

AS IT IS 2014-01-26 Meat Demand Leads to Changes in Farming 肉类的大量需求导致了农业生产上的变化

From VOA Learning English, welcome to As It Is.  I’m Steve Ember in Washington. 

Today on the program, we visit a banana farm in Uganda and hear about genetically²-engineered bananas.  They are designed to resist disease.

But first, demand for meat, milk and eggs is growing around the world.  Karen Leggett has our report.

Demand for Meat Leads to Changes in Farming 

To meet that demand, the way these products are produced is changing.  The change is from small farms to large, industrial operations.  This has already happened in the United States.  But not everyone is happy with the change.  As a result, there is also a growing demand for products grown locally on small farms. 

In Clinton, North Carolina, some old buildings are all that remain from the days when James Lamb raised hogs⁴ next to his home.  He saw that small farmers were having trouble competing with companies that own large farms.

“They had better consistency⁵, better pork quality, better genetics.  So after college, in ’98, I decided⁶ to try to modernize⁷.”

He stopped raising hogs in small buildings and built two industrial-sized hog³ barns.  Each of them holds 1,500 hogs. 

Nearly all pigs are raised this way in the United States now.  The government says the efficiency of large-scale production in a controlled environment has helped reduce the price of a pork chop by nearly 20 percent since 1998. 

These efficient and intensive production methods are being used around the world.  Many experts say that is a good thing as the demand for meat grows.  But livestock⁸ expert Carolyn Opio points out that the land, water and feed required to produce it are limited. 

“If we are to produce within the constraints⁹ that we are facing today, efficiency, I think, is very, is key.”

Ms. Opio is with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

But the results of efficiency are not always necessarily good.  The waste from thousands of confined animals can pollute waterways and produce greenhouse gases.  And some health experts are concerned about the antibiotics¹⁰ and other chemicals being put in the animals’ feed.  Others criticize the conditions in which the animals are kept.

So today, a growing number of people are like Kevin Summers in Amissville, Virginia, and returning to small-scale farming. 

“In order to feed the world, I think this is a better way.  It’s a, you know, it’s a cleaner way.  It’s a more humane¹¹ way.”

More Americans today say they want to know where their food comes from.  Some might like the way Kevin Summers raises his hogs. 

“I can see the entire process unfold before my eyes and know that they had a good life and were healthy and happy.”

The hogs eat damaged apples and old pumpkins¹².  This reduces food waste.  But this kind of farming also means higher prices.  Even so, Kevin Summers says he believes it would still be possible to meet global demand this way.

“And it would just involve people making the choice to buy this kind of food and say that, ‘I care about something other than just the cost.’”

I’m Karen Leggett.

And I’m Steve Ember with As It Is from VOA Learning English. 

Scientists continue to debate the value of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.  These plants and animals have been genetically engineered.  Scientists have made changes to their genetic¹ material.  

Today, we take you to Uganda and a small banana plantation¹³, where GMO bananas are being grown. 

Growing Debate Over GMO Bananas in Uganda

The trees are healthy and green.  But Andrew Kiggundu does not like what he sees.

 

“The disease on the leaves you see right now is not the wilt¹⁴, it’s a different disease called black sigatoka.  It is just killing¹⁵ off the leaves and causing significant yield loss.  This is a big problem.”

Andrew Kiggundu works with the National Agricultural Research Organization, also known as NARO.  The Ugandan government agency is developing genetically-engineered bananas.  The new plants are meant to resist black sigatoka and banana bacterial¹⁶ wilt, which has been destroying large amounts of the country’s banana crop.

Uganda is the world’s top consumer of bananas.  NARO Research Director Wilberforce Tushemereirwe says this is why it is so important to produce healthy plants.

“The disease keeps on moving around, and wiping out garden after garden, so you will go to areas where you find they have changed from banana to annual crops.  And that has already introduced food insecurity, because they are not used to handling annual crops.”

The central African nation already permits testing of genetically modified organisms or GMOs.  Lawmakers are considering a bill that would permit the development and distribution of such organisms throughout the country.

But some activists¹⁷ say genetically-modified organisms would be dangerous to human health and the environment.  Giregon Olupot is a soil biophysicist at Makerere University in Kampala. 

“There are a range of options that risk to be wiped [out], just by this technology.  With bananas, tissue culture has worked well to engineer healthy plants.  You then take these plants to a clean garden and maintain field hygiene¹⁸.  Why are we not giving emphasis on that technology?”

Most genetically-modified seeds are patented.  This means farmers must purchase them after each planting.  Mr. Olupot says this might be possible for profitable farms, but smaller farms depend on their own seeds.  In his opinion, selling genetically-modified seeds to small farmers could trap them.

“If you are to go commercial, it has to be on a large scale.  Now, the farmers we are talking about, on average, have 0.4 hectares of land.  It is simply not suitable for our farmers.”

A public institution is developing Uganda’s genetically-modified bananas.  NARO says no patent laws will restrict their use.  But Mr.  Olupot says this would probably not be true with genetically-modified crops introduced to Uganda in the future.

Mr. Kiggundu says opponents of genetically-modified plants have been strong in their criticisms.  He says many farmers are now afraid of GMOs. 

I’m Christopher Cruise.

1 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

2 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

3 hog   

n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占

参考例句：

• He is greedy like a hog.他像猪一样贪婪。
• Drivers who hog the road leave no room for other cars.那些占着路面的驾驶员一点余地都不留给其他车辆。

4 hogs   

n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人

参考例句：

• 'sounds like -- like hogs grunting. “像——像是猪发出的声音。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• I hate the way he hogs down his food. 我讨厌他那副狼吞虎咽的吃相。 来自辞典例句

5 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

8 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。

9 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

11 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

12 pumpkins   

n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊

参考例句：

• I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜，但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸，并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

13 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

14 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

15 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

16 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

17 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。