DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Plumpy'nut Aids Fight Against Hunger

DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Plumpy'nut Aids Fight Against Hunger
By Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: Monday, April 25, 2005

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Development Report.

Nutriset is a food company in France that makes all its products for humanitarian² aid programs. One of the most popular products for use in emergencies is a sweet spread. It is made with peanuts, sugar, fats, minerals and vitamins. It is called Plumpy'nut.

The American group Save the Children is using it to help fight hunger among refugees from the violence in the Darfur area of Sudan. The Wall Street Journal reported that so far, workers have given out more than three hundred metric tons of Plumpy'nut Aid officials told the newspaper that the product has helped cut malnutrition³ rates in western Sudan in half.

Plumpy'nut can be given to families without the need to go to feeding centers. It comes ready to eat. It does not have to be mixed with water, the way dry milk does. Clean drinking water is often in short supply in crisis situations.

The French product is also being used to treat children in Malawi, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. And Plumpy'nut was used to help feed victims of the tsunami⁴ waves in the Indian Ocean in December.

Nutriset says Plumpy'nut can stay fresh for two years. Individual servings are ninety-two grams. The company says Plumpy'nut is similar in nutritional⁵ value to the treatment known as therapeutic⁶ milk f-one-hundred.

Normally, some children get a bad reaction to peanuts or other foods. But research noted⁷ on the Nutriset Web site says allergic⁸ reactions may be suppressed in undernourished children.

Michel Lescanne started Nutriset in nineteen eighty-six to make food for humanitarian aid. The company has a small factory in Malaunay, France. Nutriset also makes products like dry milk that are traditionally used to fight hunger.

In times of crisis, the company will set up emergency operations twenty-four hours a day.

Nutriset says it reinvests its profits into research and development. The company works directly with United Nations agencies and other organizations. Its products are not marketed through businesses. But Nutriset does want to organize a system of independent local production of Plumpy'nut.

The company is on the Web at nutriset.org. That's n-u-t-r-i-s-e-t dot o-r-g.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss. I'm Gwen Outen.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

4 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

5 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。

6 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。