VOA标准英语2010年-Oil Spill Sparks Concerns About Import

The oil spill in the Gulf¹ of Mexico is looming² over the seafood³ industry.

Prices are going up and the crisis could lead to  more imported seafood in the coming months. But some people are questioning the safety of imported seafood.

Lasting⁴ impact

Tom Robey runs around like a mad man. Or maybe a mad scientist.

His laboratory is the kitchen. Robey is executive chef at Veranda⁵ on Highland⁶ in Birmingham, Alabama. His specialty⁷ is regional seafood: Louisiana crawfish, Florida crab⁸, Alabama shrimp⁹.

When the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded last month spewing oil into the Gulf, Robey shelled out nearly $3,000 dollars to stockpile 600 pounds of shrimp.

And it's a good thing, because officials closed some of the fishing grounds. It's not clear how extensive and long-term the damage to Gulf seafood will be.

Shrimp are among the Gulf of Mexico's best-known seafood. But 90 percent of the shrimp in the United States is imported.

Early tests don't show substantial chemical contamination, but monitoring might have to continue for decades. Meanwhile, industry officials expect a shortage of domestic seafood. And other countries are ready to fill the gap.

Imported seafood

We already import about 80 percent of our seafood. But the oil spill is expected to drive that number higher.

Chef Robey says he'll take seafood off the menu before he serves imports.

"I'm nervous about, like, how that seafood was handled, how it was fed, if it was farmed raised," says Robey. "I mean every day there's some kind of recall one or another coming from China."

He may have reason to be nervous.

"I think it's really a 'buyer beware' issue," says Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Washington DC-based Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Safety concerns

DeWaal says when state regulators tested imported shrimp they found it was contaminated with antibiotics¹⁰ and other chemical residues¹¹ that are illegal in the U.S. According to Dewaal, there is evidence some imported shrimp are grown in contaminated ponds.

Supporters of the industry say - while some tests have caught problems - that doesn't mean all imported seafood is bad.

Norbert Sporns say there's no need to worry. He's CEO of a Seattle-based company called HQ Sustainable Maritime¹² Industries.

They farm tilapia - mostly in China. Sporns says the U.S. has an international certification process that is rigorous and will catch potential problems.

"Prior to export, we are subject to a series of tests," says Sporns. "Once a product lands in the United States, there are other tests that can be administered by the FDA on a spot-check basis. So there are multiple levels of security in place."

Limited oversight¹³

But the FDA only inspects about 2 percent of imports.

Ken¹⁴ Albala is a food historian at University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. He teaches about food policy and environmental issues. He says, while the cattle industry has been tightly regulated, that's not the case with the fishing industry.

"And when you're talking about a several thousand pound cow versus¹⁵ a bass¹⁶, let alone a shrimp," says Albala. "I don't see how they could ever begin to inspect consistently what's coming in from abroad. Definitely not."

Right now, Congress is considering a bill that would give the FDA increased authority over imported seafood. So far, the bill has passed the house and is waiting to be picked up in the Senate.

So consumers who want to eat shrimp are faced with two choices: trust that random¹⁷ spot checks find any problems with seafood imports or pay more for domestic, wild harvested shrimp.

And that price could go even higher if the oil spill in the gulf contaminates a good part of the domestic supply.

 

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

3 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

4 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

5 veranda   

n.走廊；阳台

参考例句：

• She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
• They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。

6 highland   

n.(pl.)高地，山地

参考例句：

• The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
• The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林，一直都是黑熊的避难所。

7 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

8 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

9 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

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 residues   

n.剩余，余渣( residue的名词复数 )；剩余财产；剩数

参考例句：

• pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables 残留在水果和蔬菜中的杀虫剂
• All organic and metallic residues on the wafers must be removed. 片子上所有的有机和金属残留物均必须清除。 来自辞典例句

12 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

13 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

14 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

15 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

16 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

17 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。