VOA标准英语2012--FAO Says Feeding the Future Requires Bold Decisions

 

 

FAO Says Feeding the Future Requires Bold Decisions

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said people cannot live healthy and productive lives unless they have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious¹ food. The U.N. agency has released its recommendations on food security prior to June’s Rio plus 20 Conference on Sustainable Development.

The FAO said sustainable development cannot be achieved unless hunger and malnutrition² are eradicated³. It has released a new policy paper called Towards the Future We Want that calls for “fundamental changes in the governance of food and agriculture.”

“We have to make a transition on the way we produce food and the way we transform the food to bring it to the table to make sure that we have the eradication⁴ of hunger, that we reduce poverty and that we have a healthy and well-nourished population in the upcoming years,” said Alberto Sandoval is an FAO Senior Natural Resources Officer.

He said an “incredible amount” of resources are being used in the food chain.

“Sixty percent of the water [goes] straight for the food systems. Thirty percent of the greenhouse gas emissions⁵ are produced in the food sector⁶. Thirty percent of the global energy goes to the food system as well. And one-third of the food worldwide is lost. It means that it goes straight to the garbage,” he said.

The road to Rio

The FAO said much has been done since the first so-called Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. However, it says 20 years later the world still has not delivered on the summit’s fundamental principle that “human beings are at the center of concern for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.”

The FAO called existing agricultural and food systems “flawed” because they have “high impacts” on the environment. It estimated 500 million small farms in developing countries “face a variety of resource limitations resulting in insufficient⁷ access to food and nutrition.”

FAO Nutritionist Florence Egal said a balanced diet is needed to end malnutrition. However, the foods that make up a balanced diet can vary around the world.

“In most areas it would be nice to revisit the food systems, and in particular the production systems in order to take best advantage of the natural resources locally, which is usually what people traditionally did produce and eat. It’s an integral part of their culture. So I think we would have a system that would allow--instead of having a standard national diet, which makes little sense in countries that have diverse cultures and ecosystems--we could start thinking of what would make sense locally.

Not just farmers

Egal said growth in the agricultural sector can improve incomes not just for farmers, but for those who develop related industries.

“People who have no access to land or labor⁸ can actually generate income and add to local economic development through food transformation⁹, through processing, through commercialization. So we believe it would also make sense in terms of job creation, in terms of job protection. And therefore we would be able to bring together the economic dimension, the social dimension and the environmental dimension. And I think this is very much the challenge that we are facing nowadays,” she said.

The Food and Agriculture Organization said social protection programs can help meet sustainable development goals while addressing short term needs. It says “well-targeted programs can quickly reduce the incident of chronic¹⁰ hunger through food aid or cash to buy food.

The world population is expected to grow by 2 billion and reach 9 billion by 2050. The FAO said if current food consumption rates continue, “60 percent more food will need to be produced.” However, it said that “bold policy decisions” affecting income growth, dietary preferences, food waste and agricultural production would mean the population could be fed much more efficiently¹¹ and with much less environmental damage. 

The Rio Plus 20 Conference will be held in Rio de Janeiro from June 20th to the 22nd.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 eradicated   

画着根的

参考例句：

• Polio has been virtually eradicated in Brazil. 在巴西脊髓灰质炎实际上已经根除。
• The disease has been eradicated from the world. 这种疾病已在全世界得到根除。

4 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。

5 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。

6 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

7 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

10 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

11 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。