美国国家公共电台 NPR Chinese Chicken Is Headed To America, But It's Really All About The Beef

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

We're going to focus now on one particular change that's coming as part of this U.S.-China trade deal, the idea that U.S. will import cooked chicken from China. And joining us to talk more about it is Maria Godoy. She's editor of NPR's food blog The Salt. Welcome to the studio.

MARIA GODOY, BYLINE¹: Thanks, Audie.

CORNISH: So just how did this part of the deal come to be?

GODOY: So as we just heard, this chicken story is really about beef. Back in 2003, the U.S. had a case of mad cow disease. And as a result, lots of countries banned imports of U.S. beef like Mexico and South Korea, lots of countries including China. Eventually, all those countries lifted the ban on U.S. beef except for China. And that's a big deal because China has a huge and growing appetite for beef. And it's a big market that up until now U.S. beef producers have been locked out of.

Now, lots of people have seen China's refusal to lift the ban on beef as a kind of negotiating tactic². Basically, we lift the ban and you let in our chicken. So it's been going on for a while. It's gone to the World Trade Organization. And now finally there's a deal. And beef producers here are really happy.

CORNISH: OK. But again, this is now about chicken.

(LAUGHTER)

CORNISH: And what's the difference between, like, the cooked issue versus³ raw?

GODOY: That's a really good question. So what we're talking about here are imports of cooked chicken from China of chicken that was born and raised in China. And it really goes to concerns about avian flu. China has had many, many outbreaks of avian flu. And there are concerns that if you brought in raw poultry⁴ from China, it could somehow contaminate American poultry processing plants and maybe even spread to U.S. flocks.

CORNISH: So which voices are raising safety concerns then about cooked chicken from China actually coming now into the U.S.?

GODOY: Well, some environmental groups have been raising concerns for a long time. This deal has been in the works really on and off for over a decade. And China has a pretty bad track record when it comes to food safety, stories of things like rat meat being sold as lamb. And just last December, China's own food and drug administration reported it had uncovered half a million cases of food safety violations⁵ just in the first three quarters of 2016.

So the USDA has gone over there and inspected plants that would process the chicken. They say they're OK. And in recent months, U.S. inspectors⁶ have gone over to train their Chinese counterparts in food safety.

CORNISH: That's because we also export poultry to China, right? I mean, we're in this business.

GODOY: Funny enough, we used to, but U.S. poultry producers used to send a lot of chicken feet over to China. It's a delicacy⁷ there. The market has been worth as much as $750 million a year for the U.S. poultry industry, but China banned U.S. chicken imports after the U.S. had an outbreak of avian flu in 2015. And the new announcement doesn't address that.

CORNISH: All right. So looking ahead, when can we expect these imports?

GODOY: That's a big question. Basically, we won't even have a rule on how these imports will take place until mid-July, and then it's anywhere after that.

CORNISH: That's Maria Godoy, editor of NPR's food blog The Salt. Thanks so much.

GODOY: Thank you, Audie.

(SOUNDBITE OF RJD2'S "JUNIOR")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

3 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。

4 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

5 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

6 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 delicacy   

n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴

参考例句：

• We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
• He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。