VOA慢速英语2020 加坡率先批准出售实验室培育肉（在线收听）

Singapore's government has approved the sale of a laboratory-grown chicken meat. The American company that invented the product, Eat Just, says it is the first time lab-grown meat has received such approval anywhere in the world.

新加坡政府已经批准销售实验室培育的鸡肉。发明这种产品的美国公司Eat Just表示，这是实验室培育的肉类首次在全球获得这类批准。

Lab-grown meat – also called clean or cultured meat – is created from animal cells in a laboratory. The product is made without harming animals. The cells grow directly into the meat, outside of any animal.

实验室培育肉也被称为“清洁肉”或“人造肉”，是在实验室用动物细胞培育出来的。该产品无需宰杀动物。这些细胞会直接生长成肉类，不会牵涉任何动物。

The Eat Just product is to be sold as small pieces, called nuggets. The product is set to launch at a Singapore restaurant "in the very near term," the company's CEO Josh Tetrick told Reuters news agency.

这款Eat Just产品将以小块的形式出售，被称为“鸡块”。该公司首席执行官蒂特里克（Josh Tetrick）告诉路透社，这款产品将于近期在新加坡的一家餐厅推出。

Singapore is an island city-state of 5.7 million people.

城市国家新加坡是一个拥有570万人口的岛国。

Demand for alternatives to animal meat is rising across the world because of public concerns about health, animal welfare and the environment. Plant-based products - popularized by companies like Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and Quorn - are selling in a growing number of stores and restaurants.

由于公众对健康、动物保护和环境的担忧，世界各地对动物肉类替代品的需求正在上升。由Beyond Meat、Impossible Foods和Quorn等公司推广的植物性肉产品在越来越多的商店和餐馆出售。

But the development of lab-grown meat has been much slower than that of plant-based versions. The main reason for the delay is money. Lab-grown meat costs a lot more to produce.

但是实验室的培育肉的过程比植物性肉产品要慢得多。过程漫长的主要原因是成本。实验室培育肉类的生产成本要高得多。

Tetrick said the San Francisco-based company is also seeking approvals from U.S. government agencies. But he added that Singapore was a "good bit" ahead of the United States.

蒂特里克表示，这家总部位于旧金山的公司也在寻求美国政府机构的批准。但他补充说，新加坡比美国“领先了一点”。

The Singapore Food Agency said it examined data from processing, manufacturing control and safety testing before approving Eat Just sales. Tetrick said it is likely that the U.S. and countries in Europe and elsewhere will examine Singapore's approval system and will attempt to create a similar process.

新加坡食品机构表示，在批准Eat Just销售（培育肉）之前，他们检查了加工、生产控制和食品安全测试的数据。蒂特里克表示，美国、欧洲和其他国家可能会审查新加坡的审批制度，并尝试创建一个类似的审批程序。

Eat Just said it will manufacture the product in Singapore. The company also plans to start making a plant-based egg substitute there that it is already selling in the United States.

Eat Just公司表示，将在新加坡生产该产品。该公司还计划在中国开始生产一种植物基鸡蛋替代品，目前已经在美国销售。

Eat Just was founded in 2011 and has raised more than $300 million, Tetrick said. The company is valued at around $1.2 billion.

蒂特里克表示，Eat Just公司成立于2011年，已经筹集了3亿多美元。该公司估值约为12亿美元。

Worldwide, more than 24 companies are testing lab-grown fish, cow and chicken meat. They are hoping to break into a new part of the alternative meat market. Financial experts at Barclays Bank have estimated the market could be worth up to $140 billion by 2029.

全球有超过24家公司正在测试实验室培育的鱼肉、牛肉和鸡肉。他们希望打开替代肉类市场的新领域。巴克莱银行的金融专家估计，到2029年，这个市场的价值可能高达1400亿美元。

Competitors in the market have also been able to raise large amounts of money and win support from well-known investors.

市场上的竞争对手也能够筹集到大量资金，并获得知名投资者的支持。

U.S.-based Memphis Meats raised money this year in a deal led by Japan's SoftBank Group and Singapore-based Temasek. Among the Memphis Meats' investors are Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Virgin Group chief Richard Branson.

今年，总部位于美国的Memphis Meats公司通过日本软银集团和新加坡淡马锡牵头的一笔交易筹集到了资金。Memphis Meats的投资者包括微软联合创始人比尔·盖茨和维珍集团首席执行官理查德·布兰森。

In Singapore, Shiok Meats aims to become the first company to sell lab-grown shrimp. The company is backed by Henry Soesanto of the Philippines' Monde Nissin Corporation, which also owns Quorn.

在新加坡，Shiok Meats的目标是成为首家销售实验室培育虾的公司。该公司得到了菲律宾Monde Nissin公司的亨利（Henry Soesanto）的支持，该公司旗下的公司有Quorn。

Words in This Story

alternative – n. one or more things that you can choose between