托福阅读背景材料之“素食拯救地球”

　　In a new book, British farmer and former editor Simon Fairlie says eating meat in moderation may be good for the environment。

　　Countless¹ studies claim that eating meat harms the planet and contributes to global warming. The U.N.'s 2006 Food and Agriculture Organization report states that meat produces 18% of the world's carbon emissions² —more than the global transport infrastructure³. But in his new book, Meat: A Benign⁴ Extravagance, Simon Fairlie, a British farmer and former editor of the Ecologist magazine, tears apart the theory that being carnivorous is bad for the planet —and says that eating moderate amounts of meat could be greener than going vegan.

　　Simon Fairlie 是英国的一个农场主，曾是《生态学家》杂志的编辑，在一本新书中他介绍道食用食量的肉类有益于环境。

　　无数的研究都表明吃肉危害地球，推动了全球变暖。联合国粮农组织2006年的报告称肉类生产时的碳排放量达到了世界总量的18%，这比全球基础交通运输的碳排量还要高。但是在这本书中，肉类被称为良性奢侈品，Simon Fairlie反对食肉有害于地球这种观点，并且认为食用适量的肉类比素食更环保。

　　Why is livestock⁵ beneficial to the environment rather than being bad for the planet. ?

　　Every agricultural system produces a surplus of waste and hard-to-use biomass that is best kept in the food chain by feeding it to livestock. Meat or dairy produced this way has little extra environmental impact. Animals kept on small farms also produce benefits, such as fending⁶ off predators⁷ and pests and fertilizing⁸ soil.

　　为何牲畜对地球有利而不是有害?

　　每一次的农耕都会有剩余的废物遗留下来，这些东西也很难加以利用，却可以用来饲养牲畜，形成最好的食物链。以这种方式生产出来的肉类和奶制品对环境几乎没有额外的影响。小农场饲养的动物也可以产生效益，比如说可以抵御其他的捕食动物和害虫以及提高土壤肥力。

　　What are the most sustainable types of meat to eat?

　　Pigs fed off food waste, whey and other forms of garden and agricultural waste. Dairy cows that are eating grass and clover as part of mixed-arable rotation⁹. They have very little toll¹⁰ on the environment and are, on balance, benign. The way forward is to switch to organic farming. We would have to cut meat consumption by half, but our dairy intake¹¹ would remain about the same.

　　比较实惠的能吃的肉类是?

　　猪是以食品废物，乳清和其他的农业废品为主食的。奶牛主要是吃草和混合农耕中的车轴草。这对环境几乎没有任何的损失，总体来讲是有利的。以后将会转向至有机农耕，我们肉类的消费量将会减少一半，而奶制品的摄入将维持在现在的数量。

　　Notes1. In moderation: 适度地，有节制的2. Contribute to: help to cause sth 促成某事物:

　　Does smoking contribute to lung cancer? 吸烟会导致肺癌吗?

　　3. Food and Agriculture Organization 联合国粮农组织4. moderate:(量﹑强度﹑质等)中等的, 适度的moderate price increases 适度的涨价5. beneficial：~ (to sth/sb) having a helpful or useful effect; advantageous¹² 有益的; 有用的; 有好处的a beneficial result, influence, etc 有益的结果﹑ 影响等Fresh air is beneficial to one's health. 新鲜空气有益於健康.

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