托福閱讀材料之吃肉與環(huán)保

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

　　Countless 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 emissions —more than the global transport infrastructure. But in his new book, Meat: A Benign 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 是英國的一個農(nóng)場主，曾是《生態(tài)學(xué)家》雜志的編輯，在一本新書中他介紹道食用食量的肉類有益于環(huán)境。

　　無數(shù)的研究都表明吃肉危害地球，推動了全球變暖。聯(lián)合國糧農(nóng)組織2006年的報告稱肉類生產(chǎn)時的碳排放量達到了世界總量的18%，這比全球基礎(chǔ)交通運輸?shù)奶寂帕窟€要高。但是在這本書中，肉類被稱為良性奢侈品，Simon Fairlie反對食肉有害于地球這種觀點，并且認為食用適量的肉類比素食更環(huán)保。

　　Why is livestock 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 fending off predators and pests and fertilizing soil.

　　為何牲畜對地球有利而不是有害?

　　每一次的農(nóng)耕都會有剩余的廢物遺留下來，這些東西也很難加以利用，卻可以用來飼養(yǎng)牲畜，形成最好的食物鏈。以這種方式生產(chǎn)出來的肉類和奶制品對環(huán)境幾乎沒有額外的影響。小農(nóng)場飼養(yǎng)的動物也可以產(chǎn)生效益，比如說可以抵御其他的捕食動物和害蟲以及提高土壤肥力。

　　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 rotation. They have very little toll 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 intake would remain about the same.

　　比較實惠的能吃的肉類是?

　　豬是以食品廢物，乳清和其他的農(nóng)業(yè)廢品為主食的。奶牛主要是吃草和混合農(nóng)耕中的車軸草。這對環(huán)境幾乎沒有任何的損失，總體來講是有利的。以后將會轉(zhuǎn)向至有機農(nóng)耕，我們?nèi)忸惖南M量將會減少一半，而奶制品的攝入將維持在現(xiàn)在的數(shù)量。

　　Notes

　　1. In moderation: 適度地，有節(jié)制的

　　2. Contribute to: help to cause sth 促成某事物:

　　Does smoking contribute to lung cancer? 吸煙會導(dǎo)致肺癌嗎?

　　3. Food and Agriculture Organization 聯(lián)合國糧農(nóng)組織

　　4. moderate:(量﹑強度﹑質(zhì)等)中等的, 適度的

　　moderate price increases 適度的漲價

　　5. beneficial：~ (to sth/sb) having a helpful or useful effect; advantageous 有益的; 有用的; 有好處的

　　a beneficial result, influence, etc 有益的結(jié)果﹑ 影響等

　　Fresh air is beneficial to one's health. 新鮮空氣有益於健康.