2019年经济学人 鸡肉经济:鸡肉为何如此受欢迎(2)

 

The intense use of antibiotics¹ means that farmers no longer need to spend much time worrying about their chickens’ welfare. Before the second world war, most birds were raised on small plots. Farmers kept hens for eggs and sold their meat when they got too old to lay any more. But prophylactics² have allowed farmers to pack chickens into conditions that would once have been considered unthinkably cramped³ and dirty. Birds raised in denser⁴ quarters do not move around much, and so require less to eat.

大量使用抗生素，这意味着农民不再需要花太多时间担心鸡的健康。二战前，大多数鸡饲养于小块土地。农民养鸡取蛋，当鸡老得不能再下蛋时就把肉卖掉。但是，预防措施使得农民可以把鸡塞进曾经无法想象的拥挤、肮脏的环境中。

Farmers have also benefited from the healthy reputation of chicken. In the 1980s doctors worried that by eating too much beef and pork people were ingesting lots of saturated⁵ fat, which was then thought to increase the risk of heart disease. Those fears have since waned⁶, but new evidence suggests that red meat might increase people’s chances of getting colon⁷ cancer. In contrast, poultry⁸’s image as a healthy meat survives unscathed.

农民还受益于鸡肉的健康声誉。20世纪80年代，医生担心食太多牛肉和猪肉会摄入大量的饱和脂肪，患心脏病风险加大。此类担忧渐消，但有新证据表明，红肉可能会增加人们患结肠癌的几率。相比之下，鸡肉作为健康肉类的形象却毫发无损。

It is not just fussy⁹ Western eaters who increasingly favour chicken. Rising incomes mean that demand for the meat is growing even faster in poorer countries. As a result, chickens are now the world’s most widely traded meat. In economic terms they are, in effect, the opposite of cars. They are produced whole. But their value is maximised once they are broken up.

不仅是挑剔的西方食客越来越喜欢鸡肉。收入增加意味着贫穷国家对肉类的需求增速更快。因此，鸡现在是世界上交易最广泛的肉类。从经济角度来说，它们实际上是汽车的对立面。从经济角度来说，它们实际上是汽车的对立面。生产时是完整的。一旦被拆分，价值就会最大化。

Though Westerners prefer lean, white meat; many in Asia and Africa prefer dark meat, which includes legs and thighs¹⁰. These preferences are reflected in local prices: in America breasts are 88% more expensive than legs; in Indonesia they are 12% cheaper. Differences in the price of chicken feet are even starker¹¹. The thought of eating talons¹² is abhorrent¹³ to many Westerners, but they often feature in Cantonese recipes. China now imports 300,000 tonnes of “phoenix claws” every year.

尽管西方人更喜欢瘦肉和白肉；但是亚非的许多人更喜欢深色肉类，包括小腿和大腿。这些偏好反映在当地的价格上：在美国，鸡胸肉比鸡腿贵88%；在印尼便宜12%。鸡爪的价格差异更加明显。很多西方人不喜欢吃鸡爪，但鸡爪经常出现在粤菜菜谱中。中国现在每年进口30万吨“凤爪”。

The fact that different countries specialise in different kinds of production also boosts trade. America and Brazil, the world’s two biggest chicken exporters, are agricultural powerhouses that grow huge amounts of feed, the main cost in poultry production. Thailand and China, in contrast, dominate the processed-meat market which requires cheap, skilled labour. Russia and Ukraine, once net importers of chicken, have become net exporters as their grain industries have grown.

不同国家专门从事不同种类的生产，这一事实也促进了贸易。美国和巴西是世界上最大的两个鸡肉出口国，两国都是农业大国，生产大量饲料，这是家禽生产的主要成本。相比之下，泰国和中国在加工肉类市场占据主导地位，而加工肉类市场需要廉价、熟练的劳动力。俄罗斯和乌克兰曾经是鸡肉的净进口国，但随着粮食工业的发展，已经成为了净出口国。

Producers that sell their meat abroad expose themselves to risks. Chicken has been a flashpoint in trade negotiations¹⁴. China imposed tariffs¹⁵ on American birds in 2010 and then banned all imports in 2015, shortly after an outbreak of avian flu. Industry observers are pessimistic the ban will be lifted, much to the dismay of American farmers who would love to be paid more for the 20bn chicken feet they produce every year, which currently become animal feed.

出口鸡肉的生产商面临风险。鸡肉一直是贸易谈判的热点。2010年，中国对美国禽鸟征收关税，2015年，禽流感爆发后不久，中国禁止了一切进口。业内观察人士对取消禁令持悲观态度。这令美国农民大为沮丧。农民本希望自己每年生产的200亿鸡爪能获得更高的报酬，而这些鸡肉目前已成为动物饲料。

1 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

2 prophylactics   

n.预防剂( prophylactic的名词复数 )；预防用品；预防法；避孕用品

参考例句：

• The prospect of teachers passing out prophylactics to their pupils has infuriated some parents. 想到老师将分发避孕套给学生使一些家长愤慨不已。 来自柯林斯例句

3 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

4 denser   

adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• As Tito entered the neighbourhood of San Martino, he found the throng rather denser. 蒂托走近圣马丁教堂附近一带时，发现人群相当密集。

5 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

6 waned   

v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• However,my enthusiasm waned.The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. 然而，我的热情减退了。我在做操上花的时间逐渐减少了。 来自《用法词典》
• The bicycle craze has waned. 自行车热已冷下去了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

8 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?

9 fussy   

adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的

参考例句：

• He is fussy about the way his food's cooked.他过分计较食物的烹调。
• The little girl dislikes her fussy parents.小女孩讨厌她那过分操心的父母。

10 thighs   

n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿

参考例句：

• He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The water came up to the fisherman's thighs. 水没到了渔夫的大腿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 starker   

（指区别）明显的( stark的比较级 )； 完全的； 了无修饰的； 僵硬的

参考例句：

• As night falls, the contrast between these worlds grows starker. 随着夜幕的降临，两个世界的对比更为鲜明。
• What's more, compared with 1992, voters face a starker economic choice. 另外，跟1992年相比，选民面临着一种更为刻板的经济选择。

12 talons   

n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部

参考例句：

• The fingers were curved like talons, but they closed on empty air. 他的指头弯得像鹰爪一样，可是抓了个空。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
• The tiger has a pair of talons. 老虎有一对利爪。 来自辞典例句

13 abhorrent   

adj.可恶的，可恨的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• He is so abhorrent,saying such bullshit to confuse people.他这样乱说，妖言惑众，真是太可恶了。
• The idea of killing animals for food is abhorrent to many people.许多人想到杀生取食就感到憎恶。

14 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

15 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。