【一起听英语】食物浪费

 全世界的食物浪费都很严重，珍惜食物，远离浪费。

Chris: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English, I'm

Chris and with me today is Jen.

Jen: Hi there… Mmmm… Phew, I'm full. Well, I don't want this other sandwich.

Where's the bin¹?

Chris: Jen, are you going to throw away that sandwich?

Jen: What's wrong with throwing it in the bin?

Chris: Before you throw it away, let's talk about today's topic shall we? Global

food waste. Now, how often do you throw food away?

Jen: Well, I don't waste food all the time. It's usually when I've bought too

much food and later I realise it has expired – or gone out of date.

Chris: Yes, I've done the same thing from time to time. But did you know that

globally we are getting worse at wasting, or throwing away, water and

food – food that is often still edible²?

Jen: I suppose it's not such a good thing to throw away food – especially when

some people are desperately³ hungry.

Chris: Absolutely. Now, before we go on, I've got a question for you – see if you

can answer it. How much food is wasted every year around the world? Is

it:

a) 5,000 tonnes

b) 1 million tonnes

c) 1.3 billion tonnes

Jen: I think it's going to be quite a high number so I'm going to go for c), 1.3

billion tonnes.

Chris: OK, I'll reveal the answer for you at the end of the programme. Now, a

conference in Sweden met recently to discuss food and water waste

around the world. They say that about a quarter of the food that is

produced for us to eat doesn't actually make it to our dinner plates – it is

wasted.

Jen: A quarter! Why is all this food being wasted? 

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Chris: Well, it varies. In wealthier countries one problem is our attitude to the

way food should look when we buy it. Here's a clip from a report by BBC

Correspondent Mark Doyle – what do consumers in richer countries expect

from their food?

BBC correspondent Mark Doyle:

Delegates to the conference in Sweden were told that about a quarter of the food we

produce worldwide never reaches our plates. The way food is wasted varies. In richer

countries, consumers expect their food to look so perfect that slightly blemished⁵, though

perfectly⁶ nutritious⁷, fruit and vegetables never reach the supermarkets.

Jen: So consumers expect their food to look absolutely perfect.

Chris: That's right. Imagine you're in a supermarket and you want to buy a

banana. One banana looks perfect; another one has a blemish⁴ – or a

mark – on it. Which would you buy? Both bananas are perfectly

nutritious to eat.

Jen: Well, I'd probably take the one that looked perfect.

Chris: Exactly, and supermarkets do the same, but on a much bigger scale. They

ask the farmers who supply them with fruit and vegetables to throw away

any items that have imperfections.

Jen: Which means lots are wasted, even if they are perfectly nutritious to eat.

So maybe our reliance on supermarkets is one of the reasons why richer

countries are wasting so much?

Chris: According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation⁸, the average

European or North American consumer wastes between 95-115kg of food

per year. Compare that with people in sub-Saharan Africa who waste only

6-11kg per year.

Jen: Astonishing.

Chris: But there is food waste in developing countries too, but it's not from

consumers – most of the waste is on farms. Let's hear another clip from

Mark Doyle's report – why are farms in developing countries wasting so

much?

BBC correspondent Mark Doyle:

In poorer, developing, countries most of the waste is on farms. Inefficient⁹ farming

techniques are part of the problem and hot and humid conditions make storing crops

difficult. Pests and diseases take their toll¹⁰ too.

Chris: So farms in developing countries use inefficient farming techniques,

which lead to waste.

Jen: It said that storing crops in hot and humid conditions can also be difficult.

If you've ever left fruit out in the sun, it can quickly rot.

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Chris: In addition, pests – such as flies and rats – also take their toll. These

pests spoil the crops and they have to be thrown away.

Jen: So there needs to be investment in farming to improve things like food

storage and packaging for the farming industry.

Chris: And it's not just food; water is another precious resource being wasted.

Now which industry do you think consumes the most fresh water?

Jen: Perhaps the manufacturing industry?

Chris: In fact, it is agriculture through irrigation – or watering the land – so

crops can grow. About 70% of all the fresh water used around the world is

for farm irrigation.

Jen: If we're wasting food, then farmers are wasting water to grow the food

that is thrown away.

Chris: Yes, food waste puts pressure on the supply of water too. Looking into the

future, this will become a greater problem. By 2050, it's likely we'll be

using 50% more fresh water to feed the extra 3 billion people on the

planet.

Jen: So we need to think more carefully about food and water waste… Maybe I

should hang on to this sandwich then.

Chris: I think you should. Now, returning to the question I asked at the

beginning of the programme: how much food is wasted every year around

the world? Is it:

a) 5,000 tonnes

b) 1 million tonnes

c) 1.3 billion tonnes

Jen: And I said it was c) 1.3 billion tonnes.

Chris: And you were absolutely right. It's a staggering amount of waste.

Jen: It certainly is food for thought!

Chris: I agree with that. Well, that's all we've got time for. Do join us again for

more 6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com. Bye for now!

Jen: Bye!

1 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

2 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

3 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

4 blemish   

v.损害；玷污；瑕疵，缺点

参考例句：

• The slightest blemish can reduce market value.只要有一点最小的损害都会降低市场价值。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

5 blemished   

v.有损…的完美，玷污( blemish的过去式 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by that article. 他的名声被那篇文章玷污了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The scandal has blemished her shining reputation. 这件丑闻损害了她辉煌的声誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

7 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

8 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

9 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

10 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。