经济学人:鸡肉经济:鸡肉为何如此受欢迎(3)

 Similarly, the European Union banned the import of chlorinated American chicken in 1997, owing to concern that a chlorine wash allows lower hygiene¹ standards in farms. 同样，欧盟在1997年禁止进口氯化美国鸡肉，因为担心用氯清洗会降低农场的卫生标准。

Arguments over chlorinated chickens also proved a big stumbling block in negotiations² for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership³, a now-failed trade deal between America and the EU. 关于氯化鸡的争论也被证明是《跨大西洋贸易与投资伙伴关系协定》谈判中的一大障碍。

Some Britons fear that if they leave the EU any trade deal signed with America would require them to accept imports of such chickens. 某些英国人担心脱欧后，与美国签署的任何贸易协议都将要求他们接受此类鸡的进口。

Although the chicken boom has been good for consumers, animal-welfare advocates worry that the meat industry's costcutting measures have come at the expense of the birds. 尽管养鸡热潮对消费者有利，但是动物福利倡导者担心，肉类行业的成本削减措施是以牺牲禽类为代价的。

Vicky Bond of the Humane⁴ League, an animal-welfare campaign group, says the size of modern chickens is the cause of the worst problems. 动物福利运动组织人道联盟的维姬·邦德说，现代鸡的大小是造成最严重问题的原因。

Broilers have breast muscles which are too big for their bones to support, leading to lameness⁵. 肉鸡的胸肌太大，骨头无法支撑，导致跛足。

In Colchester the chickens are so unresponsive to humans that they resemble zombies. 在科尔切斯特，鸡对人毫无反应，就像僵尸一样。

Indeed, modern chickens have become so big that their muscles prevent them from getting on top of each other to mate 事实上，现代鸡已经变得非常大，以至于其肌肉阻止相互交配

(meaning they have to be starved before they are able to consider romance). （这意味着他们想要爱情必先挨饿）。

Partly because of advocacy by animalwelfare charities, and partly because meat has become so affordable⁶, more consumers are now willing to pay for meat raised in better conditions. 部分原因是动物福利慈善机构的倡导，还有部分原因是鸡肉价格很低，如今，越来越多的消费者愿意为在更好条件下饲养的肉类买单。

Sales of free-range and organic chickens, which—unlike most broilers—have access to the outdoors, are surging. 自由放养和有机鸡的销量正在飙升，而与大多数肉鸡不同的是，有机鸡可以在户外饲养。

In the Netherlands, a recent public outcry over enormous plofkip (which translates as “exploded chicken”) was so intense that retailers⁷ switched in droves to breeds that grow more slowly. 最近，荷兰公众对体型巨大的“plofkip”(意为“爆炸鸡”强烈抗议，使得零售商纷纷转向生长速度较慢的品种。

Plofkip's share of the Dutch market plummeted⁸ from around 60% in 2015 to 5% in 2017. Plofkip在荷兰市场的份额从2015年的60%暴跌至2017年的5%。

In Britain sales of free-range eggs have overtaken those of caged ones. 在英国，土鸡蛋的销量已经超过了笼养鸡蛋。

 

1 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

2 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。

3 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

4 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

5 lameness   

n. 跛, 瘸, 残废

参考例句：

• Having been laughed at for his lameness,the boy became shy and inhibited. 那男孩因跛脚被人讥笑，变得羞怯而压抑。
• By reason of his lameness the boy could not play games. 这男孩因脚跛不能做游戏。

6 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

7 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

8 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》