纽约时报 令人爱恨交加的转基因作物(2)

 

By 2003, RoundUp Ready corn and soy seeds dominated the market, and Monsanto had become the largest producer of genetically¹ engineered seeds, responsible for more than 90 percent of G.M.O. crops planted globally.

到2003年，抗草甘膦玉米和大豆种子占据了市场主导地位，孟山都已成为最大的转基因种子生产商，占全球种植转基因作物的90%以上。

But the company's rollout also alarmed and antagonized farmers, who were required to sign restrictive contracts to use the patented seeds, and whom Monsanto aggressively prosecuted². At one point, the company had a 75-person team dedicated³ solely⁴ to investigating farmers suspected of saving seed — a traditional practice in which seeds from one year's crop are saved for planting the following year — and prosecuting⁵ them on charges of intellectual-property infringement⁶. Environmental groups were also concerned, because of the skyrocketing use of RoundUp and the abrupt⁷ decline in agricultural diversity.

但该公司的做法也引起了农民的警觉和反对，他们被要求签署限制性合同才能使用专利种子，而且孟山都还不遗余力地对他们进行起诉。该公司一度组建了一个75人的团队，专门调查涉嫌保存种子的农民，并以侵犯知识产权的罪名起诉他们，而保存种子是传统做法，即将一年作物的种子保存到下一年种植。环境组织也感到担忧，因为抗草甘膦的使用量激增，而农业多样性急剧下降。

That resistance was compounded because early G.M.O.s — which focused largely on pest — and herbicide-resistance — offered little direct benefit to the consumer. And once public sentiment was set, it proved hard to shift, even when more beneficial products began to emerge. One of these, Golden Rice, was made in 1999 by a pair of university researchers hoping to combat vitamin A deficiency, a simple but devastating⁸ ailment⁹ that causes blindness in millions of people in Africa and Asia annually¹⁰, and that can also be fatal. But the project foundered¹¹ after protests by anti-G.M.O. activists¹² in the United States and Europe, which in turn alarmed governments and populations in developing countries.

抵抗之所以加剧，是因为早期的转基因生物主要集中在害虫和除草剂抗性上，对消费者几乎没有直接的好处。公众情绪一旦确立，即使更有益的产品开始出现，也很难再改变。其中一种有益产品是金米，由两名大学研究人员于1999年制造，他们希望对抗维生素A缺乏症，这是一种简单但具破坏性的疾病，每年导致非洲和亚洲数百万人失明，而且可能致命。但该项目因为遭到美国和欧洲反转基因活动人士的抗议而失败，这反过来又给发展中国家的政府和民众敲响了警钟。

 

1 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

2 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

3 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

4 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

5 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。

6 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯

7 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

8 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

9 ailment   

n.疾病，小病

参考例句：

• I don't have even the slightest ailment.我什么毛病也没有。
• He got timely treatment for his ailment.他的病得到了及时治疗。

10 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

11 foundered   

v.创始人( founder的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Three ships foundered in heavy seas. 三艘船在波涛汹涌的海面上沉没了。 来自辞典例句
• The project foundered as a result of lack of finance. 该项目因缺乏资金而告吹。 来自辞典例句

12 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》