新奇事件簿 牛肉生产破坏环境

A new study says beef production is very damaging to the environment. It damages the environment around ten times more than the production of pork, lamb, chicken or other farm animals. Scientists said cows need 28 times more land and 11 times more water than pigs, sheep or chickens. They also produce a lot of greenhouse¹ gas after they eat. Compared to food like potatoes, wheat, and rice, beef production needs 160 times more land and produces 11 times more greenhouse gases. The scientists said farming (of livestock² and crops) is a major cause of global warming. It causes 15 per cent of all greenhouse gases. About half of this is from livestock.

一项新的研究表明，牛肉生产会严重破坏环境。生产牛肉对环境造成的破坏程度是生产猪肉、羊肉、鸡肉等家畜所造成的破坏程度的十几倍。科学家称，饲养牛肉与饲养猪、羊、鸡相比，需要28倍多的土地，需要11倍多的水。牛在进食之后，也会产生大量温室气体。与土豆、小麦和水稻相比，牛肉生产需要160倍多的土地，并且会产生11倍多的温室气体。科学家称，农业（饲养家畜和种植粮食）是全球变暖的主要原因之一。农业产生的温室气体约为所有温室气体的15%。其中一半来自于家畜。

One scientist said we could all reduce our carbon footprint by eating less beef. Professor Mark Sutton from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in the UK said cutting down on the amount of beef we eat is better for the environment than using the car less. He also said that if we ate less beef, we could use the wheat that farmers give to cows to feed starving people. He said this sounds simple, but many governments would not try to do it. Professor Sutton said: "Governments should consider these messages carefully if they want to improve overall³ production." He added: "The message for the consumer is even stronger. Avoiding excessive⁴ meat consumption⁵, especially beef, is good for the environment."

一位科学家说，我们可以通过减少牛肉的食用量来降低二氧化碳排放量。来自于英国生态与水文中心的马克.萨顿教授，称降低牛肉食用量对环境的好处，比降低使用汽车频率的好处还要大。他还说，如果我们少吃牛肉，我们就可以把农民喂给牛的那些小麦救济那些挨饿的穷人。他说，这听起来很简单。但是，大多数政府不会这样做。萨顿教授说，如果政府想要提高总产量，那就应该考虑一下这些信息。他还说，消费者的信息更加有效。避免过度吃肉，尤其是牛肉，对于环境有好处。

1 greenhouse   

n.花房，温室，玻璃暖房

参考例句：

• Behind the green house was a greenhouse.在那所绿房子后面是一个花房。
• The tomatoes were grown in the greenhouse.这些西红柿是在温室栽培的。

2 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

3 overall   

n.工作服，工装裤；全面的，全体的

参考例句：

• The shop assistant was wearing a white overall.那店员穿着白色的工作服。
• How much will it cost overall?一共多少钱？

4 excessive   

adj.过多的，过分的，过度的

参考例句：

• The prices at this hotel are excessive.这家旅馆的价钱贵得过分。
• She takes an excessive interest in clothes.她过分注重衣着。

5 consumption   

n.消费，消耗，消费额，消耗量，结核病

参考例句：

• Consumption of oil has declined in recent years.石油消耗量在最近几年下降了。
• The meat was condemned as unfit for human consumption.这种肉已被宣布不适宜人们食用。