VOA慢速英语2010年-Agriculture Report - Slaughterhouses o

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

One of the great American success stories after World War Two was the rise of industrial farming. But now small is big. People who say they worry about their food and their environment are looking for locally grown produce from small farms.

Local meat producers want a piece of the action. But small farmers often have a difficult time getting their animals to market. Many cannot pay the cost of a large slaughterhouse.

Also, the number of slaughterhouses in the United States has decreased sharply since the nineteen eighties. Some small farmers have to travel long distances to have their animals killed and processed.

But now if a farmer cannot get to the slaughterhouse, the slaughterhouse may come to the farmer.

The United States Department of Agriculture, the USDA, is helping² farmers to pay for and operate mobile slaughter¹ units. These are trucks and trailers equipped to do the job, including inspection³. A federal inspector⁴ travels with the unit.

Workers guide a quartered section of a cow in the Central Coast Agriculture Cooperative's mobile slaughterhose on the Poett Ranch⁵ near Lompoc, California, in July 2009

Last September the USDA announced a sixty-five million dollar program called "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food." The aim is to support local farmers, rural communities and healthy eating. As part of that effort, officials are trying to spread the word about mobile slaughter units.

Ten years ago, in Washington State, fifteen farmers raising sheep and other livestock⁶ formed a cooperative. Their group, the Island Grown Farmers Cooperative, wanted to build a traditional slaughterhouse.

But neighbors objected. So the farmers designed a slaughterhouse on wheels. The Department of Agriculture approved the first mobile slaughter unit in two thousand two.

There are now forty-four farmers in that cooperative. And mobile units are being used around the country not just for sheep and cattle.

A group in Alaska uses a mobile slaughterhouse for reindeer⁷. And an organization in South Dakota has a mobile unit for buffalo⁸.

Workers clean outside the Central Coast Agriculture Cooperative's mobile slaughterhose

The United States has a limited number of federal meat inspectors⁹. Some farm co-ops operate with state inspectors. But red meat and meat that will be sold in other states must have federal inspection.

Right now, officials say nine groups are operating federally approved mobile units. They say these slaughterhouses on wheels are not only a way to build local food systems, but also to help local economies.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. For more reports, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Bob Doughty¹⁰.
 

1 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

4 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

5 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

6 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。

7 reindeer   

n.驯鹿

参考例句：

• The herd of reindeer was being trailed by a pack of wolves.那群驯鹿被一只狼群寻踪追赶上来。
• The life of the Reindeer men was a frontier life.驯鹿时代人的生活是一种边区生活。

8 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

9 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。