VOA慢速英语--美国人将昆虫作为新食物？

Would Americans Let Edible¹ Insects Come to Dinner?

It may sound sickening to some of you, but many people can and do eat insects.

Edible insects are a great source of high quality protein and minerals known to be important to good health, like calcium² and iron. Insect larvae³, or young, offer all that, as well high quality fat, which is good for brain development.

Insects are food in many parts of the world, but not in the United States. In the U.S., concerns about and even fear of the creatures mean serving insects as meals is extremely rare.

But that is starting to change.

Wendy Lu McGill is opening a shipping⁴ container in a community just outside Denver, Colorado. She steps into a little room that is lined with small white boxes. Machines keep the room’s temperature around 26 degrees Celsius⁵. The relative humidity, or level of wetness in the air, is 80 percent. The conditions are just right for the extremely small creatures McGill is raising: mealworms.

"Rocky Mountain Micro Ranch⁷ is Colorado's first and only edible insect farm. We raise crickets and mealworms to sell to restaurants and food manufacturers."

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization has said that the world’s demand for protein from beef and even chicken is unsustainable. Protein from bugs⁹ is one possible solution.

McGill grows nearly 275 kilograms of insects every month. She feeds them crushed, wet grain. A carrot supplies their water needs. Each mealworm is about half the size of the smallest finger on a human hand. Thousands of the insects bend and move in each shallow container.

"I want to be part of trying to figure out how to feed ourselves better as we have less land and water and a hotter planet and more people to feed."

Visiting McGill’s Micro Ranch today are Terry Koelling and his grandchildren.

Andrew is almost five years old and Zora is nearly three. Like most Americans, they have never ever eaten a bug⁸. They do not seem to want to try one now, either.

"I don't think they are very appealing, as far as something you put in your mouth. And you see them around dead things, and it just doesn't appeal to me to eat something that seems to be so wild."

Another visitor to the insect farm already likes the idea of using bugs as food.

"I'm Amy Franklin and I'm founder¹⁰ of a non-profit called Farms for Orphans¹¹. And what we do is farm bugs for food because in other countries where we work, they're a really, really popular food."

Franklin works in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In its markets, people sell live wild-caught crickets and African Palm weevil larvae to eat. These wild insects are only plentiful¹² seasonally¹³.

Franklin says some Congolese orphanages¹⁴ grow African Palm weevil larvae year round in shipping containers.

"Most of the orphanages don't own any land. There really is no opportunity for them to grow a garden or to raise chickens. Insects are a protein source that they can grow in a very small space."

Andrew and Zora are still unsure. To get them a little more used to the idea of insect protein, McGill brings out a small container filled with mealworms that have been cooked and salted.

"Can I just taste one?"

"Yeah! One. Totally. It's really crispy and salty."

"Tastes kind of crunchy and kind of yummy."

Bugs also taste yummy at Linger, a Denver restaurant where Sean Bruno prepares gourmet¹⁵ grubs.

Jeremy Kittleson is Linger’s food director. He says the restaurant is working to change American food interests.

"As much as we love beef, there's no scientist, there's no environmentalist that's gonna tell you cattle farming is a sustainable practice. We should eat more insects."

As his grandchildren watch disbelievingly, Koelling tries the Cricket Soba Noodle Dish. With a surprised look of pleasure, he says he likes the crickets.

"Kind of like a hard raisin⁶. The seasoning's great! Huh. I'm kinda surprised."

Amy Franklin gives a toast with a forkful of noodles and crickets.

"Bug Appetit."

I'm Caty Weaver¹⁶.

1 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。

2 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

3 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

4 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

5 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

6 raisin   

n.葡萄干

参考例句：

• They baked us raisin bread.他们给我们烤葡萄干面包。
• You can also make raisin scones.你也可以做葡萄干烤饼。

7 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。

8 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

9 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

11 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

12 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

13 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

14 orphanages   

孤儿院( orphanage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It is Rotarians running orphanages for children who have no homes. 扶轮社员们为没有家的孩子办孤儿院。
• Through the years, she built churches, hospitals and orphanages. 许多年来，她盖了一间间的教堂、医院、育幼院。

15 gourmet   

n.食物品尝家；adj.出于美食家之手的

参考例句：

• What does a gourmet writer do? 美食评论家做什么？
• A gourmet like him always eats in expensive restaurants.像他这样的美食家总是到豪华的餐馆用餐。

16 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。