2006年VOA标准英语-French Consumers Cut Poultry Consumption i

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
07 March 2006

These are dark days for poultry¹ eaters in France, land of foie gras, coq au vin, and other gastronomic² delights. Sales of chickens and other fowl³ began tumbling well before Europe's first bird flu was detected in French turkeys last month. From Paris, Lisa Bryant has this report for VOA about the impact of bird flu in France, Europe's largest poultry producer and exporter.

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Ducks stand in cages at a farm in Clermont, France   
  

The poultry for sale at one northern Paris supermarket is not much to speak of: just four smoked chickens and no fresh meat in sight. Claudia Chetrit, ringing up a few customers at the family-run store, says there's no point in ordering more.

Chetrit says every time she orders poultry from a wholesaler⁴, it just sits on the shelf. People just aren't eating chicken any more, she says. They watch television, they read the newspapers, and they're afraid.

What French shoppers are afraid of is contracting the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, even though experts say its safe to eat cooked poultry. Nonetheless, consumption of chicken and other fowl is plummeting⁵, as new cases of bird flu are detected among wild birds in France and elsewhere in Europe. French fears only grew after the first cases of the H5N1 strain were found in a turkey farm in east-central France.

Jean-Luc Angot, deputy director general for the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris, notes this is not the first time panic has spread among European meat consumers. The same scenario⁶ occurred a few years ago, when the mad cow scare hit the region and beef consumption plummeted⁷. Now, he says, Europeans are facing the same crisis when it comes to bird flu.
 

A cat sits in a cage in animal shelter in Austrian town of Graz, March 6, 2006  
  
Several European countries, especially Poland, are now grappling with the deadly H5N1 strain. The virus has even infected several cats in Germany and Austria. But the economic impact is harshest in France. Besides a dive in domestic poultry consumption, more than 40 countries have imposed whole or partial bans on French exports of chicken, foie gras and other products. Experts tally⁸ the losses at about $48 million a month.

Cautious French diners, like store owner Chetrit, are steering⁹ clear of all poultry these days. "We need to take precautions," Chetrit says. "When authorities say there is no more bird flu around, we will start eating chicken again."

Chetrit's anxieties are echoed across France. At least one French mayor has taken chicken off school lunch menus. Local fire stations and veterinary clinics are deluged¹⁰ with calls from worried citizens who have spotted¹¹ dead birds or want to know how to safely cook poultry. And attendance at France's annual agricultural fair in Paris was down drastically this year, partly because of fears of bird flu, although the only birds on display were plastic ones.

Noel Appert, head of the poultry farmer's association in France's northern Marne region, says bird flu took many in the industry by surprise. Even in September, Alpert says, slaughterhouses couldn't meet consumers' demand for fresh chicken. Then, when Europe's first cases of bird flu were reported in October, local chicken consumption plummeted.

But a new campaign is underway to win back French hearts and stomachs. In the northern Champagne¹² region, Alpert says farmers are going to supermarkets to tell worried consumers that poultry is safe to eat. The French government has also earmarked several million dollars to launch a national "buy poultry" advertising¹³ campaign, and French politicians are gobbling up dozens of chicken dinners in public appearances.

Eating poultry is even being promoted as a religious duty. In southwestern France, Bishop¹⁴ Philippe Breton is urging his Roman Catholic parishioners to keep cooking birds during Lent. The bishop's spokesman, Jean-Francois Alix, says the message is to support poultry farmers. Many are on the verge¹⁵ of losing their businesses. Their distress¹⁶ is as much moral as financial.

Not everybody is worried about eating poultry. At a butcher's shop in northern Paris, worker Fernanda Bletry says demand for her chickens - both fresh and roasted - is booming. "When they first started talking about bird flu, we were afraid," Bletry says. "But we are selling as many chickens as we did before. You should come here on Sundays. The place is packed."

Brigitte Saillard, waiting in line to be served, says she is unfazed by bird flu. "Not worried at all. If you buy chicken at a good butcher's, there is absolutely no problem," she says. "Of course, if you buy it at a tiny little place, or not very clean maybe.... But here in France, there's very good meat, so it's really not a problem."

Saillard believes French consumers should remain cautious, but there is no reason for them to panic.

1 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

2 gastronomic   

adj.美食（烹饪）法的，烹任学的

参考例句：

• The gastronomic restaurant is a feature of the hotel. 美食餐厅是这家饭店的一个特色。 来自互联网
• The restaurant offers a special gastronomic menu. 这家餐馆备有一份特别的美食菜单。 来自互联网

3 fowl   

n.家禽，鸡，禽肉

参考例句：

• Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。
• Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。

4 wholesaler   

n.批发商

参考例句：

• We're the largest furniture wholesaler in Illinois. 我们是伊利诺伊州最大的家具批发商。 来自辞典例句
• These are used to create profiles for each wholesaler. 这是他日常的工作或通过与批发商的正式会谈。 来自互联网

5 plummeting   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Prices are rising, falling, going up, going down, shooting up, plummeting, etc. 物价在上涨、下跌、上升、下落、猛然上涨、骤然下跌等。 来自辞典例句
• The enemy plane went plummeting into the sea. 敌机直直掉进海里。 来自辞典例句

6 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

7 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》

8 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

9 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

10 deluged   

v.使淹没( deluge的过去式和过去分词 )；淹没；被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没；穷于应付

参考例句：

• The minister was deluged with questions. 部长穷于应付像洪水般涌来的问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They deluged me with questions. 他们向我连珠发问。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

12 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

13 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

14 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

15 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

16 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。