2007年VOA标准英语- US Food Aid Groups Debate Practice of Monetiza

By Margaret Besheer
Washington
04 September 2007

The U.S.-based charity CARE recently made headlines for turning down some $45 million in U.S. government food aid.  The decision to refuse the aid is tied to the group's opposition¹ to the practice of selling U.S. government-subsidized foodstuffs² for cash to support food aid programs. From Washington, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

The United States is the largest food aid donor³ in the world, contributing more than $1 billion annually⁴. That aid helps millions of people around the world in emergency situations, such as wars and natural disasters, as well as funding development programs for the eradication⁵ of malnutrition⁶ and hunger.

But procuring⁷, shipping⁸, storing and distributing more than 2.5 million metric tons of aid each year is complex and costly⁹. In the mid-1980s, U.S. legislation introduced the practice of selling some of the American-grown food in recipient¹⁰ countries to generate cash to support the costs associated with providing food aid, a practice called monetization.

Doctor Helene Gayle, the president of the U.S.-based charity CARE, says monetization is harmful to local farmers and economies, because it floods local markets with cheap imported crops, which local farmers cannot compete with.

"Our feeling was this is just a practice that is inconsistent with our overall goal of reducing chronic¹¹ hunger and of reducing poverty, and we felt it wasn't consistent to continue to be part of a practice that we thought was actually counterproductive for our very goals," she said.

CARE says it will phase out the practice by 2009, and instead will look to fill the financial gap through other sources of revenue, such as private and corporate¹² contributions.

Many charitable organizations agree with CARE's position, including Catholic Relief Services.  Michael Wiest of CRS says his organization agrees monetization is inefficient¹³, but says it will continue the practice for now.

"We don't like it either, but we think the cost to our beneficiaries is too high," he added.  "In other words, the number of poor children that will no longer have assistance, because we take this position is just too high for us to accept that as sort of an approach to bring about a policy change in Washington."

But some non-governmental organizations support monetization.

The Alliance for Food is a coalition¹⁴ of 15 non-profit organizations with humanitarian¹⁵ and development programs overseas.  Executive Director Ellen Levinson says members believe monetization is important in some developing countries.

"We see it in areas that have regular food shortages and must rely on imports to meet their food needs, we believe monetization adds to the food security of that country when done properly," she noted¹⁶.

Bill Hammink, the director of the office of Food for Peace at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), says the government strongly supports monetization and that there are mechanisms¹⁷ to ensure that it does not negatively impact local markets.

"Our monetized food aid does not flood local markets," he explained.  "There are strict, rigorous procedures in place to limit any impact on local production in markets. In fact by law, we are required to carry out a detailed¹⁸ assessment¹⁹ of potential risks or impact on local production and markets. In some cases, we've actually changed programs as we've gone along."

But several food aid experts, including Michael Wiest of Catholic Relief Services, say monetization is not the most important issue on the food aid agenda.

"A rethink of the U.S. government food aid program in the overall is called for," he explained.  "Because it is kind of dying a slow death with this slow contraction²⁰, and monetization is really a manifestation²¹ of that."

One change some aid groups advocate would be to amend²² U.S. law to allow them to purchase more locally produced products in recipient countries, instead of importing them from the U.S. 

"That, in the long run, would build sustainable economies in those countries and be a much more efficient way of providing food for emergency situations or food for people who are in need," added Dr. Helene Gayle of CARE.  "We would like to see more experiments that actually look at pilot [projects] in that direction. And that would be a way that we really could be more efficient in looking at this issue of chronic hunger."

One thing all the organizations agree on is the importance of U.S. food aid around the world.  They say the program has been hugely successful over the past 50 years in saving millions of lives.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 foodstuffs   

食物，食品( foodstuff的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Imports of foodstuffs accounted for a small proportion of total imports. 食物进口仅占总进口额的一小部份。
• Many basic foodstuffs, such as bread and milk, are tax-free. 许多基本食物如牛奶和面包是免税的。

3 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

4 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。

5 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。

6 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

7 procuring   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• He was accused of procuring women for his business associates. 他被指控为其生意合伙人招妓。 来自辞典例句
• She had particular pleasure, in procuring him the proper invitation. 她特别高兴为他争得这份体面的邀请。 来自辞典例句

8 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。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

10 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

11 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

12 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

13 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

17 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

19 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

20 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

21 manifestation   

n.表现形式；表明；现象

参考例句：

• Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
• What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。

22 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。