VOA标准英语2015--区域冲突和气候影响食品安全

Conflict, Climate Affect Food Security 区域冲突和气候影响食品安全

A new report says there were both advances and setbacks in food security in 2014. Poverty was reduced last year and the number of hungry people declined. However, conflict, climate change and disease disrupted food production and trade.

The International Food Policy Research Institute has released its Global Food Policy Report. IFPRI Director- General Shenggen Fan listed some of the accomplishments¹ of last year.

“We have achieved some progress. For example, we paid more attention to nutrition. We also think water, hygiene² are very important in solving children’s under nutrition. We have also seen new commitments on trade and climate change – and [a] focus on family farming. The year 2014 was a year of family farming. So we made enough progress on various fronts.”

But Fan said 2014 had its share of threats to food security.

“For example,” he said, “persistent conflicts, reemerging of zoonotic diseases – avian influenza³, Ebola – and continued extreme weather shocks – typhoon in the Philippines – rising food safety scandals – Taiwan, mainland China and beyond. [There was also the] higher prices of nutritious⁴ foods, such as vegetables and fruits, despite very stable grain prices for the last four or five years.” 

Syria topped the list of conflicts in 2014 with its regional impact. Somalia and South Sudan are other examples of how conflict threatens food security for millions of people.

“We have seen the increased correlation⁵ between conflicts and increased malnutrition⁶ in many parts of the world. In the rest of the world, we have achieved tremendous progress in cutting hunger and malnutrition, although the number is still very high. But it is in some of the conflict zones that malnutrition is actually rising,” he said.

Fan said climate change has long-term consequences on food security. He says there are still some skeptics, despite the overwhelming number of studies confirming its effects.

“Increased floods, cyclones⁷, droughts definitely should change their mind. And extreme weather events will happen more frequent and more extreme. That will affect the ability of human beings in producing more food and more nutritious food.”

The Global Food Policy Report said conditions for thousands of people fleeing violence in northern Nigeria, Central African Republic and Mali were made worse by low rainfall and drought. It said that a “lack of rain threatened the food and nutrition security and livelihoods⁸ of both hosting communities and refugees.”

The report added the occurrence of both “weather shocks and conflicts may not be coincidental”…and said that “abnormally high temperatures in Sudan and South Sudan…strongly raise the risk of conflict.”

The IFPRI Director-General said lessons about food security were learned during the Ebola crisis. 

“The first lesson we learn is our global food system is very vulnerable to diseases. Ebola has [a] huge impact on people’s access to nutritious food. The production was interrupted. The market was disrupted. The trade does not come. For example, some of the rice exporting countries were very reluctant to send their grains to the Ebola affected⁹ countries,” he said.

The International Food Policy Research Institute also said middle income countries play a pivotal role in eliminating hunger and malnutrition. It said while Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Mexico may be “rising economic powerhouses,” middle income countries are home to more than 360 million hungry people.

Fan said, “They are facing [a] triple burden of malnutrition. Hunger – 50 percent of the world’s hungry people live in these countries. Then, lack of micronutrients – Vitamin A, zinc¹⁰, iron, and also increased obesity¹¹ and overweight. So, they are facing triple burdens and the second burden, third burden arising very quickly.”

The IFPRI report called on governments of middle income countries to “reshape their food systems to focus on nutrition and health, closing the gender¹² gap in agriculture and improving rural infrastructure¹³.”

Fan said the report will be used to influence the writing of the Sustainable Development Goals. They’ll soon succeed the Millennium¹⁴ Development Goals. There could be as many as 17 SDGs compared to eight for the MDGs, and they could contain nearly 170 target areas.

1 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

3 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

4 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

5 correlation   

n.相互关系，相关，关连

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first.第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。
• A high correlation exists in America between education and economic position.教育和经济地位在美国有极密切的关系。

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 cyclones   

n.气旋( cyclone的名词复数 )；旋风；飓风；暴风

参考例句：

• The pricipal objective in designing cyclones is to create a vortex. 设计旋风除尘器的主要目的在于造成涡旋运动。 来自辞典例句
• Middle-latitude cyclones originate at the popar front. 中纬度地区的气旋发源于极锋。 来自辞典例句

8 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 zinc   

n.锌；vt.在...上镀锌

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• Zinc is used to protect other metals from corrosion.锌被用来保护其他金属不受腐蚀。

11 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

12 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

13 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

14 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。