1、精選優(yōu)質文檔-傾情為你奉上精選優(yōu)質文檔-傾情為你奉上專心-專注-專業(yè)專心-專注-專業(yè)精選優(yōu)質文檔-傾情為你奉上專心-專注-專業(yè)GM Crops:Food of Future?轉基因作物：未來的糧食？Genetically-modified crops have made a big splash in the news lately. 轉基因作物最近在新聞中引起很大轟動。During the Oxford Farming Conference, held in London early this month, the British governments chief scientist, P

2、rofessor John Beddington, warned that Britain must embrace接受 genetically-modified(GM) crops and cutting-edge developments發(fā)展前沿 to avoid catastrophic災難 food shortages and future climate change (The Guardian, 7January 2010).本月初，在倫敦舉行的牛津農(nóng)業(yè)會議上，英國政府首席科學家John Beddington教授警告說，為了避免災難性的食物短缺和未來氣候變化英國必須接受轉基因作物和

3、發(fā)展前沿（衛(wèi)報，7january 2010）。This announcement came under fire收到抨擊 from farmers, academics and environmental groups. 這一通告受到農(nóng)民、學術界和環(huán)保組織的強烈批評（攻擊）。They fear that GM seeds will erode 侵蝕traditional farmers rights and practices, contaminate污染 seed supplies, and increase farmers dependence on private monopolized

4、 壟斷agricultural resources.他們擔心轉基因種子會侵蝕傳統(tǒng)農(nóng)民的權利和做法，污染種子供應，增加農(nóng)民對私人壟斷農(nóng)業(yè)資源的依賴。In recent years, hundreds of millions數(shù)億 of acres around the world (the US tops the list followed by Canada) have been planted with GM seeds. 近年來，世界各地有數(shù)億英畝土地(美國位居首位，其次是加拿大)已經(jīng)種植了轉基因種子。These seeds derived from organisms whose DNA

5、has been modified through genetic engineering基因工程. 這些種子來源于通過基因工程改造DNA的生物體。They are altered using lab techniques that make a particular crop drought-tolerant,resistant to pests, or richer in a particular nutrient.它們通過實驗室技術改變作物，使作物具有耐旱性、抗蟲性，或者在特定營養(yǎng)物質中更豐富。There are many concerns about GM foods, includi

6、ng issues relating to health, the environment and contamination.人們對轉基因食品有許多擔憂，包括與健康、環(huán)境和污染有關的問題。Environmentalists and farmers fear that genetically-engineered insect-resistant crops抗蟲作物 could harm beneficial insects and upset-ecosystem balances破壞生態(tài)系統(tǒng)平衡.環(huán)保人士和農(nóng)民害怕轉基因抗蟲作物會傷害有益的昆蟲，破壞生態(tài)平衡。Some scientists

7、share their concern that genes inserted into plant or animal foods may inadvertently無意間 create new allergens過敏原 (substances物質 that cause 引起allergies in some individuals) or toxins.毒素一些科學家也擔心植入動物或植物中的基因可能無意中產(chǎn)生新的過敏原（引起某些人過敏的物質）或者毒素。There are also concerns about the overall threat全面威脅 to the seed diver

8、sity and the healthy diversity of our food supply.也有人擔心對種子多樣性的全面威脅以及事物供應的健康多樣性Climate change and its current and potential impacts on food supplies have an increasing profile 側面globally.氣候變化及其現(xiàn)狀和食物的潛在影響在全球有越來越多的情況(側面信息)Increasing global population and urbanization combined with結合 the need to combat戰(zhàn)

9、斗，應對 climate change, means the world will need to produce more food over the next decades, using less land, less water, less fertilizer肥料 and less pesticide.隨著全球人口和城市化的增加以及應對氣候變化的需要，世界將需要在未來幾十年中用更少的土地、更少的水、量少的農(nóng)藥來生產(chǎn)更多的糧食。In the race to tackle the problems接觸困境 of climate change, a growing number of co

10、untries are viewing GM crops as a vital tool for feeding a growing world population from a limited supply of agricultural land.在應對氣候變化問題的競賽中，越來越多的國家把轉基因作物看作是從有限的農(nóng)業(yè)供應量中養(yǎng)活日益增長的世界人口的一個重要工具。According to Eldis, a database and email service of information source on international development, Transgenic cr

11、ops, with a traits like drought-tolerance or the ability to use nitrogen more efficiently, are proposed as vital tools to enable farmers to adapt to a warmer,direr climate.據(jù)Eldis說，一個數(shù)據(jù)庫和國際發(fā)展信息源的電子郵件服務，“轉基因作物，具有抗旱性狀或利用氮的能力更高 最近，提出了重要的工具，使農(nóng)民適應溫暖的氣候，更加可怕。”Eldis 認為，一個數(shù)據(jù)庫和國際發(fā)展信息源的電子郵件服務，具有抗旱性的轉基因作物或者更有效使

12、用氮的轉基因作物提出了一個使農(nóng)民適應溫暖氣候的工具，氣候干燥劑。UK-based PG Economics recently confirmed that genetically-modified(GM) crops had significantly reduced the release of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural practices through less fuel use and additional soil carbon storage from reduced tillage associated with GM

13、crops.最近，總部設在英國的PG經(jīng)濟學指出：轉基因作物大大減少了在農(nóng)業(yè)實踐中減少燃料使用的溫室氣體的排放量的釋放以及與轉基因作物相關的減少了耕作，增加了土壤中碳的儲藏量。Critics of GM point out that GM crops are ineffective in tacking the underlying political and economic causes of food insecurity including the lack of access to land, water and energy.轉基因作物的批評者指出，轉基因作物在解決糧食不安全的根本政

14、治和經(jīng)濟原因是無效的，食物不安全的原因包括缺乏土地、水、和能源They argue that GM food could be disastrous for small-scale farmers as the costs are much higher and they risk falling into debt.他們認為轉基因食品對小規(guī)模農(nóng)戶來說可能是災難性的，因為成本太高，他們有可能陷入債務。Many farmers also believe that the profit of the agrochemical industry is main force behind the em

15、ergence of GM crops.許多農(nóng)民還認為，轉基因作物出現(xiàn)后農(nóng)藥行業(yè)的利潤才是主力軍Genetically-modified crops could provide more and better choices for farmers, but so far, they represent a limited genetic ownership.轉基因作物可以為農(nóng)民提供更多更好的選擇，但到目前為止，它們代表了呈現(xiàn)出了有基因限制的所有權。Four multinational corporations-Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer Crop Science an

16、d Dupont - now control most of the GM seeds and pesticides market-pesticides are made by the same companies that engineer the seeds.四個跨國企業(yè)孟山都、先正達、拜耳作物科學和杜邦-現(xiàn)在控制了大部分的轉基因種子和農(nóng)藥市場，殺蟲劑被處理過的種子的同樣的公司控制。To purchase genetically-modified seeds, a farmer must sign an intellectual property agreement知識產(chǎn)權協(xié)議 in or

17、der to prevent the duplication復制 of the genetic enhancements為了購買轉基因種子，農(nóng)民必須簽署知識產(chǎn)權協(xié)議，以防止基因增強的重復。With the total monopoly over GM Seeds, it is impossible不可能的 for independent researchers to verify 核實how these crops are actually performing執(zhí)行，表演. 由于轉基因種子被全部壟斷，獨立的研究者核實這些作物的實際運作形式是不可能的。Under the threat of li

18、tigation訴訟, scientists cannot test a seed to explore the different conditions under which it thrives or fails.在訴訟的威脅下，科學家無法測試一個種子，以探索其興盛或衰敗的不同條件。And perhaps most importantly, they cannot examine whether the genetically-modified crops lead領導，導致 to unintended意想不到的 environmental side effects副作用.(Scient

19、ific American Magazine, August 2009)也許最重要的是，他們不能檢查轉基因作物是否會導致意想不到的環(huán)境副作用。（科學美國雜志，2009年8月）Although agrochemical companies and scientists have a lot of time and money to convince說服 people that there is really nothing to worry about, consumers have reacted strongly強烈反應 against GM food. 雖然農(nóng)藥公司和科學家有大量的時間和金錢來說服人們，沒有什么可擔心的，但消費者對轉基因食品反應強烈。For many, the claim that having GM crops will help to feed the worlds growing population is invalid.無效的 對許多人來說，擁有轉基因作物將有助于養(yǎng)活世界上日益增長的人口的說法是無效的。Many people in the world are suffering from hunger because they cannot afford