(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.
Demand for meat, milk and eggs is growing around the world. To meet that demand, the way these products are produced is changing. The change is from small farms to large industrial operations. This has already happened in the United States.
But not everyone is happy with the change. As a result, there is also a growing demand for products growing locally on small farms.
In Clinton, North Carolina, some old buildings are all that remain from the days when James Lame raised hogs next to his home. He saw that small farmers were having trouble competing with companies that own large farms.
"They had better consistency, better pork quality, better genetics. So after college, in '98, I decided to try and modernize."
He stopped raising hogs in small building and built two industrial-scale hog barns, each of them holds 1,500 hogs. Nearly all pigs are raised this way in the United States now.
The government says the efficiency of large-scale production in a controlled environment has helped reduce the price of a pork chop by nearly 20 percent since 1998.
These efficient and intensive production methods are being used around the world, many experts say that is a good thing as the demand for meat grows. But livestock expert Carolyn Opio points out that the land, water and feed required to produce it are limited.
"If we are to produce within the constraints that we are facing today, efficiency, I think, is key."
Mrs Opio is with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, but the results of the efficiency are not always necessarily good. The waste from thousands of confined animals can pollute waterways, and produce greenhouse gases.
And some health experts are concerned about the antibiotics and other chemicals being put in the animal's feed. Others criticize the conditions in which the animals are kept.
So today a growing number of people are like Kevin Summers in Amissville, Virginia, are returning to small-scale farming.
"In order to feed the world, I think this is a better way, It's a cleaner way. It's a more humane way."
More Americans today say they want to know where their food comes from, some might like the way Kevin Summers raises his hogs.
"I can see the entire process unfold before my eyes and know that they had a good life and were healthy and happy."
The hogs eat damaged apples and old pumpkins, this reduces food waste, but this kind of farming also means higher prices. Even so, Kevin Summers as he believes it would still be possible to meet global demand this way.
"It would just involve people making the choice to buy this kind of food and say that, 'I care about something other than just the cost.'"
And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Learning English, I'm Karen Leggett.
译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载
词汇解释
1.genetics n.遗传学
Genetics is also bringing about dramatic changes in our understanding of cancer.
遗传学也使我们对癌症的理解发生巨大的变化。
2.constraint n.约束，局促，强制
Their decision to abandon the trip was made because of financial constraints.
他们放弃这次旅行的决定是因财务限制而作出的。
3.antibiotics n.抗生素
Your doctor may prescribe antibiotics.
你的大夫可能会开抗生素。
4.humane a.仁慈的，人道的，高尚的
The humane values of socialism.
社会主义的博爱价值观。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
全世界对肉食、牛奶和鸡蛋的需求在增加，为了满足这样的需求，需要改变农产品的生产方式，即从小农户生产转向大规模的农业生产。美国已经在这么做了。
但这种改变并不是令每个人都开心，人们对小农户生产的农产品的需求也在不断增加。
在北卡罗来纳州的克林顿县，有些老建筑是詹姆斯·拉梅在自家附近养猪时建的，他看到小农户与拥有大农场的公司苦苦竞争。
“这些大公司更富连续性，猪肉质量更高，更符合遗传学。所以98年大学毕业后，我决定试试工业化生产。”
他不再在小建筑里养猪了，而是建造了两个工业化规模的养猪场，每个养猪场养了1500头猪。目前美国几乎每头猪都是这么养大的。
政府称，自1998年以来，在可控环境下进行大规模生产提高了效率，使得猪排的价格降低了近20%。
这种高效的、集约化的生产方式在全世界得到应用，许多专家称这对肉食的增长有好处。但畜牧专家Carolyn Opio称，生产所需的土地、水和饲料是有限的。
“如果我们想在目前面临限制的情况下进行生产，那么效率就是关键。”
Opio就职于联合国粮农组织，但效率的结果未必都是好的。圈养动物排放的粪便会污染水道，产生温室气体。
有的健康专家担心抗生素等化学物质被放入动物饲料，其他人批评动物的饲养环境。
所以，如今有越来越多的人开始回归小规模农业，正如弗吉尼亚州阿米斯维尔的凯文·萨默斯那样。
“为了养活全世界人口，我想这是更好的办法，更清洁的办法，也是更人性的办法。”
如今许多美国人表示希望知道自己所吃食物的来源，有的人就喜欢凯文·萨默斯的养猪方式。
“能亲眼看到整个过程，知道这些猪过得不错，很健康很快乐。”
这些猪吃坏苹果和老南瓜，这就减少了食物浪费，但这种饲养方式也意味着高成本。尽管如此，凯文·萨默斯仍相信这种方式仍能满足全球的需求。
“这就涉及到选择问题，人们在购买这种食物时会说，‘我更关系成本以外的东西。’”
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
