101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian (1) 我為何是個素食者的101個理由(上)

101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian (1)

我為何是個素食者的101個理由(上)

By Pamela Rice 巴美拉. 蕾絲 原著 Seventh Edition, pamphlet version 2007年第7次小冊修訂本 中英對照編譯: 何智超 Tom He 中文審核: 黃文仁 James Huang / 張圓圓 Carol Zhang 1 Nearly all of the some 10 billion animals slaughtered for food in the U.S. every year are the end result of a behemothic-sized swift-moving assembly line system, incorporating dangerous, unprecedented, and unsustainable methods of production. If America’s farmers were required by law to give their animals humane living conditions, including spacious quarters, clean surroundings, fresh air, sunlight, and opportunities for social interaction--and if it were illegal simply to drug the animals who would otherwise die from the conditions in which they live--cheap meat could never exist. Time and again the industry balks at even low-cost measures designed to improve the animals’ plight. Prices have been driven to levels unnaturally low, and, alas, a luxury good has been transformed into a staple. 1.在美國每年接近有一百億隻牲口被屠殺成為食物, 而且差不多所有都是這龐然大物般的高速裝配生產線系統的結果，它融會了危險和前所未有而無法持續的生產方法。如果美國法律裡有規定農民都必須給予動物人道的生活條件的話, 例如寬敞的畜舍，清潔的環境，清新的空氣，陽光，和社交互動的機會； 如果，這些只靠藥物來維持將死于惡劣環境下的動物的生命是非法的話, 那麼廉價肉不會存在。 長期以來, 肉品業連最低成本的動物生存環境改良措施都拒絕使用。而肉價就被人為地驅使至如此不正常的低。 很可惜，奢侈豪華的商品已轉化為大宗廉價商品。 2 America’s farmed animals produce 1.3 billion tons of waste per year, or 5 tons for every U.S. citizen. (Just one cow produces 100 pounds per day.) And the pollution strength of it all can reach levels 160 times greater than that of raw municipal sewage. This vast accumulation is not neatly contained; manure is the most common pollutant today in America’s waters. Land sprayed with pig excrement is particularly toxic, since pigs contract and transmit many human diseases--namely, meningitis, salmonella, chlamydia, giardia, cryptosporidiosis, worms, and influenza. Manure is laden with phosphorous, nitrates, and heavy metals and emits ammonia, methane, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, and cyanide. Manure has always been seen as fertilizer. But in today’s quantities, it is an under-regulated industrial pollutant.  2.美國的農養動物每年制造13億噸廢物，或每個美國公民一年制造5噸排泄廢物（單單一頭奶牛每天就制造100磅) 。 如此的污染強度是相當於城市下水道污染水平的160倍。這大量的废料積累并沒受到完善的衛生控制; 動物的糞便是目前美國水中最常見的污染物。被喷淋過豬糞的土地是尤其有毒的，因為豬可感染及傳遞人類許多的疾病: 如腦膜炎，沙門氏菌，衣原體，賈第蟲，隱孢子蟲，蛔蟲和流性感冒。糞肥裡充滿了磷、硝酸鹽和重金屬, 而且會釋放氨、甲烷、硫化氫、一氧化碳、和氰化物。糞肥一直被視為肥料。但以今天的數量，它已變成了一個缺乏管制的工業污染物。 3 When people adhere to a diet rich in animal fat and protein and get little exercise, cancer risks are increased. Beef consumption raises the level of toxic substances called N-nitroso compounds, which are formed in the large bowel. The substances are believed to stick to DNA, making mutations more likely. Dietary fiber could be helpful in repairing the damage. But only plant foods contain it.  3.當人們堅持進食以動物性脂肪和蛋白質為主的飲食，又很少運動，罹患癌症的風險就會昇高。食用牛肉提高在大腸形成的, 叫N-亞硝基化合物的有毒物質的指數。科學家相信此物質會付著在DNA上而使基因突變更有可能。食物纖維可有助於修復此類損害, 但只有在植物性食物中可找到它。 4 The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 70 percent of the world’s commercial fish stocks are fully exploited, overfished, or collapsed. To supply surging world demand, fishers use rapacious techniques, such as sonar, driftnets, longlines, dredgers, and leviathan fish-packing vessels. In the case of longlining, 4.5 million hooks are launched daily. A third of the world’s harvested fish go to feed livestock or farmed fish. The ocean’s interconnected ecosystem simply cannot keep pace. Now, 90 percent of the coveted top predator fish are gone. Consequently, fishers have moved down the food web to species once considered “trash.” These species, of course, are the food source of the fish that were initially overfished. In 2006, a report published in the journal Science gave the world until 2048 for all wild commercial stocks to be wiped out. The world could be left to fish nothing but jellyfish and bait. 4. 据聯合國糧食及農業組織估計, 世界上70%的商業鱼群已經被充分的開發、過度捕撈、或瓦 解。為了供應世界上急增的需求，漁民便使用貪婪的捕魚技術, 如聲納、流網、 延繩釣、挖泥船、和利維坦魚肉包裝之船隻。至于延繩釣, 每日發動就有四千五百萬只。 世界三分之一捕撈到的魚都用來餵牲畜或成為農養魚。海洋原有的相互關聯的生態系統, 根本無法跟上。現在, 90 ％食物鏈頂端的擸食魚類已消失。因此，漁民把食物網下移到昔日被視為“垃圾”的物種.這物種當然就是最初被過度捕撈的魚的食物。在2006年科學雜誌上發表的一份報告，最晚到2048年所有野生商業魚群都會被捕光。世界上可能剩下捕的魚只有是水母和當誘餌用的小魚類。 5 The Humane Slaughter Act requires that mammals be rendered insensible to pain before being slaughtered. A Washington Post series in 2002, however, exposed a packing industry hard pressed to follow this law. Animals were found regularly butchered alive on speeded-up conveyor lines. A resolution that the Humane law be followed to the letter did become part of the U.S. Farm Bill. But long after the politicians enjoyed their photo-ops, the live butchering surely continues. Appropriated Farm Bill funds ended up being diverted to food-safety inspectors already employed. In the end, it almost doesn’t matter. The Humane law does not even apply to 99 percent of animals slaughtered, because poultry and fish are not covered by it. 5. 人道屠宰法規定，哺乳動物被屠宰前必須先將其失去知覺，然後才將其屠宰。然而, 2002年華盛頓郵報系列透露，某個肉類包裝行業並沒遵守這條法律。許多動物經常被發現被活宰于加快的輸送線上。因而一項要求以人道法必須被遵守的決議的確成為了美國農業法案一部分。但不久之後, 活屠宰又繼續。原來所撥的農業法案資金最終反被挪用到食品安全檢查員去了。不過講到最後，其實可以說都沒有什麼大不了。 因為沒有受到人道法保護的動物, 是被屠宰牲口的99 ％, 因為人道法并不保護家禽和魚類。 6 A meat diet dramatically raises your risk for heart attack, but in recent years you’re less likely to die from the trauma. Technology will probably save your life, leaving you to live with the consequences. In the case of congestive heart failure--an increasingly common outcome--your heart, now damaged, is unable to adequately circulate blood to the rest of your body, resulting in fluid build-up and organ damage. In the U.S., nearly 5 million people live with the condition, and about 550，000 new cases are diagnosed every year. The disease is the leading cause of hospitalization among the elderly, and hospital bills attributed to it total $29 billion annually. 6. 肉類飲食明顯地提高您罹患心臟病風險，但現在您比較少會因此而死亡。因為科技可能會挽救你的生命，不過就要一輩子受苦。就以心肌梗塞來說, 這種越來越常見的后果, 你的心臟因受損後而無法充分地讓你的血液在身體上流通，會導致積水和器官損傷。在美國，近5百萬人有此症狀，而每年約有55萬宗新病例。這種疾病是導致老人住院的主要原因，每年花在有關此症狀的醫藥費就將近290億美元。  7. Pigs are naturally anything but dirty and brutish and, if given half a chance, display high intelligence. Ask Professor Stanley Curtis of Pennsylvania State University. He taught several pigs to understand complex relationships between objects and actions in order to play video games. Curtis, along with his colleagues, found these creatures to be focused, creative, and innovative--equal in intelligence to chimpanzees. Other researchers have found chickens to be good at solving problems, cows to respond to music, and fish to be as individualistic as dogs. 7. 不要看豬好像很骯髒又粗野，其實如果給它一點點機會，我們會發現它有挺高的智能。不信就問問賓夕法尼亞州立大學的柯蒂斯教授。他教幾頭豬了解物件之間的複雜關係, 然後讓牠們玩电视游戏。柯蒂斯和他的同事們發現，這些動物很專心,有創造性、會創新, 和黑猩猩的智能不相上下。也有其他研究人員發現雞原來善於解決問題, 牛還真的對音樂作出回應！而魚就跟狗兩者具有其相同之獨特個性。 8 Approximately 800 million people today live with chronic hunger, and 16，000 children die from hunger-related causes every day. Yet the world cycles nearly 43 percent of all the grain that is harvested through animals to produce meat. To get a feedlot steer to gain a pound, you need 7 pounds of corn. Likewise, additional pounds of pig, chicken, and farmed fish will cost you, respectively, 3.5, 2, and 3 pounds in feed. Of course, large portions of the added weight turn into inedible tissue, such as bones. The meat industry does endeavor to increase feed-to-flesh efficiency, but the “improvements” sadly come via genetic tinkering, growth enhancing drugs, and questionable feed. 8. 今天的世界, 大約有8億人長期忍受飢餓, 每一天有1萬6千個兒童死於跟飢餓相關之因由。然而，世界上近百分之四十三的穀類都用來供給農養牲畜。要使公牛加重一磅，您需用7磅的玉米餵食。同樣地，每磅的豬、雞和養殖魚類的成本，分別為 3.5磅, 2磅和3磅飼料。很諷刺的，所增加的重量大部分都是不能被吃的身體部分，如骨頭。肉類工業的確正在很努力地提高從飼料到肉的增長效率，可悲的是，這些“改進”都是通過基因的改造, 加上使用刺激生長的藥物與一些令人懷疑的飼料。 9. About 25 million pounds of antibiotics are fed to U.S. livestock every year primarily for growth promotion. This is almost eight times the amount administered to humans. Though perfectly legal, the practice is leading to the selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and adding to the general worldwide crisis of drug-resistant disease. The consumption of meat contaminated with these superbugs raises the threat of human illnesses that physicians are unable to treat. 9在美國為了促進牲畜的生長，每年對其注射的抗生素約25萬磅, 此為將近給人類注射藥物的八倍。雖然這是完全合法的，但這種做法導致部分大腸杆菌對抗生素抵抗，也是造成世界抗藥性疾病危機的其中一個原因。 若進食了感染“超級病菌”的肉類, 可能會得一些連醫生都無法治療的疾病。 10 Every year, Americans suffer from approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5, 000 deaths from something they ate. That something was probably of animal origin. The main culprits are E. coli, salmonella, listeria, and campylobacter. The annual cost to the U.S. for the top-five foodborne pathogens, all predominantly associated with animal-derived foods: $6.9 billion. 10.每年在美國由飲食引起的病例有七千六百萬宗，住院32萬次，死亡5千宗。所吃的可能都是來源于動物。 主要元兇是E. Coli 大腸桿菌、沙門氏菌、李斯特菌及彎曲桿菌。美國前5名食源性致病菌都是跟肉食有關。 這些食源性疾病每年造成的醫療費用高達69億美元。 11 Bypass surgery requires that your rib cage be opened, your heart stopped, and your body hooked up to an external pumping machine so a vein from some other part of your body can be removed and grafted as a replacement blood vessel to your heart. Memory, language ability, and spatial orientation remain impaired in 10 to 50 percent of bypass patients six months afterward. Side effects for some never go away. Gloom and depression affect between a third and three-quarters of patients. Many will require a second operation. A vegetarian diet, regular exercise, and spiritual nourishment have proven to reverse heart disease--the biggest killer in Western countries. 11. 做心臟搭橋手術的時候，首先需要打開您的肋廓，讓您的心臟停止，將你的身體暫時連接到一個唧筒機器，好讓醫生把身體其他部分的靜脈嫁接來替代您的心血管。百分之十到五十做過搭橋手術的病人在手術以後的六個月仍然未能恢復記憶能力，語言能力和方位感。 更有一些病人是終身都有這些後遺症。三分之一到四分三都病人後來都會受到憂愁和抑鬱症的折磨。許多人還需要第二次手術。相形之下， 若堅持素食，定時運動，加上精神上的調理已証實可以扭轉心臟病...西方國家的頭號殺手。 12 To supply the corn and soybeans to feed the livestock to bring daily meat to America’s dinner plates has meant concentrated levels of pesticides, fertilizers, and farm chemicals contaminating many aquifers across the Midwest. Some towns have come to rely on their neighbors for fresher, though expensive, supplies of water. But a recent boom in cattle and pig operations has poisoned these stores as well, prompting plans for government-subsidized pipelines to link towns with major rivers. Some, however, see such costly schemes as ill-advised and the subsidized water as exactly what got the towns in trouble in the first place. 12.供應玉米和大豆飼料給牲畜，意味著美國人每天晚宴盤上的肉類都含有高濃度的農藥與化學肥料，還有整個中西部地區許多地下含水層都受到農藥的污染。，雖然比較昂貴, 有些城鎮唯有依靠鄰近城市供應比較乾淨的水。但近年養豬牛的興盛, 使這些比較有乾淨水的地方也都被污染。 此興盛促使政府計劃來資助把城鎮管道連接到主要河流去。有人看來卻認為，這種昂貴的計劃，不恰当的建議和來“补助”的水根本就是當初引起這些城鎮問題的來源。 13 Eating a plant-based diet guards against disease: first in an active way with complex carbohydrates, phytochemicals, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Then by default: the more plant foods you eat, the less room you have for animal foods that clog arteries with cholesterol, strain kidneys with excess protein, and burden the heart with saturated fat. Clinical studies have shown that meat-free diets reverse diabetic symptoms and reduce cholesterol levels by about as much as the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs. 13. 以植物性為基礎的飲食方法可預防疾病。 首先因為植物含有複雜的碳水化合物、植物營養素、抗氧化劑、維生素、礦物質和纖維。自然而然, 你進食的植物性食品越多，體內就剩下更少的空間讓你進食那些帶有阻塞動脈的膽固醇的動物性食物，還有那些增加腎臟負擔的多余蛋白質，和增加心臟負荷的飽和脂肪。臨床研究証明，素食可以扭轉糖尿病症狀，並可降低膽固醇指數， 效果跟使用降低膽固醇的藥物不相上下。 14 Livestock production is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent, a share 38 percent higher than that emitted by all the world’s vehicles. Domesticated animals worldwide are the source of 37 percent of all human-induced methane, with most of that coming from intestinal fermentation of ruminants. They also are the source of 65 percent of human-induced nitrous oxide, the great majority from manure. Methane and nitrous oxide are exceedingly more potent greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. Livestock are also behind almost two-thirds of all human-induced ammonia emissions, which contribute significantly to acidification of ecosystems.  14. 以二氧化碳當量來衡量, 全球18%的溫室氣體排放量都來源於畜牧業生產，比世界上所有的車輛所排放的量高出38 ％。人為所產生的甲烷有37%都出於農養動物，其中大多數都來自反芻動物(多胃動物)腸道裡的發酵作用。牠們也占人為因素引起的氧化亞氮的65 ％，絕大部份來自這些農養動物之糞便。甲烷和氧化亞氮, 比起二氧化碳可是極其有力的溫室氣體。這些農養動物也是人類所引起的氨的三分之二的幕后凶手，其已顯著地讓生態系統酸化。 15 Governments try to regulate fishing gear, catch size, species, and fishing season, but usually without success. Perhaps the biggest single threat to global fish stocks is illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing, which, it is estimated, amounts to about a quarter of the world’s catch. In some locations, IUU fishing has been documented to amount to four times the legal catch. Efforts to combat piracy are fraught with obstacles, not the least being feverish world demand for fish. For pirates, the return on investment is well worth the risks of side-stepping fishing conventions, skirting surveillance, off-loading fish to other boats that “launder” the catch, and docking at complicit ports. Because when pirates are actually caught, the penalties tend to be inordinately light. 15. 世界各國政府嘗試管制漁具，漁獲的大小，物種和捕撈季節，但通常沒有成功。也許全球魚群的是最大威脅是非法，未受報告，或不受管制的捕魚活動(總稱IUU)。據估計，這占約世界捕魚總量的四分之一。在一些地方記錄到, IUU捕撈的數量是合法捕魚的四倍。致力打擊海盜活動是充滿障礙的，再加上魚的需求正在發狂發熱。對于海盜來講，非法捕魚IUU投資回報率之高是遠遠超過所須冒的風險。 即使要違反漁業公約，避開監視器，將所捕之魚裝載於其他船隻以便洗清其捕獲之贓物，並靠岸於同謀的港口。這都是因為當海盜被逮捕後，往往多從輕發落。 16 Egg-laying hens in the U.S. are crammed into battery cages, each with 4 to 8 other birds, stacked in rows by the tens of thousands. Manure and rotting-carcass fumes billow up from below. Beetles form a layer over the waste. Some birds get loose and drown in the pit. Others get tangled in the wire and die of dehydration, then decompose, covered in bugs, while cage mates have no escape. Intense stress sets birds to attack one another. After 17 months of confinement, necks are covered with blisters, wings bare, combs bloody, and feet torn. By now, the birds are considered an expense and will be disposed of, expediently. 16. 在美國的產蛋母雞都擠在層架式雞籠裡，每個籠裝四到八只雞，堆成數萬行。糞便和腐爛尸體毒氣不斷地從下往上昇。這些雞的排泄物堆上長滿了蟲子。 若是從籠子跑出來的雞， 往往會落入這些排泄物的坑內， 而被淹死。其他有些雞的腳卡在鐵籠之縫閒乃至脫水而死，後身體腐爛分解，上面又長滿了蟲子。 而籠裡面的伙伴們, 就連逃脫的機會都沒有。嚴重的精神壓力讓這些雞像瘋了一樣互相打鬥。 經過17個月的監禁，脖子上佈滿水泡，翅膀上的毛都掉 光，雞冠上血淋淋的， 連腳也磨破了。這個時候, 這些母雞便成了業主的財務負擔, 而很快就被處理了。 17 Early in 2007, Consumer Reports tested 525 supermarket chickens from all across the U.S. and found only 17 percent free of both salmonella and campylobacter. Premium brands labeled “organic” or “raised free of antibiotics” actually harbored more salmonella than conventional ones. Most of the bacteria were resistant to at least one type of antibiotic, making food poisoning from eating poultry that much harder to treat. Some samples showed resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics. 17. 在2007年初，消費者報告會檢測了525只來自美國全國各地超市的雞隻，竟然發現只 有17 ％的完全沒有沙門氏菌和彎曲桿菌。標示有“有機”或“無抗生素”的優質品牌 ，原來包藏更多沙門氏菌。大部分的大腸杆菌至少對一種抗生素有抵抗力，使因吃家禽而食物中毒的病例更難治療。一些取样的大腸杆菌裡還顯示有對多種抗生素有抵抗力。 18 Two major studies have emerged recently that show the vegan lifestyle to be conducive to lower body weight. A Swedish study of 55，000 women and a British study of 65,000 men and women both found vegans to have lower BMIs (body mass index) and to suffer less often from obesity. Vegan food tends to be lower in calories by volume. And since plant-based fare is likely to contain abundant fiber, it satiates quicker. 18. 最近有兩則较大的研究報告指出, 維根素食主義的生活方式有利於降低體重。在瑞典一個以5萬5千名婦女, 和一個英國以6萬5千名男女作的研究中, 均發現，素食者有較低的BMI（身體質量指數)，並比較少機會肥胖。素食裡的熱量往往低很多。而且由於以植物為基礎的食物更有可能含有豐富的纖維，它讓你能更快飽足。 19 Half of every butchered cow and a third of every butchered pig becomes either byproduct material or waste. And “mortalities” are integral to every feedlot and stockyard. What’s an industry to do with all this death and gore? Call the renderer straightaway! Recycling, they call it. Lips are exported to Mexico for taco filling; horns are made into gelatin; other parts are fashioned into drugs, aphrodisiacs, and industrial ingredients. Much is dried to a tacky brown powder to be mixed into chicken and pig feed. The rest is minced, pulverized, and boiled down for cosmetics and household products. Essentially, assume slaughterhouse byproduct is all around you. 19. 每只被屠殺的奶牛的一半都成為副產品或廢物, 豬的三分之一也是。“死亡”與每一個牲畜養殖場是不可分離的。這個行業又怎麼會跟死傷搭上了線？馬上打電話給那專做熬油的吧！他們都稱之為廢物利用啊！這些牲畜的嘴唇都出口到墨西哥當墨西哥卷饼(Taco)的餡料;牛角製成明膠; 其他部分就有的用來造西藥，有的變成春藥，還有的做工業原料。大部分的這些屠宰後之副產物被烤乾， 磨成粉後， 變成雞和豬的飼料。其餘就切碎後粉化，並經煮熬成為化妝品和家用產品。基本上，你可以大膽的假設你身邊都是屠場出來的副產品。 20 Of all the animals in America who suffer cruelty, 95 percent of them are farmed animals. Designated as economic units, they have conveniently been stripped of all protections against abuse. At the federal level, the Animal Welfare Act simply does not apply to farmed animals. At the state level, where laws might pick up the slack, anti-cruelty statutes are either not enforced or have, in recent years, been re-written to exclude farmed animals. In the case of the latter, if a farming practice is established as “accepted，” “common，” “customary，” or “normal”--no matter how inhumane--anti-cruelty protections are overridden. In essence, it’s the criminals dictating the laws to suit their designs.  20. 在美國遭受殘酷對待的動物中, 其中95％都是農養牲畜。牠們被定為經濟生產的單位，所以也輕而易舉地被剝奪了所有用來防止虐待的保護。從美國聯邦的層面來看，動物福利法根本不適用於養殖動物。在州政府層面來看，本來可彌補聯邦不及的地方, 其反殘酷法規要不沒有被強制執行，要不就在近几年被重寫至不再保護農養動物了。如果這些畜農的做法是列為“可接受的"、“普通的”、 “傳統的”或“正常”的話, 那麼不管他們的做法如何不人道, 反殘酷法規對這些業主是無效的。一言蔽之, 法律均是罪犯自己來制定而肥潤其身。 21 In the mid-1970s, chicken processors argued that in order to keep up with skyrocketing demand they should be allowed to merely rinse off fecal matter from bird carcasses rather than cut away affected parts. The government gave in to the processors’ request, and the rule stands to this day. A number of studies have since proved that rinsing carcasses, even up to 40 times, is ineffective at dislodging the filth. It’s something to know since the violent motion of factory defeathering rubber fingers not only works to squirt feces out from the carcasses, it can push filth deep into the crevices of the birds’ skin. 21. 在七十年代中期，雞隻處理業主爭辯，說為了跟上暴漲的需求量，應該允許他們只沖洗鳥屍體上的糞便，而不需要切除其受感染的部分。政府對這些處理業主的要求居然讓步。 直到今天, 此規定仍然不變。多項研究已證明，即使沖洗屠體40次，仍然是無法徹底清除污垢的。這其實是很值得提的, 因為工廠裡的拔毛橡膠手指，因其運作力度過大, 不僅把糞便從屠體裡擠出，而且會還把污物從裂縫中推進雞的皮膚深處。 22 Several of the world’s mightiest rivers no longer reach the sea, and aquifer levels around the world are dropping by dozens, and even hundreds, of feet. Largely responsible is the fivefold increase in worldwide (water-guzzling) meat production that’s taken place over the last half-century, and the trend is not over. Producing a pound of animal protein requires about 100 times the water to produce a pound of vegetable protein. It takes about 1，300 gallons of water to produce a single hamburger. Seventy percent of the water that is pulled from the world’s rivers, lakes, and underground wells goes to agriculture, and 43 percent of the world’s grain goes to feed animals for meat. 22. 世界幾個的最大的河流已不再連到海洋了，地下含水層的高度下降是以幾十，甚至幾百，英尺來計的。要負很大的責任的，是在過去半世紀增加了五倍的肉類生產，而且這種趨勢還沒有結束。產生一英鎊的動物性蛋白質所需要用的水, 大約是生產一英鎊的植物蛋白的所需要的100倍。生產一塊漢堡飽大約需時1300加侖水。 世界上的河流，湖泊和地下井的水, 70%都用在農業, 而43%生產的穀類都變成農養牲畜的飼料以換取肉類食品。 23. Feedlot meat is a product of the oil age. When cheap oil is gone, cheap meat will be history. A pound of beef takes three-quarters of a gallon of oil to produce, according to National Geographic. A 1,250-pound steer essentially embodies 283 gallons of oil. Thirty-five calories of fossil fuel are needed to produce a single calorie of beef protein. By comparison, only two calories of fossil fuel are required to produce one calorie of tofu. 23. 農養肉是石油時代的一種產品。當廉價石油消失後，廉價的肉類將成為歷史。 根據國家地理雜誌, 一磅牛肉需四分之三加侖石油來生產。 一頭1千2百50磅的犢牛，基本上體現了283加侖石油。 產生一卡路里熱量的牛肉蛋白需要35卡路里的石化燃料。相比之下，一卡路里的豆腐只需要兩個卡路里的石化燃料。 24 Today’s confined cattle live in their own excrement, which is the carrier of the deadly E. coli strain O157:H7. Caked-on manure will migrate to edible portions during dehiding, thanks to line speeds of 390 animals per hour and laborers who are not always properly skilled. Ground beef today is made up of mixtures of hundreds or even thousands of animals. The grinding process brings surface pathogens to patty interiors that may, down the line, not be cooked adequately. A univer-sity study found that O157:H7 may also be harbored in the interior of a solid piece of meat. 24. 現在的牛都生活在自己的糞便中，而這正是致命大腸桿菌E.Coli O157:H7的帶菌者。 由於生產線速度高達每小時處理390隻動物，加上不是每個工人都有適當的技術水準, 往往在剝皮的時候，牛的殘留糞會轉移到食用肉品部分。今天的碎牛肉是由數百甚至數千動物混合而成的。磨削過程中, 表面的病原體被帶進肉品內部, 最後又可能沒有被充分煮熟。一個大學研究發現, 一塊的堅實肉內部也可能夾帶著O157:H7大腸杆菌。 25 Wild salmon stocks in 20 Norwegian rivers have in recent years been wiped out by a parasite that first took hold in local aquaculture feedlots. Scotland’s river managers warned early in 2007 that one careless angler spreading the parasite could decimate Scotland’s wild salmon stocks as well. Pharmaceuticals and pesticides are typically added to all aquaculture pens to forestall disease and infection, sometimes doing neither and inadvertently causing environmental havoc.  25. 挪威在近年來有二十條河流的野生鮭魚種群被一種寄生蟲消滅。 這種寄生蟲首先在當地的水產養殖場繁殖。在蘇格蘭經理河流的人士在2007年初警告，只要有一個不小心的漁夫把寄生蟲傳播, 即會大批殺害蘇格蘭的野生鮭魚種群。水產養殖場的環境中通常都添加藥品和農藥，以防疾病和感染。 有時這樣做不但沒有效果, 而且還會無意中造成環境的破壞。 26 Birds are cheap and cages are expensive, so battery hens live out their dreary days in space just about the size of their own bodies. No hen gets to run, build a nest, enjoy a cleansing dust bath, protect a chick, forage in the sun, perch, fly, or even lift a wing. Instead, this creature will crouch and suffer and fend off the feather pulling of cage mates. And every egg that is laid will roll away down the slope of a wire floor, which will also cripple her legs and feet. 26. 雞很便宜, 而雞籠卻十分昂貴，所以雞籠裡的母雞每天都活在只有自己的身體大小的籠子裡面。不能走跑，或建立一個巢，或享受用泥土來洗澡，或保護了雛雞，或在陽光下找東西吃，也不能飛，或甚至伸展翅膀。反之，這生物要縮著，受苦, 還要擋開籠裡其他同伴的羽毛。而且每一個生出來的雞蛋都從傾斜的地板上滾下去, 往往把母雞的腿跟腳都弄傷弄斷。 27 The senseless waste of the world’s growing meat-centered diet is illustrated by a hypothetical statement put forth by the Population Reference Bureau: “If everyone adopted a vegetarian diet and no food were wasted, current [food] production would theoretically feed 10 billion people [49 percent more people than alive today], more than the projected population for the year 2050.” 27. 世界上以肉類為中心的飲食所產生的無意義浪費，可以用人口參考局一句假設性的聲明來形容： “如果每個人都食用素食，又沒有浪費任何食物，以當前的食物生產量， 理論上可以供養一百億人（比今天活著的多49 ％), 比預計2050年的人口還多” 。 28 By some assessments, the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which originated in Asia and is now spreading across Europe and Africa, has the potential to disrupt life on planet Earth second only to global nuclear war. Others predict that if the strain mutates, perhaps just slightly, a bird-flu pandemic could kill more than 140 million people and put a halt to [U.S.]$4.4 trillion in world economic activity. Influenza pandemics generally come three times per century, and we’re overdue for our next. Any strain of influenza that humans contract, including H5N1, would scarcely exist if people had never domesticated poultry. 28. 據估計, 起源於亞洲的H5N1禽流感病毒株, 現正蔓延整個歐洲和非洲，其對地球的破壞力，僅次於全球核戰爭。而其他的估計，如果該菌株發生變異，或許只是輕微的，禽流感大流行可能會殺死超過一百四十萬人，並讓世界經濟停頓, 損失可達4.4兆美元。流感之散播，一般每世紀來三次. 我們只經歷了兩次, 已經逾期了。 如果人類從來沒有養家禽, 任何人類感染的流感菌株，包括 H5N1病毒，幾乎不可能發生。 29 Every spring, neighbors of chicken feedlots in North Carolina desperately complain about the stench. It is then that ammonia-laden fumes from adjacent manure lagoons begin to permeate everything porous that they own: clothes, rugs, drapes, and hair--haunting them for weeks. But unlike the state’s infamous pork industry of 10 million hogs, poultry growing is virtually exempt from environmental regulation. For North Carolina’s 165 million tightly confined birds, there are no rules, because their waste is considered less noxious. But over a year’s time, the droppings and mortalities accumulate in pits below to about a foot deep and, to some, smell even worse than lagoons of pig excrement. Nearby wells become tainted from runoff, but it’s nearly impossible to trace this kind of pollution back to the polluter. 29. 在北卡羅萊納州的每年春季, 雞飼養場的鄰居都拼命地抱怨其傳出來的惡臭。載滿了氨的煙霧從鄰近的雞糞集中池開始飄散滲透到每個角落：如他們的衣服，地毯，窗簾，和頭髮, 會讓他們臭的數周都受不了。但跟此州所農養1千萬頭豬所臭名遠播的豬肉產業有所不同，家禽數目的增長速度幾乎不被環保規定所限制了。對北卡羅萊納州的1.65億籠養雞, 並有沒有限制任何規定，因為他們的糞便都被認為毒害較少。 但超過一年的時間，在坑裡的糞便和死雞的屍體堆積約一英尺深，對某些人來說，此惡臭比豬糞集中池更為難忍。附近的水井都被這些外洩的污水給污染，但像這樣的污染, 幾乎無法追溯到誰是罪魁禍首了。 30 A male calf born to a dairy cow: what’s a farmer to do with this by-product of the milk industry? If he is not kept for breeding stock or immediately slaughtered or factory-produced for meat, the calf will be raised for fancy veal. To this end, he will be locked up in a stall and chained by his neck to prevent him from turning around for 16-weeks until slaughter. He’ll be fed a special diet without iron or roughage. He’ll be injected with antibiotics and hormones to keep him alive and to make him grow. And he’ll be kept in darkness except for feeding time. The result: a nearly full-grown animal with flesh as tender and white as a newborn’s. 30. 奶牛生下了公牛犢, 農民對這個奶業的副產物如何做法？如果它不是被保存做繁殖用, 或立即屠宰成肉食的話，此小牛將被飼養成為花式小牛肉。為此，他將被關在畜舍裡, 用鐵鍊鎖著他的脖子，以防止他從扭轉, 如此經歷16週，直至屠宰。他會被餵食一種特殊飲食, 即無鐵質也無粗糧。又被注射抗生素及激素讓他活著，並使其快速成長。 除餵食時間, 他將被關在在暗室中。結果是：一只幾乎發育完全的動物, 其肉還是軟軟白白的初生之犢一般。 31 The world’s exploding human population, combined with its sagging ability to feed itself, appear to be on a collision course. The Green Revolution, which facilitated much of the recent growth, has clearly stalled out. Indeed, cereal availability per capita has been declining since 1984, and the “promise” of biotech is far from certain or free of risk. Today, 70 percent of grain in the U.S. and 43 percent of grain worldwide lavishly go to feed livestock. And just as the world clamors for more grain to feed to animals, so people can eat them, per-capita world cropland declined by 20 percent in the 1990s alone. The World Health Organization says 800 million people in the world live with chronic hunger. More meat production is definitely not the answer. 31. 世界人口爆炸，再加上其自我養活能力的衰退，真不知道何時此兩個問題會撞在一塊兒！而曾經促進了近代增長的綠色革命，如今已明顯的停擺了。事實上，自1984年以來， 平均每人可得之穀糧指數一直在下降，生物科技領域所允許下的“承諾”還遠遠不能確定, 而且不是沒有風險的。今天, 在美國70 ％的穀糧，及全世界43 ％的糧食都奢侈地用來餵養牲畜。 世界喧鬧地要給予動物更多的糧食飼料，以便人們可以吃牠們的肉。 正當此同時, 僅在九十年代世界每人平均可耕地面積就下降了20 ％ 。世界衛生組織說, 世界上有8.0億人長期生活在飢餓中。生產更多的肉類鐵定不是正確答案。 32 A USDA inspector, part of an ABC Primetime investigation, clandestinely filmed a plant that processes a million pounds of chicken for schools each year. The investigator found carcasses laden with yellow sores and fecal matter and machines caked with harmful residues. The plant had repeatedly failed salmonella tests. Some of the cheapest, most unsanitary meat tends to be sold to schools. 32. 据美國廣播公司黃金時段 (ABC Primetime) 的調查，一位美國農業部檢查員秘密地拍攝了一家為學校每年處理100萬英鎊的雞肉工廠。調查發現, 工廠裡到處都是被黃瘡和糞便覆蓋的死雞屍體, 還有佈滿了有害殘留物的機器。該廠曾多次不通過沙門氏菌的測試。而這些最廉價，最不衛生的肉類往往便出售給學校， 是極為泯滅良心的作法。 33 Bestiality is integral to pork, turkey, and dairy operations. Numerous Web sites instruct in the craft of artificial insemination. Sample excerpts follow: As he sniffs around, put on disposable gloves. If he has mounted the stool, he will begin thrusting movements. With a gloved hand, rub his sheath. Now reach for the cup. The penis will erect and start to enter your clenched hand. Continue to hold the penis until the boar withdraws. The end of ejaculation is determined by a bouncing of the penis. With the sow, a stockperson must mimic some of the stimulation normally provided by a boar, that is, back pressure and flank and udder rubbing. When the lips of the vulva are gently parted, insert the catheter. 33. 獸戀症與豬肉，火雞肉，和乳製品的行業務原來是息息相關的。 大量網站正在傳授人工工授精的技術。以下摘錄了一個例子：當看到它聞來聞去的時候，工人就馬上帶上拋起式的手套。如果它爬上了凳子上，他將開始抽插運動。一個戴手套的手，搓它的鞘。現在快拿一個杯。它陰莖將勃起並開始進入工人緊握的手。繼續握著陰莖，直到公豬縮回。陰莖的彈跳表示射精完畢。至于母豬, 工作人員必須模仿一些通常由公豬所提供的刺激作用，那就是背壓和摩擦乳房。當外陰唇輕輕打開 ，即插入導管以完成人工受精。 34 The late parent advisor Dr. Benjamin Spock maintained that cows’ milk “causes internal blood loss, allergies, and indigestion and contributes to some cases of childhood diabetes.” In the last edition of his famous baby book he recommended, essentially, that children adhere to a vegan diet after the age of two. But he did not recommend dairy milk for babies either. According to renowned nutrition researcher T. Colin Campbell, “Cows’-milk protein may be the single most significant chemical carcinogen to which humans are exposed.” 34. 已故的父母顧問, 本傑明史巴克博士 (Dr. Benjamin Spock) 認為，奶牛的牛奶“會導致身體內部失血，產生過敏，消化不良，並有機會導致兒童糖尿病。”在他著名嬰兒書的最新版本中，他建議兒童兩歲以後應該堅持純素食飲食。但他也沒有建議給嬰兒食用牛乳製品。著名的營養研究員湯•科林坎貝爾 (T. Colin Capbell) 說, 牛奶蛋白可能是人類所常接觸唯一最可怕的化學致癌物。 35 University research asserts that the feeding of approximately 10 million tons of poultry litter to U.S. cattle and other livestock every year is safe. But the mere presence of wasted feed in the mix, which otherwise includes excreta, carcass parts, bedding, and feathers, could include the stray remains of cattle. This would seem to violate the 1997 USDA rule that no cow is to eat the flesh of other cows, instituted to thwart the spread of mad cow disease. Also, poultry litter needs to be properly composted to neutralize microbial toxins--in practice not always done. Furthermore, livestock, so fed, need sufficient time to flush out veterinary medications that might have tainted the litter. Finally, feeding poultry litter to livestock provides one more vector for the spread of bird flu. 35. 美國大學的研究竟然聲稱，每年給美國的牛和其他牲畜餵養1千萬噸雞糞，是很安全的。在飼料中混入的雜物包含了排泄物，殘餘屍體，雞窩的材料, 和羽毛，而且可能包括牛的殘餘糞便/屍體。按道理說，這應該違反了1997年美國農業部所規定的，牛不可以吃其他牛的肉，以防瘋牛病。此外，雞糞需要得到適 當處理來中和糞便內微生物毒素, 然而在現實中並非總是這樣做。此外，被餵食雞糞的牲畜需要足夠的時間來排出藏匿在雞糞的獸醫藥物。最後，用雞糞餵養家禽, 又為禽流感擴散提供了一個管道。 36 Beef cattle are best suited to moist climates, such as those in Europe where their ancestors evolved. But ranchers in America’s West continue the destructive tradition of herding their animals on the nation’s most arid land. Grazing destroys ecologically regenerative riparian zones. According to a recent U.N. report, “the livestock sector may well be the leading player in the reduction of biodiversity…as well as one of the leading drivers of land degradation, pollution, climate change, overfishing, sedimentation of coastal areas, and facilitation of invasions by alien species.” 36. 肉牛是最適合在潮濕的氣候的地方，如歐洲，即其他們的祖先生活的地方。但美國的牧場業主堅持其破壞性的傳統, 而把牲畜放牧於國家最乾旱的土地。放牧破壞了原來具有再生能力的河岸區。根據聯合國最近的一項報告, “畜牧業很可能是導致生物多樣性下降的罪魁禍首，又是土地流失、污染、氣候變化、過度捕撈、沿海地區的泥沙淤積，和促成外來物種入侵的主要因由”。 37 Adopting a high-protein fad diet may help you lose weight in the short run, but so might chemotherapy, food poisoning, or serious illness. If health is what you desire, you’re eventually going to have to learn how to eat. Resoundingly, the American Heart Association and other major health organizations warn people against the Atkins and other low-carb diets, because they can cause fatigue or dizziness and strain the kidneys. Often unbeknownst to the dieter, these diets induce dehydration. Also, upping fat and lowering carbohydrate intake has been found to impair brain function over time.  37採用高動物蛋白質的飲食時尚雖可以幫助您在短期內減肥，但化療、食物中毒、或生重病亦有同樣的效果。如果你渴望身體健康，到最後還是要學習正確飲食方法。曾經轟動一時的新聞， 美國心臟協會和其他主要健康組織曾警告, 那些採用阿特金斯和其他低碳水化合物飲食方法的民眾，因為這些飲食方法可能導致疲勞或頭暈和對腎臟造成嚴重負荷。節食者往往不知道，這些飲食方法會引起身體脫水。此外，長期增加脂肪和減少碳水化合物的攝取, 已被發現會損害腦功能。 38 Genetics through single-trait selection has become as important a component of today’s intensive farming as drugs and confinement hardware. The animals themselves, right down to their DNA, must stand up to the rigors of the industrial process, both in life and in carcass form. They must produce at breakneck speeds and do so on as little feed as possible. And ultimately, the particular output they unwillingly give forth must please our final end user, the consumer, in texture, taste, uniformity, convenience, and price. Mutant genes that would never survive in the wild are cultivated to monstrous ends. 38. 通過選擇單一特徵的遺傳學，已與今天的密集式農業， 藥物研究， 和關動物器具的改良具有同等重要地位。從動物身體外表，一直到他們的DNA , 都必須面對如此苛刻的農產過程，無論是活的時候, 或是死了以後。他們必須以驚人的速度生產, 而且用的飼料越少越好。最後，他們辛辛苦苦生產出來的, 在質地、味道、產品一致性、方便性及價格上, 都必須討好我們的最終用戶 – 消費者。這些基因突變的生物原本無法生存於大自然的， 但現在卻被業主恐怖的大量繁殖。 39 Officially, Wildlife Services, a program of the USDA, prevents “damage to agriculture.” Never mind that agriculture is hugely damaging to wildlife, this multi-million-dollar perq for cattle ranchers exists primarily to exterminate species thought to spread disease and to eradicate predators. Non-target wildlife is often caught in the cross-hairs. Wildlife Services agents shoot, poison, gas, electrocute, and lethally trap millions of mammals and birds on public land where only 3.8 percent of the nation’s beef is even derived. The methods are often cruel and excessive and even ineffective. The program has decimated populations of grizzly bears, mountain lions, moose, elk, buffalos, and coyotes. Recently, an intriguing global study actually found that predators inflict negligible damage to ranching operations. 39. 美國農業部有一個計劃用來防止“損害農業”，叫做野生動物服務。 農業發展對野生動物造成如何嚴重的破壞不要緊，這計畫所資助於牧牛業主的幾百萬美元, 主要是用來趕盡殺絕那些被認為會傳播疾病的物種及消滅肉食動物的。很多本來不要殺的野生動物往往也會被擊斃。野生動物服務人員使用的手段包括射殺，施毒氣, 電擊，設陷阱，所殺的是以百萬計的哺乳動物和鳥類, 而這下手的地方其實只占美國牛肉來源的3.8 ％。其手段往往是殘酷而且是胡作非為，甚至無效。該計劃已經大批殺害了灰熊、山獅、駝鹿、麋鹿、水牛和胡狼。最近，一個耐人尋味的全球性研究發現，其實肉食動物對畜牧造成的損害是微不足道的。 40 Many Americans are not getting enough magnesium. Deficiencies can cause irritability, seizures, delirium, depression, abnormal heart rhythms, spasms of the coronary arteries, anemia, blood clots, abnormal blood pressure, and even death. Where do you get this vital nutrient?--whole grains, fruits, dark-green leafy vegetables, nuts, and, best, raw cacao.  40. 許多美國人都缺乏鎂的攝取。缺乏鎂可導致煩躁不安、抽搐、精神錯亂、抑鬱、心律不正常、冠狀動脈痙攣、貧血、血液凝塊、異常血壓, 甚至死亡。從那些食物可以得到這個維持生命重要的養分? 全穀類、水果、深色綠葉蔬菜、堅果，還有最好的, 生的可可豆。 41 Results from two major studies involving tens of thousands of subjects--one in the UK (University of Leads, 2007), the other in the U.S. (Nurses’ Health Study, 2006)--suggest that the more red meat a woman eats the more she is at risk for breast cancer, regardless of her age. Suspected culprits include saturated fat, growth hormones fed to cattle, heme iron (only in red meat), and heterocyclic amines (carcinogens produced during the cooking process). 41. 兩個涉及數以萬計被試者的主要研究, 一個在英國（Unversity of Leads, 2007年） ，另外一個在美國（護士健康研究, 2006年), 分別得出結果提出，無論如何年齡的女人，若吃紅色肉類等越多, 罹患乳腺癌風險越高。科學家懷疑禍因主要包括飽和脂肪，餵給牛吃的生長激素，血紅素鐵（僅在紅肉中找到)，雜環胺（在烹調過程中產生的致癌物質)。 42. When faced with a flock of spent hens, an egg farmer may choose to induce production again by way of a forced molt--accomplished with starvation and water deprivation for periods of up to two weeks. No U.S. law prevents this heinous practice. Some major U.S. producers have phased it out but then need to bring twice the number of hens into production for the same number of eggs. 42. 當雞農面對著一群精疲力盡的母雞，雞蛋農業主可能會再次選擇強迫蛻皮的誘導生產法 － 強迫停止餵食這些雞隻食物和水, 長達兩週。美國法律並沒有阻止這令人髮指的做法。美國一些較大的蛋農業者已經逐步淘汰此作法，可是要生產相同數量的雞蛋就需要雙倍的母雞才可以。 43 Fish make vibratory sounds with various “calls” that researchers have identified as communicating alarm and aggravation. They possess fully formed nervous systems as well as complex social behaviors. They are also capable of learning complicated tasks. British researchers discovered in 2003 that fish have the cerebral mechanisms to feel pain. As one animal activist once put it, “Fish are not merely vegetables that can swim.” 43魚類通過振動發出的聲音來作不同的“呼喊”, 研究人員已將此認同為警報和惱怒的傳達。他們擁有完整的中樞神經系統，以及複雜的社會行為。他們也能夠學習做複雜的活動。2003 年，英國研究人員發現, 魚類有大腦結構以感覺痛苦。 一個動物保護主義者曾經說過, “魚不只是會游泳的蔬菜”。  44. In America today, only four companies slaughter 59 percent of all the hogs, only four companies slaughter over 83 percent of all the cattle, and only two companies slaughter nearly 60 percent of all the chickens. At the farm level, the trend over recent decades has been for many fewer operations to produce many more animals. In 1967, for example, there were over a million hog farms. By 1998, the number fell to 114，000. The trend has funneled many of America’s farmers into contract, or franchise-like, arrangements that strictly take choices about herd densities, feed, and veterinary care away from them. The changes have ushered in a polluted landscape, a host of new pathogens, and a hell on Earth for the animals. 44.在美國的今天，光是四家公司就屠宰了全國59 ％的豬隻；光是四家公司就屠宰超過美國83 ％的牛隻； 光是兩家公司就屠宰將近60 ％的雞隻。至于小本經營的農場業主, 近數十年來已越來少，而相反的， 所生產的動物卻越來越多的。舉例來說, 在1967年就有超過一百萬個豬農場， 而到1998年，數量卻下降至十一萬四千個。此趨勢讓美國許多農民變為合同化或連瑣經營化一樣的安排，嚴格的安排畜群密度和飼料, 還把原來被獸醫照料之褔利給剝奪。 這些改變帶來了充滿污染的自然景觀，一大群新的病原體，和為動物建的人間地獄。 45 The 18th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham challenged the world about animals with his famous quandary: “The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?”. Curiously, science is every day discovering that in fact animals do all three: reason, communicate, and suffer. The differences between animals and humans are being blurred with every revelation. Man’s closest relatives share over 98 percent of our DNA, and all animals, including man, are related by a common ancestor. Today’s question must now be, can we humans use our known capacity for logic, communication, and empathy to take animals off our plates? 45. 十八世紀的哲學家本瑟姆 (Jeremy Bentham) 以他著名的問題為動物挑戰世界： “問題不在於，他們可以思考嗎？也不是，他們可以講話嗎？而是，他們可以感受痛苦嗎？”。奇怪的 是，科學是每天都發現，其實這三點動物都有：思考，溝通和感受痛苦。每一個研究均顯露人類與動物之間的分別越來越不明顯了。與人類最相近的動物其基因與人有98 ％相同。 所有動物，包括人類，都擁有一個共同的祖先。今天的問題是，我們可以使用人類已知的邏輯能力﹑溝通能力以及同情心來停止食用動物的肉嗎？ 46 Arsenic has been a common additive in factory chicken feed for nearly 50 years. It is used to kill parasites, reduce stress, and promote growth in the birds. The practice has long been deemed safe. Recently, however, scientists have found that the substance turns carcinogenic rather quickly after application. Arsenic-imbued manure becomes toxic to the environment when spread as fertilizer. The risk for those who ingest the meat of treated birds is, in fact, worse than once thought, particularly since exposure to arsenic is cumulative and people are eating three times the chicken they once did in the 1960s. 46. 砷 (砒霜) 在近50年來已成為雞飼料工廠中的一個普遍的添加劑。其目的是用來殺死寄生蟲，減少雞的精神壓力，並促進其生長。 這種做法長期以來一直被視為安全。不過，最近科學家發現，這種物質在使用後迅速的變成致癌物質。當砷感染的雞糞被作為肥料散播時, 它便變成有害於環境。對於攝取經處理過的雞肉, 事實上，後果都比以前想的嚴重。 特別是因為砷在身體裡是累積的, 加上現在人們吃雞肉的量是六Ｏ年代的三倍。 47 If you like the idea of being welcome at the places where your food is produced, don’t count on your not-so-local poultry grower allowing you, the consumer, to view his massive sheds of monocultured birds any time soon. Without natural immunities that could otherwise be acquired by outdoor life, his flocks need to be protected from the slightest infection. When operators are even slightly lax in applying rigorous measures of “biosecurity，” a case of the sniffles in one bird can escalate to a mass outbreak, forcing a giant cull involving millions of birds. 47. 如果你喜歡生產食品的地方來歡迎你的參觀，短期內都別指望那些非本地家禽農養者, 能夠讓您這消費者，查看他的大規模的雞舍。失去原來可以通過戶外生活所得的免役力，業者的雞群必須受到連絲毫感染都不允許的保護。嚴厲的“生物安全”措施, 當經營者只要略有鬆懈, 一只雞大噴涕就可以擴張為大規模的傳染，迫使業者展開出一場涉及以百萬計家禽的龐大撲殺。 48 Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the world, slaughtered 27 million pigs in 2005. Pound for pound this number represents, in equivalent human weight, the combined population of the 32 largest U.S. cities yet only 26 percent of all the pigs that are slaughtered in the country as a whole. North Carolina’s pigs alone emit the waste-equivalent of 40 million people, and essentially none of it is treated. 48. 世界上最大的豬肉生產商, 士美非路食品 (Smithfield Foods), 于2005年屠宰的豬達兩千七百萬。以人類重量來比較，這個數字等於美國頭三十二個大城市人口的總合，但其實只是全美國被屠殺的豬的百分之二十六。 僅僅在北卡羅萊納州的豬隻，所排放的廢水量就相當於四千萬人的份量，而且基本上從未受過污水淨化處理。 49 A study of 49 island countries found 55 percent of their coral reefs overfished. To sustainably harvest the million metric tons of fish taken annually from the islands, 30，000 square miles more of reef--or the equivalent of nearly four Great Barrier Reefs--would be needed. Demand for reef fish is largely coming from Hong Kong traders, who are now supplying a burgeoning market in Mainland China. Reef fish take 5 to 10 years to reach breeding age and so are particularly vulnerable. Fishers capture the fish, live, using cyanide, destroying coral in the process; 75 percent of the fish die even before getting to their market destinations. 49. 一個針對四十久個島嶼國家的研究發現, 百分之五十五的珊瑚礁區已被過度捕撈。 如果要持續現在這每年以百萬噸計的捕魚量, 我們需要有三萬平方英里以上的珊瑚礁, 相當於四個大堡礁。 珊湖礁魚類的需求，主要是來自于香港商人，因現要供應給中國大陸急速增長的市場。珊湖礁魚類需要5年至 10年才能達到繁殖的年齡，所以此魚群特別脆弱。漁民利用氰以活捕魚，破壞到珊瑚是難免的。 百分之七十五的魚在還沒到達目的地市場就死了。 50. According to one study, when diabetics eat copious amounts of fiber they are able to control their blood-sugar levels significantly. Fiber, which is found only in plants, helps people to lose weight because of its ability to satiate. According to a European study of 400，000 people, a high-fiber diet can slash the risk for deadly cancers by up to 40 percent. 50. 據一項研究，當糖尿病患者吃大量的纖維素時他們便能顯著地控制其血糖水平。這只有在植物中才能找到的纖維有助減肥，因為它能夠使人飽足。 歐洲以四十萬人做的一項研究，結果發現高纖維飲食能將患得致命癌症的風險降低百分之四十。