为什么鸡肉这么便宜？：英语精读讲义

Chickens are the most populous bird on the planet.

鸡是地球上数量最多的鸟类。

There are 23 billion of them at any given time. 短語搭配

任何时候都有230亿只鸡存在。

That's 10 times more than any other bird. 語法

比其他任何鸟类多出10倍。

It's an astonishing achievement for a bird

对于一种鸟类来说，这是一个惊人的成就，

that originated as a small wild jungle bird in Southeast Asia.

它们起源于东南亚的小型野生原鸡。

It's by far the fastest growing meat product. 語法

这是迄今为止增长最快的肉类产品。

But pound for pound, 習語

但按同等重量计算，

the price of chicken has fallen sharply.

鸡肉的价格却大幅下跌。

How has this happened?

这是怎么发生的？

This farm is at the forefront of a technology revolution 習語

这个农场正处于一场技术革命的前沿，

that has drastically changed chicken farming.

这场革命彻底改变了养鸡业。

It's run by David Speller,

它由David Speller经营，

who's pioneered the use of CCTV and CO2 monitors in chicken sheds. 短語搭配

他率先在鸡舍中使用了闭路电视和二氧化碳监测仪。

Along with his own farm,

除了经营自己的农场，

he works as a consultant,

他还担任顾问，

overseeing the raising of around 3 million chickens in the UK.

监督英国约300万只鸡的饲养。

You can't get away from the scale. 短語動詞

你无法忽视这样庞大的规模。

You know, there are 45,000 birds in this barn

你知道，这个谷仓里有45,000只鸡，

managed by one computer.

仅由一台电脑管理。

Two men will run 200,000 birds for me. 用詞

两个人就能替我管理20万只鸡。

Chickens were first domesticated

鸡最早被驯化

over 8,000 years ago.

是在8000多年前。

But it wasn't until the 1940s 語法

但直到20世纪40年代，

that major efforts were made to create a super breed.

人们才大力尝试培育出超级品种。

The Chicken of Tomorrow competition in America

美国的“明日之鸡”比赛

would change chickens forever.

永远改变了鸡的命运。

The aim of that competition was to try and encourage the development 語法

那场比赛的目的是试图鼓励培育

of a fast-growing chicken

一种生长迅速的鸡，

that could provide a larger amount of uh protein at an affordable cost. 短語搭配

能够以实惠的价格提供大量蛋白质。

The success of the contest proved conclusively

比赛的成功令人信服地证明了，

that it is possible to breed chickens

培育出

with superior meat type characteristics.

具有优质肉类特征的鸡是可能的。

Today, the life cycle of broilers, 用詞

如今，肉鸡的生命周期——

chickens that are bred purely for their meat,

即纯粹为了吃肉而饲养的鸡——

is entirely preordained.

完全是预先注定的。

They grow faster and bigger than ever before, 語法

它们长得比以往任何时候都更快、更大，

and they can only live supported by human technology.

而且必须依靠人类技术的支持才能生存。

Modern uh industrialized farming

现代工业化养殖

requires the use of artificial light,

需要使用人造光源、

artificial temperature.

人工温度控制。

The whole life of these birds

这些鸡的一生

is effectively controlled through technology.

都通过技术受到了有效的控制。

Chickens have changed so quickly,

鸡的变化如此之快，

they are now four times 語法

它们现在的体型是

the size they were in the 1950s.

20世纪50年代时的四倍。

90,000 chicks at a time get delivered.

一次就能送来9万只小鸡。

It's our job to nurture them

我们的工作就是培育它们，

and farm them up to a bird

把它们养大，

that's then ready to go back for processing.

直到可以送回加工厂。

That starts around day 34.

这大概从第34天开始。

The biggest birds for us off this farm

对我们农场来说最大的鸡，

are around 39 days of age.

大约在39天左右。

Then we have a really frantic 7 to 10 days

然后我们会经历非常疯狂的7到10天，

to clean everywhere,

到处都要清理干净，

get it all nice and warm

把环境弄得温暖舒适、

and fresh ready for the next batch of chicks.

空气清新，为下一批小鸡做好准备。

We do that 7 and 1/2, 8 times a year.

我们一年大概要重复这个流程7个半到8次。

This efficiency is passed on to the consumer. 短語動詞

这种高效性让消费者从中受益。

It's good value. 用詞

物超所值。

I don't like referring to it as cheap.

我不喜欢称之为廉价。

These are not cheap.

它们并不廉价。

These are animals.

它们是动物。

They have a worth.

它们是有价值的。

But it is great value.

但性价比确实很高。

It is uniform.

它们品质统一。

It's healthy for you,

对你的健康有益，

and consumers love it.

消费者也很喜欢。

The reality of farming any animal for meat

为了吃肉而饲养任何动物的现实，

is you take it to its optimal place,

就是你把它养到最佳状态，

and then you take it to turn it for human consumption.

然后把它转化为供人类食用的产品。

These birds, 38, 39 days,

这些鸡，养到38、39天，

is as far as we want to take them

也就是我们想要达到的极限，

for the product that we want to buy.

以换取我们想要买到的产品。

A barnyard chicken can live up to 10 years, 短語搭配

农家散养的鸡可以活到10年，

showing the huge evolutionary change 短語搭配

这显示了

the broilers have undergone.

肉鸡经历了多么巨大的进化改变。

But selective breeding on a global scale

但全球规模的选择性繁育

comes at a cost. 習語

是有代价的。

If the chickens live beyond their planned life,

如果这些鸡活过了它们原定的寿命，

they develop huge medical problems.

它们会产生巨大的医疗问题。

These birds can't then sustain that rapid weight growth

在通常被屠宰的时间点之后，

beyond the point at which they're normally slaughtered,

这些鸡将无法再承受体重的快速增长，

because their bodies can't cope with it. 短語搭配

因为它们的身体承受不了。

And it also puts huge amounts of pressure 短語搭配

这也会对其

on their internal organs as well.

内脏器官造成巨大的压力。

And there are concerns the chicken industry 表達脈絡

人们担心养鸡业

is relying on an increasingly small gene pool. 用詞

正依赖于一个越来越小的基因池。

Pretty chicks?

很漂亮的小鸡？

Yes, sir.

是的，先生。

Alike as two peas in a pod. 習語

长得一模一样。

If all of these chickens have the same genetics,

如果所有这些鸡拥有相同的基因，

they're all fed the same food,

又吃同样的食物，

they're actually very vulnerable to diseases 短語搭配

它们实际上非常容易感染

that come in because they're all identical.

外来的疾病，因为它们完全一样。

So, if one bird is affected, 語法

所以，如果一只鸡感染了，

all the birds will be affected.

所有的鸡都会被感染。

Keeping chickens in battery cages was banned in the EU in 2012. 文化背景

欧盟在2012年禁止了层叠式笼养鸡。

But some people want to create better lives for broiler chickens.

但有些人想为肉鸡创造更好的生活条件。

Free-range birds have more access to open-air runs, 用詞

散养鸡能更多地接触到露天活动场，

while organic chickens are typically free from antibiotics,

而有机鸡通常不接触抗生素、

hormones, and other synthetic chemicals.

激素和其他合成化学物质。

Organic chickens get to live the longest.

有机鸡的寿命最长。

81 days compared to intensively reared birds,

相比于密集饲养的35到40天，

which live between 35 and 40 days.

它们可以活81天。

Free-range chickens get the most access to open-air runs.

散养鸡拥有最多的露天活动机会。

But when it comes to living space, 短語搭配

而在生活空间方面，

organic and free-range fare far better than intensively reared birds, 用詞

有机和散养的方式远远优于密集饲养，

where as many as 17 adult birds live in a single square meter. 語法

后者在每平方米可能要挤进多达17只成年鸡。

Organic farming might offer animals a greater quality of life,

有机养殖或许能为动物提供更高的生活质量，

but consumers are largely driven by cost. 短語搭配

但消费者很大程度上受价格驱动。

And in an average UK supermarket,

在普通的英国超市里，

an intensively reared chicken costs several times less than its free-range or organic cousins. 語法

密集饲养的鸡肉价格要比散养或有机的便宜好几倍。

You are talking significant cost difference, 語氣意圖

这可是巨大的成本差异，

and I think that's why we see the demand is not there.

我认为这就是为什么需求不足的原因。

If the demand was there, 語法

如果需求在那儿，

we'd all be doing it.

我们都会这么做的。

Over 95% of broiler chickens are intensively reared in the UK.

在英国，超过95%的肉鸡是密集饲养的。

Organic and free-range chickens make up the rest. 短語動詞

剩下的是有机鸡和散养鸡。

So what's key for me 語法

所以，对我而言，

in being a farmer of chicken

作为一个养鸡农户，

is to understand what the consumer wants to buy.

关键是了解消费者想买什么。

We are purely market-driven. 用詞

我们完全是由市场驱动的。

For as long as shoppers want cheap and plentiful chicken, 語法

只要顾客需要便宜且量大的鸡肉，

they will continue to be bred ever more intensively.

它们就会继续被以更高强度的方式繁育。