為什麼肉是世界上最好也最壞的東西 🍔：英語精讀講義

Humans love meat.

人類熱愛肉食。

Steak, fried chicken, bacon,

牛排、炸雞、培根、

pork belly, and sausages are just the best things.

五花肉和香腸簡直是人間美味。

Eating meat has become so trivial

吃肉已經變得如此稀鬆平常，

that many people don't consider something a proper meal 文法

以至於許多人認為，

if there's no animal involved,

如果沒有肉，就不算一頓像樣的飯菜，

which is pretty amazing

這其實挺不可思議的，

since only a few decades ago

因為就在幾十年前，

meat was a luxury product.

肉還是一種奢侈品。

Today, you can get a cheeseburger for a dollar.

而如今，你花一美元就能買到一個起司漢堡。

Paradoxically,

矛盾的是，

meat is pretty much the most inefficient way of feeding humans.

肉類實際上是養活人類效率最低的方式。

If we look at it on a global scale, 片語搭配

如果我們從全球範圍來看，

our meaty diet is literally eating up the planet. 慣用語

我們的肉食飲食確實在吞噬整個地球。

Why is that?

為什麼會這樣？

And what can we do about it without giving up steak? 片語動詞

在不放棄牛排的前提下，我們又能做些什麼？

Humans keep a lot of animals for food.

人類為了獲取食物飼養了大量動物。

Currently, about 23 billion chickens,

目前，大約有230億隻雞，

1.5 billion cattle,

15億頭牛，

and roughly 1 billion pigs and sheep.

以及大約10億頭豬和羊。

That's a lot of mouths to feed, 慣用語

有這麼多張嘴要餵，

so we've transformed Earth into a giant feeding ground.

所以我們把地球變成了一個巨大的飼養場。

83% of its farmland is used for livestock,

其中83%的農田被用於畜牧業，

for example,

例如，

as pasture and to farm fodder crops like corn and soy.

用作牧場以及種植玉米和大豆等飼料作物。

That's 26% of Earth's total land area.

這占了地球陸地總面積的26%。

If we include the water we need for these plants,

如果算上這些植物所需的水，

meat and dairy production accounts for 27% of global fresh water consumption. 片語搭配

肉類和乳製品生產占全球淡水消耗量的27%。

Unfortunately,

不幸的是，

meat production is like a black hole for resources. 慣用語

肉類生產就像是一個資源黑洞。

Since animals are living things,

因為動物是生命體，

most of their food is used to keep them alive

牠們的大部分食物都用於維持生命，

while they grow their tasty parts.

同時才能長出美味的部位。

Only a fraction of the nutrients

只有一小部分的營養物質，

from fodder crops end up in the meat 片語動詞

從飼料作物最終轉化成我們購買的

we buy in the end.

肉類。

Cows, for example,

例如，牛

convert only about 4% of the proteins

只能轉化大約4%的蛋白質

and 3% of the calories

和3%的卡路里

of the plants we feed to them

從我們餵食的植物中

into beef.

變成牛肉。

More than 97% of the calories are lost to us.

超過97%的卡路里對我們而言白白流失了。

To create 1 kg of steak,

為了生產1公斤牛排，

a cow needs to eat up to 25 kilos of grain

一頭牛需要吃掉多達25公斤的穀物，

and uses up to 15,000 L of water.

消耗多達15000公升的水。

Animal products are guzzling up tons of food, 慣用語

動物產品正在大量吞噬食物，

but they only make up 18% of the calories humans eat. 片語動詞

但牠們僅佔人類攝取卡路里的18%。

According to projections, 片語搭配

根據預測，

we could nourish an additional 3.5 billion people

我們還能多養活35億人，

if we just ate the stuff we feed to animals.

如果我們直接吃餵給動物的那些食物的話。

To make our favorite food group even more unsustainable,

讓這種我們最愛的食物更不可持續的是，

about 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans

在人類活動產生的所有溫室氣體排放中，約有15%

are created by the meat industry,

是由肉類工業造成的，

as much as by all ships, 文法

這與所有船隻、

planes, trucks, and cars combined.

飛機、卡車和汽車加起來的總量相當。

And there's another aspect to meat.

關於肉類，還有另一個問題。

It comes from actual living beings.

它來自於活生生的生命。

Pigs, cattle, and chickens

豬、牛和雞

are not the ones writing the history books, 慣用語

並不是書寫歷史書的群體，

but if they were, 文法

但如果牠們能寫，

humans would appear as rampant genocidal maniacs

人類就會被描繪成猖獗的種族滅絕狂人，

that thrive on suffering. 片語搭配

靠著製造痛苦而繁榮。

Globally,

在全球範圍內，

we kill about 200 million animals every day,

我們每天要殺掉大約2億隻動物，

about 74 billion a year.

每年大約740億隻。

This means that every 1 and 1/2 years,

這意味著每隔一年半的時間，

we kill more animals than people have lived

我們殺掉的動物數量，就超過了

in the entire 200,000-year history of humanity.

人類20萬年歷史中所有生存過的人口總數。

One could argue that we're doing them a favor. 片語搭配

有人可能會爭辯說，我們是在幫牠們的忙。

After all, 表達脈絡

畢竟，

they wouldn't exist without us.

如果沒有我們，牠們根本不會存在。

We might eat them in the end,

雖然我們最終可能會吃掉牠們，

but we also provide food and shelter

但我們也為牠們提供了食物和庇護所，

and the gift of existence to them.

並賦予了牠們生命。

Unfortunately,

不幸的是，

we're not very nice gods.

我們不是什麼仁慈的上帝。

A lot of our meat comes from factory farms, 用詞

我們吃到的大量肉類來自於工廠化養殖場，

huge industrial systems that house thousands of animals.

那些容納著成千上萬隻動物的巨大工業系統。

Engineered to be as efficient as possible,

為了實現效率最大化，

they have little regard for things like quality of life. 片語搭配

這些系統幾乎不顧及動物的生活品質。

Most pigs are raised in gigantic windowless sheds

多數豬被飼養在巨大的無窗棚圈裡，

and never get to see the sun.

終其一生都見不到陽光。

Sows are kept in pens too small to turn around, 文法

母豬被關在狹窄到無法轉身的豬欄裡，

where they give birth to one litter of piglets after another 片語搭配

牠們在那裡生下一窩又一窩的小豬，

until it's their turn to be turned into bacon. 慣用語

直到輪到自己被做成培根。

Dairy cows are forced to breed continually

乳牛被迫不斷繁殖，

to ensure their milk supply,

以保證產乳量，

but are separated from their calves hours after birth.

但在分娩數小時後就會被迫與小牛分離。

To fatten up beef cattle for slaughter, 片語動詞

為了讓肉牛長胖以便屠宰，

they're put in feedlots,

牠們被關進飼養場，

confined pens where they can't roam

在無法走動的狹窄圍欄裡，

and put on weight more quickly. 片語動詞

從而更快地長肉。

To make it possible to keep them so tightly together

為了讓牠們如此密集地聚集在一起，

without dying of diseases,

又不至於死於疾病，

the majority of antibiotics we use are for livestock,

我們使用的絕大多數抗生素都餵給了牲畜，

up to 80% in the US,

在美國這個比例高達80%，

which helps in the short term, 片語搭配

這在短期內確實有效，

but also fuels antibiotic resistances.

但同時也助長了抗生素抗藥性。

But the ones that may have got the worst deal are chickens. 慣用語

但處境最糟糕的可能是雞。

In factory farms,

在工廠化養殖場，

they're kept in such vast numbers and so close to each other 文法

牠們的數量如此龐大且彼此間距極小，

that they can't form the social structures they have in nature,

以至於牠們無法形成自然界中的社會結構，

so they start attacking each other.

於是牠們開始互相攻擊。

To stop that,

為了阻止這種情況，

we cut their beaks and claws.

我們剪掉牠們的喙和爪子。

Male chickens are deemed worthless 用詞

公雞被認為毫無價值，

since they can't lay eggs and are not suitable for meat production,

因為牠們不能下蛋，也不適合產肉，

so within minutes after birth,

所以在出生後的幾分鐘內，

they're usually gassed and shredded in grinders.

牠們通常會被毒氣毒死並用研磨機絞碎。

Several hundred million baby chickens are killed this way each year.

每年有數億隻小雞被以這種方式殺害。

Even if you had a personal score to settle with chickens, 慣用語

就算你和雞有個人恩怨，

how we treat them is beyond broken.

我們對待牠們的方式也過於離譜了。

So,

所以，

better buy organic meat,

最好買有機肉類，

where animals are treated nicely, right?

那裡的動物能得到善待，對吧？

Organic farming regulations are designed to grant animals a minimum of comfort.

有機農業法規的初衷是為了保證動物能享有最低限度的舒適。

The problem is that organic is an elastic term. 慣用語

問題在於，有機是個靈活的詞。

According to EU regulations,

根據歐盟的規定，

an organic hen still might share 1 square meter of space with five others.

一隻有機母雞仍可能和另外五隻雞共享1平方公尺的空間。

That's a long way off from happy farmyard chickens. 片語搭配

這與農家大院裡快樂的雞相比差得很遠。

Farms that sincerely do their best do exist, 文法

當然，那些真正在竭盡全力的農場確實存在。

of course.

當然。

But meat is still a business.

但肉類歸根結底是一門生意。

An organic label is a way to charge more money,

有機標籤是一種收費更高的藉口，

and countless scandals have revealed producers looking for ways to cheat the system. 慣用語

無數醜聞揭示了生產商尋找系統漏洞進行作弊的行為。

And while organic meat might be less cruel,

雖然有機肉可能沒那麼殘忍，

it needs even more resources than conventional meat production.

但它比傳統肉類生產需要更多的資源。

So,

所以，

buying organic is still preferable,

購買有機肉類仍然是更好的選擇，

but does not grant you moral absolution. 用詞

但這並不能賦予你道德上的免責。

The truth is,

事實是，

if suffering were a resource, 表達脈絡

如果痛苦是一種資源，

we would create billions of tons of it per year.

我們每年將創造出數十億噸的資源。

The way we treat animals

我們對待動物的方式

will probably be one of the things future generations will look down on in disgust. 片語動詞

可能會成為未來世代鄙夷厭惡的事情之一。

While all these things are true, 表達脈絡

雖然所有這些都是事實，

something else is true, too.

但另一件事也是事實。

Steak is amazing.

牛排太棒了。

Burgers are the best food.

漢堡是最好的食物。

Chicken wings taste great.

雞翅味道好極了。

Meat satisfies something buried deep in our lizard brain. 慣用語

肉類滿足了深藏在我們爬蟲腦中的某種本能。

We hardly ever see how our meat is made.

我們幾乎看不到肉是如何被製造出來的。

We just eat it and love it.

我們只是吃它並且喜歡它。

It creates joy.

它能帶來快樂。

It brings us together for family meals and barbecue parties. 片語動詞

它是家人聚餐和燒烤派對的紐帶。

Eating meat doesn't make you a bad person. 表達脈絡

吃肉並不會讓你變成壞人。

Not eating meat doesn't make you a good one.

不吃肉也不會讓你變成好人。

Life is complicated,

生活是複雜的，

and so is the world we've created. 文法

我們創造的世界同樣如此。

So,

那麼，

how should we deal with the fact that meat is extremely unsustainable 片語搭配

面對肉食極不可持續

and a sort of horrible torture?

並且是可怕折磨的這種事實，我們該怎麼辦？

For now,

目前來說，

the easiest option is opting out more often. 片語動詞

最簡單的辦法就是多嘗試少吃肉。

Taking a meat-free day per week already makes a difference.

每週有一天不吃肉就已經能帶來改變了。

If you want to eat meat produced with less suffering,

如果你想吃那些產生的痛苦更少的肉類，

try to buy from trusted producers with a good track record, 片語搭配

盡量向信譽良好且值得信賴的生產商購買，

even if it costs more. 文法

哪怕價格更貴一點。

To make an impact on the environment,

為了對環境產生積極影響，

go for chicken and pig rather than lamb and beef, 片語搭配

選擇雞肉和豬肉，而不是羊肉和牛肉，

as they convert their feed more efficiently into meat.

因為牠們能將飼料更高效地轉化為肉類。

And if you're going to have your steak, 慣用語

如果你打算享用牛排，

you should eat it, too.

你就應該把它全吃完。

An average American throws out nearly a pound of food per day, 片語動詞

一個普通的美國人每天扔掉近一磅食物，

a lot of which is meat. 文法

其中很多都是肉。

In the future,

在未來，

science could get us clean meat. 用詞

科學或許能為我們帶來清潔肉。

Various startups have successfully grown meat in labs

各種新創公司已經成功在實驗室裡培育出肉類，

and are working on doing so on a commercial scale. 片語搭配

並且正在努力實現商業化量產。

But solutions like this are still a few years away. 片語搭配

但是像這樣的解決方案還需要幾年的時間。

For now,

現階段，

enjoy your steak,

盡情享用你的牛排，

but also respect it.

但也要尊重它。

And if you can,

如果可以的話，

make it something special again.

讓它再次成為一種特殊的享受。