现代社会的“食品荒漠”问题

随着现代饮食观念的转变，“穷吃菜，富吃肉”的理念早已过时，而“穷吃肉，富吃菜”正大行其道。在欧美国家，这一现象更为普遍。在贫民生活的地方，经常出现买不到新鲜食品的“食品荒漠”。

Food desert refers to an area where fresh food is either non-existent or too expensive.
“食品荒漠”是指没有新鲜食品或这种食品价格极贵的地区。

看了以上定义，你也许对此还是没啥概念。憋急！我们来看看对此问题颇感头大的美国农业部是怎么解释的：

What is a "food desert"? A community in which residents must travel at least a mile to buy fresh meat, dairy products, and vegetables.
什么是“食品荒漠”？“食品荒漠”指某社区居民必须“跋涉”至少一英里的路程才能买到新鲜的肉类、奶制品和蔬菜。

More precisely, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines a food desert as any census district where at least 20 percent of the inhabitants are below the poverty line and 33 percent live over a mile from the nearest supermarket (or in rural areas, more than 10 miles).
美国农业部对此给出了更为精辟的定义：任何接受人口普查的地区中，至少20%的居民生活在贫困线以下，33%居民的居所距离最近的超市超过一英里（在农村，该距离为超过10英里）。

Approximately 23.5 million Americans live in a food desert, says the USDA, including vast, rural swaths of West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky, as well as urban areas like Detroit, Chicago, and New York City.
美国农业部称，目前约有2350万美国人生活在食品荒漠里，包括广阔的西弗吉尼亚、俄亥俄州和肯塔基州的农村和底特律、加利福尼亚和纽约市的城区。

The government believes food deserts are contributing to the obesity epidemic in the U.S., by forcing the rural and urban poor to rely on processed foods and fast food, instead of fresh meat, vegetables, and fruit. Today, more than one third of adult Americans are obese.
政府认为，食品荒漠迫使城乡贫民依赖加工食品和快餐，不吃新鲜肉类、蔬菜和水果，是造成美国人肥胖的原因。如今，1/3的美国成年人肥胖。

（中国日报网英语点津 丁一）