美国国家公共电台 NPR Black Farmers Are Sowing The Seeds Of Health And Empowerment

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

More than 9 out of 10 farm owners in the United States are white, according to the Bureau of Labor¹ Statistics. And there's a growing movement to try to change that. The goal is to help more people of color become farmers and to make healthy living more accessible to more people. NPR's Alan Yu reports.

ALAN YU, BYLINE²: Chris Newman used to be a software engineering manager in the D.C. area - well-paid, but he worked long hours, ate fast food and went to the doctor a lot. Eventually, enough was enough.

CHRIS NEWMAN: I don't eat at Popeyes anymore. I think it's disgusting. I used to love Popeyes.

YU: Newman says he and his wife moved to Charlottesville, Va., to become farmers. He keeps pigs, ducks and chickens.

NEWMAN: I have a really hard time eating bad meat. I'll eat a vegetarian³ dish at a restaurant if I don't know where that meat's coming from.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHICKEN CLUCKING)

YU: There's no bad meat on this farm. Newman knows these chickens and takes good care of them.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHICKEN CLUCKING)

YU: He says the idea is to give the animals sunlight and room to run around, so their manure⁴ doesn't overwhelm one spot and so he doesn't have to give the animals antibiotics⁵.

NEWMAN: It's not just about our happy damn chickens. This is about, how do we fix this system?

YU: Newman wants a lot more people like him growing food using these methods. Specifically, he wants to help more people of color get involved in farming.

NEWMAN: So what has to happen in order for this to be accessible to everyone is way bigger than me, is way bigger than this farm, is way bigger than all the farms in central Virginia or the mid-Atlantic or anywhere else.

YU: To get more people of color interested in farming, first, you have to show it's a viable⁶ career. But then there is a more complicated problem - one that the vast majority of farmers don't have because they're mostly white. A couple years ago, Newman was driving past a rich neighborhood. He pulled his pickup⁷ truck over to the side of the road to eat his lunch.

NEWMAN: This lady, like, jogs by, and she gives me this look. And every black man in America knows that look. It's a mix of fear and incongruence. Like, you don't belong. Something's wrong. And as soon as she, you know, ran by and gave me that look, I'm like, the cops are going to be here in less than five minutes. And lo and behold⁸, like, five minutes later, here comes a cop.

YU: Newman says this officer was in a part of town where police almost never go. The cop slows down and looks at him.

NEWMAN: I know how to disarm⁹ white people, you know? First thing you do is smile. You act like you own the place. You act white. Change your voice, you know, to where you code switch and you become a lot more articulate. You maybe lower your voice a little bit. Or maybe you just raise your voice a little bit and talk like kind of an intellectual. You make sure that there isn't too much in your voice. And smile. Always smile.

YU: Newman is addressing the lack of diversity among farmers by hiring interns¹⁰, focusing on women, people of color and other underrepresented groups. And there's demand for this kind of work. Leah Penniman is a farmer and activist¹¹ at Soul Fire Farm in New York state.

LEAH PENNIMAN: I started getting calls from mostly black women in different places in the country who were saying, like, I just need to hear your voice and know that I'm not alone and to know that it's possible to be a farmer.

YU: She also teaches black and Latino people basic farming skills. And demand for her training is booming. And she's developed a system where the people who can afford it pay more to cover the cost of those who can't.

PENNIMAN: The food, no matter what - it comes every week to folks' doorsteps - high-quality, full box of veggies. And for many people, they say if it wasn't for that, they would just be eating, you know, boiled pasta because that's the most calories for the least money.

YU: Penniman says she hopes to bring healthy food to people who can't afford it - one household, one farmer and one box of veggies at a time. Alan Yu, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF TRISTEZA'S "GOLDEN HILL")

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

4 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

5 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

6 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

7 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

8 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

9 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

10 interns   

n.住院实习医生( intern的名词复数 )v.拘留，关押( intern的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Our interns also greet our guests when they arrive in our studios. 我们的实习生也会在嘉宾抵达演播室的时候向他们致以问候。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• The interns work alongside experienced civil engineers and receive training in the different work sectors. 实习生陪同有经验的国内工程师工作，接受不同工作部门的相关培训。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。