PBS高端访谈:对美国饮食而言加工食品是潘多拉魔盒吗?

 　　GWEN IFILL:Finally tonight: how technology has changed the foods we eat.

　　Hari Sreenivasan has our book conversation.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:Human eating habits have changed more in the past century than in the previous 10,000 years. In the U.S., Americans are consuming double the fat, 3.5 times more sodium¹, 60 percent more sugar and infinitely² more corn and soybeans than in the year 1909.

　　One culprit, processed food. About 70 percent of our calories come from them. It's a topic of a new book by former New York Times business reporter Melanie Warner called "Pandora's Lunchbox: How Processed Food Took Over the American Meal."

　　Melanie Warner joins me now. Thanks for being with us.

　　MELANIE WARNER, "Pandora's Lunchbox: How Processed Food Took Over the American Meal": Yes. Thank you for having me.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:So, first of all, define processed food, just so we're all on the same page.

　　MELANIE WARNER:Yes, it's a term that is thrown around a lot these days.

　　I like to think of it as a processed food is something that you could not make at home in your own home kitchen with those same ingredients. So, you could apply to packaged food. You can apply to fast food. And I think that's a good—good benchmark.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:So, you did this kind of interesting experiment. You wanted to see how processed food sort of devolved or what their shelf life was. And what did you do? Explain this to the audience.

　　MELANIE WARNER:Yes. It was something that I came upon a number of years ago where I started wondering about expiration³ dates on packages, food in the supermarket.

　　Pretty much every package has an expiration date on it somewhere. And I wondered, what would happen after this date came and went? Would the food good bad? Would it start smelling? So, I just started collecting some food and keeping it in my—then it was an apartment and to see what happened. And, eventually, I would open it and everything would be fine. Nothing—there would no mold, no bad smell.

　　So, over time, I just collected. I became curious, well, what would happen if I tested other kinds of foods? And I got—I started collecting fast food and all kinds of other supermarket products, frozen meals, kid’s meals, Pop Tarts⁴. You name it. My office was filled with the stuff.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:So, what should have been a very smelly area wasn't smelly.

　　MELANIE WARNER:It wasn't very smelly at all.

　　It was in my office and I was still able to work there. There were a few exceptions, but for the most part, none of it molded, started smelling bad or otherwise decomposed⁵.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:OK. And you say in your book that while science and technology has made it easier to process foods, our bodies have not evolved at the same pace. Explain that.

　　MELANIE WARNER:Yes. That's correct.

　　We have had an enormous amount of technological⁶ innovation in the last 100 years. Technology has merged⁷ with—with food production in a way that few of us, I think, realize, but the way our bodies process food is stuck somewhere in the Stone Age, when we were eating very different foods, obviously.

　　This causes enormous problems, because the foods that we're eating, our bodies are really not designed to handle. And it causes all kinds of health problems.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:So, is there some sort of scientific data that says we don't have the enzymes⁸ or what is happening in our bodies when this processed food hits it?

　　MELANIE WARNER:Well, you can look at different things; you can look at different ingredients.

　　Certainly, if you take sugar, the effect that sugar has on our bodies is—can be somewhat disastrous⁹ if it's overconsumed. Metabolically¹⁰, it causes our blood sugar to spike¹¹. And you a lot hear about people getting insulin-resistant. And it just—it messes up the whole blood sugar dynamic when we consume too much sugar.

　　And then you can talk different about things like fats and vegetable oils. And we're overconsuming those. And that's having problems for our arteries¹² and our vascular¹³ system and our heart.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:OK. Some of these preservatives¹⁴, the food industry is going to come back and say in fact it's because of the preservatives, it's because of the fortifying¹⁵ things with vitamins and minerals that we are maybe even going to have a chance at feeding the seven billion people that are on the planet. So, we kind of need this science, we need this to feed everybody.

　　MELANIE WARNER:Yes. I would argue that that is not the only way we can feed people and that's not the best way to feed people.

　　You look at, do we really want the rest of the world adopting our diet of eating processed food, where we're eating 70 percent processed food? And our health statistics are abysmal¹⁶. We're supposed to be a great country, and we're 37th in life expectancy¹⁷ globally around the world.

　　So, I just don't think that that is a solution for feeding the rest of the world.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:So, after having written this book and knowing this much about processed foods, what is your diet like? What are you cutting out? What are you including?

　　MELANIE WARNER:I think it's—I want to stress that I'm not arguing for a world without any processed food, zero processed food.

　　I think it's a matter of rebalancing our diet so that instead of 70 percent of our food coming from highly processed products, maybe it's something like 30 percent or 20 percent, or whatever is right for an individual. So, that's the way I try and eat. I do eat processed foods. I do serve them to my kids. I'm a working mom.

　　So, I try and have a balance. And when I do serve processed foods or eat processed foods, I try and seek out the best choices, the ones that don't have as many ingredients, that don't have artificial ingredients, so the less processed of the processed choices.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:OK, examples would be?

　　MELANIE WARNER:Like, for instance, I don't buy a boxed mac and cheese anymore for the kids, because I thought, why I do want to be feeding them powdered cheese or liquid cheese, instead of the real thing? To make it at home is relatively¹⁸ easily. So, I have become just a little bit more skeptical¹⁹ and discriminating²⁰.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:All right, the book is called "Pandora's Lunchbox."

　　Melanie Warner, thanks so much for your time.

　　MELANIE WARNER:Yes. Thank you.

1 sodium   

n.（化）钠

参考例句：

• Out over the town the sodium lights were lit.在外面，全城的钠光灯都亮了。
• Common salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.食盐是钠和氯的复合物。

2 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

3 expiration   

n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物

参考例句：

• Can I have your credit card number followed by the expiration date?能告诉我你的信用卡号码和它的到期日吗?
• This contract shall be terminated on the expiration date.劳动合同期满，即行终止。

4 tarts   

n.果馅饼( tart的名词复数 )；轻佻的女人；妓女；小妞

参考例句：

• I decided to make some tarts for tea. 我决定做些吃茶点时吃的果馅饼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They ate raspberry tarts and ice cream. 大家吃着木莓馅饼和冰淇淋。 来自辞典例句

5 decomposed   

已分解的，已腐烂的

参考例句：

• A liquid is decomposed when an electric current passes through it. 当电流通过时，液体就分解。
• Water can be resolved [decomposed] into hydrogen and oxygen. 水可分解为氢和氧。

6 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

7 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

8 enzymes   

n. 酶，酵素

参考例句：

• It was said that washing powders containing enzymes remove stains more efficiently. 据说加酶洗衣粉除污更有效。
• Among the enzymes which are particularly effective are pepsin, papain. 在酶当中特别有效的是胃朊酶、木瓜酶。

9 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

10 metabolically   

代谢的（metabolic的副词形式）

参考例句：

• Intact skin is a highly complex, metabolically active organ. 完整的皮肤是一个高度复杂、代谢灵敏的器官。 来自辞典例句

11 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

12 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 vascular   

adj.血管的，脉管的

参考例句：

• The mechanism of this anomalous vascular response is unknown.此种不规则的血管反应的机制尚不清楚。
• The vascular changes interfere with diffusion of nutrients from plasma into adjacent perivascular tissue and cells.这些血管变化干扰了营养物质从血浆中向血管周围邻接的组织和细胞扩散。

14 preservatives   

n.防腐剂( preservative的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The juice contains no artificial preservatives. 这种果汁不含人工防腐剂。
• Meat spoils more quickly without preservatives. 不加防腐剂，肉会坏得快。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 fortifying   

筑防御工事于( fortify的现在分词 )； 筑堡于； 增强； 强化（食品）

参考例句：

• Fortifying executive function and restraining impulsivity are possible with active interventions. 积极干预可能有助加强执行功能和抑制冲动性。
• Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face, fortifying himself against still another disappointment. 文戈不再张望，他绷紧脸，仿佛正在鼓足勇气准备迎接另一次失望似的。

16 abysmal   

adj.无底的，深不可测的，极深的；糟透的，极坏的；完全的

参考例句：

• The film was so abysmal that I fell asleep.电影太糟糕，看得我睡着了。
• There is a historic explanation for the abysmal state of Chinese cuisine in the United States.中餐在美国的糟糕状态可以从历史上找原因。

17 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

18 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

19 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

20 discriminating   

a.有辨别能力的

参考例句：

• Due caution should be exercised in discriminating between the two. 在区别这两者时应该相当谨慎。
• Many businesses are accused of discriminating against women. 许多企业被控有歧视妇女的做法。