Issue 95 英国猪肉价格飙升

Now a national pig petition is being launched today to support British pig farmers who say their livelihoods¹ are threatened by soaring feed prices and competition from cheap imports.

The campaign is backed by celebrity² chefs from Gordon Ramsey to Rick Stein, and launched by Waitrose. But in a global market should consumers be expected to pay more for products just because they're British? Here is Jane Dodge³.

Most of us have a soft spot for pigs, not enough though to stop us eating them. Bacon is the nation's favorite meat. But the butties we know and love could become a luxury in the future according to pig farmers. They say they're struggling to survive, a big rise in the cost of feed means they're no longer making a profit. Some are quitting. Others like Martin Martindale in Hampshire have scaled down production.

Solely⁴, we've seen our overdraft⁵ rise, uh, some 3 times, uh, triple in size over the last 6 months, um, if the, if the situation continues, um, then we will find it increasingly difficult to stay in businesses, we will have to charge more for our product.

To make that palatable⁶ to consumers, a campaign has been launched today called "Save Our Bacon".

According to the industry the cost of rearing a pig is around 106 pounds. But farmers only get 80 pounds when it's sold, so that's a loss of 26 pounds. Farmers now want consumers to pay more for their pork.

Aren't you just at the end of the day asking us to buy British?

That's part of what we're trying to do, but the problems behind the British product, the freshness, the welfare standards that we've produced to are all far better than there is available from imported product.

Standards may well be high here. But competitors argue their product is just as good and cheaper.

There are occasions I would say where individual governments, uh, go ahead of the basic EU legislation which is, uh, to which we must alter it here, uh, that has happened in this country we would accept, with certain aspects of uh, pig welfare, but Danish farmers would also point to areas, in the area of welfare where their government has gone further than the government here.

Ultimately this is a fight for hearts and minds - British pig farmers have to persuade consumers that quality is worth paying more for.

1 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

2 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

3 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

4 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

5 overdraft   

n.透支，透支额

参考例句：

• Her bank warned that unless she repaid the overdraft she could face legal action.银行警告她如果不偿还透支钱款，她将面临诉讼。
• An overdraft results when a note discounted at a bank is not met when due.银行贴现的支票到期而未能支付就成为透支。

6 palatable   

adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的

参考例句：

• The truth is not always very palatable.事实真相并非尽如人意。
• This wine is palatable and not very expensive.这种酒味道不错，价钱也不算贵。