英闻天下——33 Who Is the Biggest Food Waster

 　　In China, parents often tell their kids to not waste food, however, media reports sat that food waste accounts for about 70 percent of the country's mounting garbage production. Especially in restaurants, massive amounts of food are wasted every day.

 

　　Many people say when they dine out, they usually order more dishes than they can eat. One citizen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province says he takes away the leftovers¹.

 

　　"Usually we'll have some leftovers after meals, because when you invite friends to dine out, you don't know how much they can eat, so I order a bit more dishes to make sure everybody has enough food."

 

　　While another citizen in Shenyang, Liaoning Province says she never packs what is left on the dining table.

 

　　"What I usually experience during dining out is big meal, which includes many dishes. I seldom take away the because we often have other activities after the meals, and it's not convenient to take the leftovers. And when no one suggests taking away leftovers, I won't do so."

 

　　Some people say they only take away leftovers when they dine out with family, but not if they eat with friends or colleagues.

 

　　In Lanzhou city, more than 200 tons of food is wasted every day in about 2,600 restaurants across the main districts.

 

　　Sun Weihan drives a kitchen waste truck. He says their garbage collection company has 45 such trucks, and each truck has to be driven out twice every night to collect kitchen waste, but they still cannot collect it all.

 

　　Hao Wei, department manager of the local garbage collection company explains.

 

　　"Currently, we are still far from capable of collecting all the kitchen waste from these restaurants. What we can not handle is collected by individuals. Every day, about 30 to 40 tons of kitchen waste is collected by individuals."

 

　　Hao says based on his experience collecting kitchen waste, he knows the reason behind the massive food waste.

 

　　"We often suppose there will be more kitchen waste during these festivals, but we found that people would take away the leftovers after dining out with family, so less food is actually wasted in such occasions. Massive food waste is usually seen in wedding banquets and business meals."

 

　　In China, when many people waste food, there is still a large number of people who do not have enough to eat. According to statistics by the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation² and Development, China has 128 million people living on an annual income of less than 2,300 yuan or 368 US dollars, a poverty line revised in November 2011. These destitute³ people make up 13.4 percent of the rural population and nearly 10 percent of the national population.

 

　　For CRI, I am Zhang Wan⁴.

1 leftovers   

n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
• She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。

2 alleviation   

n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物

参考例句：

• These were the circumstances and the hopes which gradually brought alleviation to Sir Thomas's pain. 这些情况及其希望逐渐缓解了托马斯爵士的痛苦。
• The cost reduction achieved in this way will benefit patients and the society in burden alleviation. 集中招标采购降低的采购成本要让利于患者，减轻社会负担。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语

3 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

4 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。