2007年VOA标准英语-Consumers Call for Ban on Growth Hormone in Mil

By Melinda Smith
Washington
24 April 2007
 

One of the largest groups of milk producers in the United States has set an August first deadline for its members to stop treating their cows with a growth hormone¹, or pay more to get their milk to market. The move is a reaction to pressure by consumer groups opposed to the use of the hormone rBST, which increases milk production.  VOA's Melinda Smith reports on the health and economic concerns of the hormone's use.

Millions of advertising² dollars are spent every year by American dairy farmers and processors to promote the message that milk is good for us.  It is a big business, made up of dairy farmers' cooperatives and companies that bottle and distribute the milk.

In 1993, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of a genetically³ engineered growth hormone called rBST. It is sold under the brand Posilac, and stimulates⁴ as much as 10 percent more milk in cows. 

Dennis Areias is a dairy farmer in California who uses rBST. "What it does, it enhances her appetite to get her to eat more.  The more she eats, the more she will milk."

But not everyone is happy with that idea.  In February 2007, three health advocacy groups asked the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw its approval of rBST.  They say the hormone increases the risk of breast, colon⁵ and prostate cancers, and may be linked to early puberty. 

Representatives of the dairy industry and Monsanto, the hormone's manufacturer, say there is no scientific proof that links rBST to cancer.

So who is behind the effort to stop production of rBST?  Some say it is driven by consumers who will not buy hormone-laced food.

"...I just thought it better to be safe than sorry," expressed one shopper. "Well, it just makes sense to me to try and make sure that our food is as clean as possible," said another.

Or, is it simply pressure from advocacy groups opposed to any food additives⁶?  Patty Lovera is with the organization, Food and Water Watch. "We are headed in the right direction, which is more and more companies are saying they are not going to buy milk that's produced that way."

One of the largest dairy associations is California Dairies Incorporated. It distributes at least 10 percent of the milk in the United States.  It has told its members they must stop using rBST by August 2007 or pay more to ship their hormone treated milk to stores that will take it. 

Richard Cotta of California Dairies says the company is responding to consumer preference for milk free of hormones⁷. "Our attitude is if the consumer wants it and is willing to pay for it, we are going to try and make it available to them," he said.

There are about 60,000 herds⁸ in the U.S. and some estimates say that one-third have been treated with rBST.  But a spokesman for the National Milk Producers Federation⁹, which represents most of the dairy cooperatives in the United States, believes that figure may be lower now because of the negative publicity¹⁰ surrounding the hormone.

1 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

2 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

3 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

4 stimulates   

v.刺激( stimulate的第三人称单数 )；激励；使兴奋；起兴奋作用，起刺激作用，起促进作用

参考例句：

• Exercise stimulates the body. 运动促进身体健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Alcohol stimulates the action of the heart. 酒刺激心脏的活动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

6 additives   

n.添加剂( additive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• chemical additives in petrol 汽油中的化学添加剂
• It'says on the packet that these crisps contain no additives. 包装上说这些炸薯片不含添加剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

8 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

9 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

10 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。