VOA标准英语2010年-India Halts Growth of Genetically-Modi

Protesters surround Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh (C) as he arrives at a public hearing on the genetically¹ modified (GM) eggplant crop in Hyderabad, India on Jan. 31, 2010.

Indian officials have announced they will ban commercial planting of genetically modified eggplants until more tests demonstrate its safety. The decision follows heated public debate over the risks and benefits of the crop, which was designed to reduce the amount of insecticides applied² to the vegetable.

Researchers worldwide are developing GM crops to tackle some of the world's biggest challenges in agriculture, from drought in Africa to floods in Asia. But as the ruling in India demonstrates, public concerns about GM crops remain strong even after more than a decade on the market.

Supporters say the GM eggplant would improve yields and reduce the use of harmful pesticides³. Opponents say they are a threat to human health and environmental safety. These are the same battle lines that were drawn⁴ even before the first GM crops were introduced in the 1990s. And they haven't changed much since then.

Same story

The debate persists despite the fact that, for the past 13 years, GM crops have been grown and consumed without any evidence of a major health or environmental problem. An estimated 100 million hectares of GM crops were grown in 25 countries in 2008. That should put the opposition⁵ to rest, says Nina Fedoroff, a plant geneticist and a U.S. State Department advisor⁶. But it hasn't.

"The only way that I can stay patient," she says, "is to recognize that this is not unique to GM foods, and it is not new."

Fedoroff says one reason that hostility⁷ to GM foods persists is because scientific advances often move faster than public acceptance. In the 19th century, opposition to a new smallpox⁸ vaccine⁹ continued after scientists were convinced it was safe and effective. In the 1960s and 1970s, she says, the Green Revolution's high-yielding crop varieties, which fed millions in South Asia, had their detractors, too.

"They were reputed to cause impotence, and all the things that people say GM plants cause today," she says. "And it just took work and dedication¹⁰ on the part of scientists who knew and believed that this was important for people to have. And now we look back and say, 'Oh, gee¹¹, that was great.'"

Urgent need to "get beyond" anti-GM bias¹²

Fedoroff and a group of scientists from U.S. universities, international institutes and seed companies write in this week's issue of the journal Science, "There is a critical need to get beyond popular biases¹³ against the use of agricultural biotechnology." The article notes that there will be 3 billion more mouths to feed by mid-century while climate change threatens food supplies. GM, they say, is one of the technologies that can help meet the challenges.

"But, you know, we are losing time," adds P. A. Kumar, director of India's National Research Center for Plant Biotechnology. He's been working on developing the controversial eggplant and other GM crops for the better part of two decades. He says the needs in India are urgent.

"The food and nutritional¹⁴ security of this country is really under threat. On top of that, the environmental degradation¹⁵, the quality of water, the quality of soil, the quality of [the] environment, are being compromised by the heavy use of pesticides in our agriculture," Kumar says.

Not so fast

The urgent call from supporters to move GM technology forward is matched by the intensity¹⁶ of opponents who say, "slow down."

Mira Shiva, with the Indian group Doctors for Food and Biosafety, is one of them. She says, look at the experience with some pharmaceuticals¹⁷.

"Numerous drugs that were said to be very safe, over time they were found not to be safe," she says. "It happens. But they could be withdrawn¹⁸. You cannot withdraw genetically modified [crops] at all. You cannot withdraw [them]. So, God forbid [that] tomorrow there are problems."

Unanswered questions

Doug Gurion-Sherman used to look for problems with GM crops as a regulator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He's now with the Union of Concerned Scientists. And he says one reason the doubts about GM crops persist is because even after more than a decade of use, some questions have gone unanswered.

"I don't think there's any definitive¹⁹ data that shows that these plants cause harm," he says. "What [the data] point to is a general inadequacy²⁰ of the data requirements."

Gurion-Sherman says the data requirements for toxicity²¹, for example, only call for 90-day tests, and they are not sensitive enough to detect problems if they do arise. Though more tests would cost the companies developing the plants more money, he says resistance to more rigorous testing is short-sighted.

Question of trust

"Until the proponents²² of the crop, who have adamantly²³ resisted strengthening regulations, understand that public confidence is going to depend on regulatory agencies that can be counted on, that huge public mistrust is going to remain," he adds.

The question of trust could surface again. New GM crops are being developed that promise to cope with some of the world's biggest challenges in food production including tolerance²⁴ to drought and salty soils and more efficient use of fertilizer. But, as India's moratorium²⁵ on GM eggplant shows, these innovations will likely remain on the shelf unless the public trusts the regulators who say these crops are safe.
 

1 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

2 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

3 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

7 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

8 smallpox   

n.天花

参考例句：

• In 1742 he suffered a fatal attack of smallpox.1742年，他染上了致命的天花。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child?你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

9 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

10 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

11 gee   

n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转

参考例句：

• Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
• Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇！我们会赚好多钱啦！

12 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

13 biases   

偏见( bias的名词复数 )； 偏爱； 特殊能力； 斜纹

参考例句：

• Stereotypes represent designer or researcher biases and assumptions, rather than factual data. 它代表设计师或者研究者的偏见和假设，而不是实际的数据。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• The net effect of biases on international comparisons is easily summarized. 偏差对国际比较的基本影响容易概括。

14 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

15 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

16 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

17 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

19 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

20 inadequacy   

n.无法胜任，信心不足

参考例句：

• the inadequacy of our resources 我们的资源的贫乏
• The failure is due to the inadequacy of preparations. 这次失败是由于准备不足造成的。

21 toxicity   

n.毒性，毒力

参考例句：

• The hoarse grunt or squeal is characteristic of toxicity.嘶哑的哼声和叫声是中毒的特征。
• Dieldrin is related to aldrin,and its toxicity to earthworms is similar.狄氏剂与艾氏剂有关，对蚯蚓的毒性是相似的。

22 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

23 adamantly   

adv.坚决地，坚定不移地，坚强不屈地

参考例句：

• "Come over here,"he told her adamantly. “到这边来，”他对她坚定地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His family were adamantly opposed to the marriage. 他的家人坚决反对这门亲事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

25 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。