環(huán)球英語 1273 Food in Danger, Part 1

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Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Ryan Geertsma.

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And I’m Robin Basselin. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

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Fatima is a single mother in Egypt. She cleans homes for work. She earns about eight and a half dollars each day. With this money, Fatima must feed herself, her two sons and her father. She does not have enough money to buy much meat or fresh fruits and vegetables. So instead, she buys foods like rice, grains or beans. Fatima told the Christian Science Monitor,

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“The prices are so high that we eat anything that will keep us alive. We do not care for our health in the process.”

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Fatima’s situation is not uncommon. The recent rise in global food prices has affected many people. It has made it difficult for many people to buy food. It is even more difficult to buy healthy food. Today's Spotlight is the first program in a series on the effects of rising food prices and how we can respond.

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In the past few years, many countries have experienced extreme weather. The countries of China, Russia and Argentina have had a lack of rain. As a result, they have grown less wheat. Too much rain in the country of Australia made it difficult for wheat and sugar crops to grow. Cold weather in the United States killed many corn crops. Similar weather problems all over the world have affected crops like wheat, corn, sugar and oil. Production of these foods is much lower than normal. This is one reason global food prices have increased.

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Extreme weather may be the easiest reason to understand. But it is not the only reason. The economic and social policies of governments and international organizations also affect food prices. And while food supplies are decreasing, the population around the world is increasing. In 1960 there were about 3,000,000,000 people in the world. Only 50 years later, in 2011 there are now almost 7,000,000,000 people.

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The result is rising food prices. And this makes it more difficult for people like Fatima to feed their families. However, Fatima’s family makes more money than 40% of the people in her country. This is because 40% of Egypt’s 80,000,000 people support their families with only two dollars a day. And around the world, more than 2,000,000,000 people survive on this same amount. That is almost one third of the whole world population.

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Poorer families spend more than half of their wages on food. Already these families have very little money left for things like housing, clothes or school. When food prices rise, these families experience the effects much more quickly. World Bank research shows that as food prices rise, more people live in poverty.

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Abdolreza Abbassian is the lead economist with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. He studies the world’s economy. He told the news organization NPR that if food prices stay high, there is a high chance that prices for other necessary things will increase as well. This will affect even more countries, including very poor countries. He added,

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“But for poor families it is not a matter of buying less things, it is a matter of cutting out a meal. And that is very dangerous.”

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Poverty often leads to malnutrition. People cannot buy the food they need to keep their bodies healthy. In general poorer families eat less food. Less food means less energy for normal activities.

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But poorer families also buy foods that cost less money. Usually, food that costs less money does not have as many good nutrients. For example, Fatima does not often purchase vegetables because they cost too much money. But the human body needs the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients found in vegetables.

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Isabel lives near Mexico City. In early 2011, the price of food in her area increased by 30%. Now, she walks 30 minutes through hills in order to find food that costs less money. Isabel told the Christian Science Monitor,

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“Sometimes, you do not buy the food because you just do not have the money.”

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But not eating meals means Isabel and her family risk malnutrition. And when the body does not have the right amount of nutrients, it cannot work well. It does not have all the energy it needs. The body is weaker. It is also more open to life-threatening diseases.

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In fact, one third of all child deaths around the world are connected to malnutrition. With many other international organizations, the World Bank recognized the serious risk of the food crisis on world economies. In 2008 it set up a program to help countries with rising food costs. This program watches the problem, and gives information to governments and non-government organizations. It runs programs to help farmers. But it also does things like helping people learn about nutrition and healthy eating.

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For example, the World Bank worked with the government in Madagascar to create a nutritional program. In the country of Madagascar, almost 21,000 child deaths were linked to malnutrition. Once a month, women come to learn about how to feed their families and to learn about the risks of malnutrition. Women also have a chance to weigh their children and to learn how to cook healthy meals.

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Governments and organizations will need to be a big part of helping global food prices stay low. In April of 2011, a group of world leaders met to discuss the world economy. One of their main concerns was the price of food around the world. They discussed how to protect the global economy when food supplies are low. They decided everyone would need to help with the solutions to this problem – including poorer countries, growing countries, and even larger, less affected economies.

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But local communities will need to be a part of the solutions as well. One way is for people to use the food they already have in the best possible way. This may mean people should try hard not to waste food. People can also learn about which local foods provide the best nutrition for the lowest price. Listen for another Spotlight program about simple choices that can help people get the most good from their foods.

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Not every person is affected by the global food prices in the same way. Will people wait to help until the problem has spread to every country in the world? What will it take for those less affected by higher food prices, to help those who can no longer pay for their food?

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The writer of this program was Corrie Haluga. The producer was Ryan Geertsma. The voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our programs on the internet at https://www.RadioEnglish.net This .program is called, “Food in Danger: Part One.”

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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!