夜雨聆风
Is organic food worth the higher price? It's the classic grocery store dilemma. On the one hand, your family dinner table deserves only the best. On the other hand, your wallet can only stretch so far.
Whether or not to buy organic is a personal decision, said Mike von Massow, professor of Food Agriculture.
Science won't give a clear‑cut answer to the question of whether organic food is "better." There are often trade‑offs(权衡) and answers become less definitive depending on the product under consideration.
One thing is definitive: Organic and conventionally grown food are equally nutritious. From a nutrition point of view, there is no difference between organic and traditionally grown products.
Organic products don't necessarily have fewer pesticides (杀虫剂) — in fact, they may have more. There is also no big difference between organic and non‑organic products from a food‑safety perspective. Even organic growers use pesticides. Testing shows little if any pesticide remains on conventionally grown products.
In fact, organic farmers often use larger quantities of pesticide because they can only use the natural variety of insect‑killers. Chemical pesticides generally kill a much wider range of pests (害虫) than any single natural pesticide.
The use of animal waste in organic agriculture can also be a factor in the spread of bacteria like E. coli and salmonella. Over the past 10 years, Canada has seen more food‑safety recalls for organic products, proportionally, than for conventional products.
On the whole, organic agriculture may have a smaller environmental footprint. That's mostly because the risk of groundwater contamination from organic farming is lower. Organic farmers never used neonics, the controversial pesticides that have been linked to shrinking bee populations worldwide.
Traditional agriculture has been making "dramatic improvements" to reduce its impact on the environment.
It isn't a black‑and‑white picture, though.
Organic farming is much less efficient when it comes to land use, although yields vary considerably depending on the crop.
On the other hand, advocates of organic farming argue yields and efficiency could be significantly improved if the food industry devoted as much research and money to organic farming as it does conventional agriculture.
全文逐段翻译
有机食品更高的价格值得吗？这是食品超市一个典型的两难困境。一方面，自家餐桌上理应享用最好的食物；另一方面，个人钱包的承受能力有限。
食品与农业教授迈克·冯·马索称，是否购买有机食品属于个人选择。
对于有机食品是否“更好”这一问题，科学无法给出明确答案。其中往往存在多方取舍权衡，并且答案会根据所探讨的食品品类不同而变得不那么确定。
有一点是确凿无疑的：有机种植食品与传统种植食品的营养价值相当。从营养角度来看，有机产品和传统种植产品不存在差异。
有机食品的杀虫剂未必更少——实际上，其杀虫剂含量可能更高。从食品安全角度，有机与非有机产品也没有很大区别。就算是有机种植农户也会使用杀虫剂。检测显示，传统种植食品上即便有农药残留，也微乎其微。
事实上，有机农户使用的杀虫剂用量往往更大，因为他们只能使用各类天然杀虫剂。化学杀虫剂通常可以杀灭的害虫种类，远比任何一种天然杀虫剂要多。
有机农业会使用动物粪便，这也会造成大肠杆菌、沙门氏菌这类细菌传播。在过去十年间，按比例计算，加拿大有机产品的食品安全召回事件多于传统农产品。
总体来看，有机农业的环境影响或许更小。这主要是因为有机农业造成地下水污染的风险更低。有机种植从不使用新烟碱类杀虫剂，这种饱受争议的杀虫剂被认为和全球蜜蜂数量锐减有关。
传统农业也一直在取得“巨大进步”，降低自身对环境造成的影响。
但是这件事并不能简单地非黑即白。
就土地利用率而言，有机农业效率低得多，当然不同农作物的产量差别很大。
另一方面，有机农业的支持者认为：如果食品行业投入到有机农业的科研经费和投入传统农业一样多，有机农业的产量和生产效率就能够得到大幅提升。
核心词汇&短语
organic /ɔːˈɡænɪk/ adj.有机的 dilemma /dɪˈlemə/ n.窘境，两难困境 grocery store 食品超市，杂货店 deserve /dɪˈzɜːv/ v.应得，值得 stretch /stretʃ/ v.拉伸；（财力）够用 clear‑cut adj.清晰明确的 trade‑off n.权衡，取舍 definitive /dɪˈfɪnətɪv/ adj.确定的，确凿的 under consideration 在讨论中，被考量 conventionally‑grown adj.传统种植的 nutritious /njuˈtrɪʃəs/ adj.有营养的 pesticide /ˈpestɪsaɪd/ n.杀虫剂，农药 don’t necessarily 未必，不一定 perspective /pəˈspektɪv/ n.视角，角度 little if any 几乎没有 remain /rɪˈmeɪn/ v.残留；留存 a large quantity of 大量的 a wide range of 多种多样的，大范围的 pest /pest/ n.害虫 animal waste 动物粪便 bacteria /bækˈtɪəriə/ n.细菌(复数) proportionally /prəˈpɔːʃənəli/ adv.按比例地 recall /rɪˈkɔːl/ n.&v.（产品）召回 on the whole 总体而言 environmental footprint 环境足迹，环境影响 contamination /kənˌtæmɪˈneɪʃn/ n.污染 groundwater n.地下水 controversial /ˌkɒntrəˈvɜːʃl/ adj.有争议的 be linked to 与……相关联 shrinking /ˈʃrɪŋkɪŋ/ adj.不断减少的 dramatic improvements 巨大改善 black‑and‑white adj.非黑即白的，绝对化的 when it comes to 谈及，就……而言 yield /jiːld/ n.农作物产量 v.产出 advocate /ˈædvəkət/ n.倡导者，支持者 devote …to… 把……投入于
长难句解析
句1
There are often trade‑offs and answers become less definitive depending on the product under consideration.
语法： depending on现在分词作条件状语；under consideration介词短语作后置定语修饰product翻译：其中往往存在多方取舍权衡，并且答案会根据所探讨的食品品类不同而变得不那么确定。
句2
Testing shows little if any pesticide remains on conventionally grown products.
语法： little if any固定表达，“即便有也几乎没有”；宾语从句省略that翻译：检测显示，传统种植食品上即便有农药残留，也微乎其微。
句3
Chemical pesticides generally kill a much wider range of pests than any single natural pesticide.
语法：比较级结构；固定搭配 a wide range of各种各样的翻译：化学杀虫剂通常可以杀灭的害虫种类，远比任何一种天然杀虫剂要多。
句4
Organic farmers never used neonics, the controversial pesticides that have been linked to shrinking bee populations worldwide.
语法： the controversial pesticides作neonics同位语；that引导定语从句修饰pesticides翻译：有机种植从不使用新烟碱类杀虫剂，这种饱受争议的杀虫剂被认为和全球蜜蜂数量锐减有关。
句5
advocates of organic farming argue yields and efficiency could be significantly improved if the food industry devoted as much research and money to organic farming as it does conventional agriculture.
语法：argue后接宾语从句；if引导与现在事实相反的虚拟语气，动词用过去式devoted； as much …as同级比较翻译：有机农业的支持者认为：如果食品行业投入到有机农业的科研经费和投入传统农业一样多，有机农业的产量和生产效率就能够得到大幅提升。