介绍:
第18天:肉类消费速度竟然比人口增长还快？！
Global meat-eating is on the rise, bringing surprising benefits
全球肉类消费增长，喜提惊人益处！
In the decade to 2017 global meat consumption rose by an average of 1.9% a year and fresh dairy consumption by 2.1% — both about twice as fast as population growth.
从 2007 年到 2017 年，全球肉类消费量年平均增长了 1.9%，新鲜奶制品消费量上升了 2.1%——两者的增长率都相当于全球人口增长率的两倍。
Yet many sub-Saharan Africans still eat almost no meat, dairy or fish. This is seldom the result of religious or cultural prohibitions. If animal foods were cheaper, or if people had more money, they would eat more of them. Richard Waite of the World Resources Institute, an American think tank, points out that when Africans move to rich countries and open restaurants, they tend to write meat-heavy menus.
然而，在撒哈拉以南的非洲地区，仍然有不少人几乎不吃任何肉类、奶制品或鱼类。这其中少有宗教和文化禁令的影响。如果肉类食品价格更加便宜，或者人们更加富有，他们就会消费更多的动物食品了。来自世界资源研究所（一所美国的智库）的理查德·韦特指出，当非洲居民移居到发达国家开餐馆时，他们倾向于在菜单上列出不少肉菜。
But this frugal continent is beginning to sway the global food system. Africa already imports more meat each year than does China, and the OECD’s forecastersexpect imports to keep growing by more than 3% a year.
但是这个食肉甚少的大陆正开始撼动全球粮食体系。非洲每年进口的肉类总量已经超过了中国，并且，经济合作与发展组织的预测专家估计：进口肉类的总量还会以超过 3%的年增长率继续上升。
People will probably become healthier. Animal products are excellent sources of essential vitamins and minerals. Studies in several developing countries have shown that giving milk to schoolchildren makes them taller. Recent research in rural western Kenya found that children who regularly ate eggs grew 5% faster than children who did not.
人们有可能会变得更健康。动物产品是人体必需的维生素和矿物质的极佳来源。在几个发展中国家进行的研究表明，给学生喝牛奶会让他们长得更高。最近在肯尼亚西部农村进行的一项研究发现，经常吃鸡蛋的儿童比不常吃鸡蛋的儿童成长速度快 5%。
Africans’ changing diets also create opportunities for local businesses. As cities grow, and as people in those cities demand more animal protein, national supply chains become bigger and more sophisticated. Animal breeders, hatcheries, vets and trucking companies multiply.
非洲人饮食结构的改变也为当地企业创造了机会。随着城市的发展，以及这些城市的人们对动物蛋白的需求增加，全国的肉类供应链变得越来越长，也越来越复杂。动物饲养员、孵化场、兽医和卡车运输公司的数量都成倍地增长。
It is often said that sub-Saharan Africa lacks an industrial base, and this is true. But to look only for high-tech, export-oriented industries risks overlooking the continent’s increasingly sophisticated food-producers, who are responding to urban demand. Ideally, Africa would learn to fill shipping containers with clothes and gadgets. For now, there are some jobs to be had filling bellies with meat.
人们常常认为，撒哈拉以南的非洲缺乏工业基础，这的确是真的。但如果仅仅指望高科技、出口导向型的工业，就会面临忽视非洲本土日益成熟的食品生产商的风险，这些生产商正满足着城市的需求。理想情况下，非洲人将学着用服装和小商品装满集装箱，但目前来说，人们可以靠贩卖肉食来谋个生计。
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