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1、 经济学家读译参考经济学家读译参考 考研英语作文万能模板考研英语作文万能模板Page 1 of 7 考研英语阅读题源之经济学人精选文章 TEXT 3 Food firms and fat-fighters 食品公司与减肥斗士 Food firms and fat-fighters 食品公司与减肥斗士 Feb 9th 2006 From The Economist Global Agenda Five leading food companies have introduced a labelling scheme for their products in the British market
2、, in an attempt to assuage critics who say they encourage obesity. But consumer groups are unhappy all the same. Is the food industry, like tobacco before it, about to be *engulfed1 by a wave of lawsuits brought on health grounds? 五家业内领先的食品公司采取了一项方案，就是在其投入英国市场的食品上作出标注，力图堵住那些说他 们鼓励肥胖的批评人士的嘴。不过，消费者团体仍
3、然不开心。食品业会像之前的烟草一样，被卷入一场关 乎健康的诉讼之中吗？ KEEPING fit requires a combination of healthy eating and regular exercise. On the second of these at least, the worlds food companies can claim to be setting a good example: they have been working up quite a sweat in their attempts to fend off assaults by governme
4、nts, consumer groups and lawyers who accuse them of peddling products that encourage obesity. This week saw the unveiling of another industry initiative: five leading food producersDanone, Kellogg, Nestl, Kraft and PepsiCointroduced a labelling scheme for the British market which will show “guidelin
5、e daily amounts” for calories, fats, sugar and salt on packaging. The new labels will start to appear on the firms crisps, chocolate bars, cheese slices *and the like2 over the next few months. A number of other food giants, such as Cadbury Schweppes and Masterfoods, have already started putting gui
6、deline labels on their products. 将健康的饮食习惯和经常性的锻炼二者结合才可以让身体保持健康。至少就第二点而言，全球的食品公司 可以说是树立了一个很好的典范：为了避开政府、消费者团体以及律师们的抨击指责食品公司四处兜 售促进肥胖的产品，他们已经累得大汗淋漓了。本周，食品业的另一举措也公诸于世：五家业内领先的食 品厂商Danone, Kellogg, Nestl, Kraft 以及 PepsiCo在英国市场实施了一项商品标注计划，即在包 装上标明卡路里（热量） 、脂肪、糖和盐的“每日摄入量指南” 。在接下来的几个月里，这些食品公司的土 豆条、 巧克力棒、 干酪片等
7、等包装上将开始出现这类新标注。 其它许多食品业巨头如 Cadbury Schweppes 和 Masterfoods 也已经着手在其产品上加入指导性标记。 The food companies say doing this will empower consumers, allowing them to make informed decisions about which foods are healthy. （1）But consumer groups have cried foul. They point out that the Food Standards Agency, a gov
8、ernment watchdog, is due to recommend a different type of labelling scheme next month: a “traffic light” system using colours to tell consumers whether products have low, medium or high levels of fat, salt and the like. The food firms, they say, have rushed to introduce their own, fuzzier guidelines
9、 first in a cynical attempt to undermine the governments planwhich they fear might hurt their sales. In consumer tests, the traffic light performed better than rival labelling schemes. 这些食品公司说，这么做可以让消费者在确定何种食品为健康食品时心知肚明。但是消费者团体大声疾呼 食品公司此举纯属犯规，他们指出，作为政府监督机构，食品标准局应该在下个月推出一项不同的标注措 施“红绿灯”方法，亦即应用不同颜色，提醒消
10、费者食品的脂肪、糖、盐分等含量是低、中等还是高。经济学家读译参考经济学家读译参考 考研英语作文万能模板考研英语作文万能模板Page 2 of 7 他们说，食品公司突然率先采用他们自定的那些模糊指南，是对政府计划的恣意破坏，他们害怕政府的计 划会让他们的产品卖不出去。对消费者进行调查后显示， “红绿灯”方法比食品公司的标注方案效果要好。 Nevertheless, the food companies argue that the traffic-light system is too simplistic and likely to scare people away from certain
11、 products that are fine if consumed in moderation, or in conjunction with plenty of exercisewhich most observers, including the medical profession, agree is crucial for anyone wanting to stay in shape. They also point out that they have competitors to worry aboutnamely the big supermarket chains wit
12、h their own-label products. Last April, Tesco, the biggest of these, announced that it was rejecting the traffic-light system in favour of a less stark “signposting” approach. Its rivals fear that adopting colour-coding could put them at a competitive disadvantage. 然而，食品公司辩称， “红绿灯”方法过于简单，某些产品会因此吓跑消费
13、者，而这些产品如果食用适量 或者结合充分锻炼，对人都是十分有益的，而且包括医学专家在内的大多数观察人士都认为，这些食品对 于任何想要保持好体形的人而言都至关重要。同时，他们还指出，他们要顾及一些竞争者，也就是那些对 产品加上各自标注的大型超市连锁店的做法。去年四月，最大一家超市连锁店 Tesco 宣布，他们反对采用 “红绿灯”方法，取而代之的是一种更为灵活的“路标”法。因此，食品公司担心，若采用颜色编码（也 就是红绿灯法） ，会令他们在竞争中处于劣势。 Better labelling has become an important weapon of the food giants armo
14、ury as they fight back against their critics. In October 2005 McDonalds, the worlds largest fast-food company, said it would start printing nutritional facts on the packaging of its burgers and fries, including the fat, salt, calorie and carbohydrate content. Before that, information about （2）big-se
15、llers such as the Big Mac, which contains 30g of fat, could only be found on the firms website or in leaflets. 在食品业巨头们回击批评意见的过程中，更好的标注方式已经成为他们“武器库”中的一个“杀手锏” 。 2005 年 10 月 1 日，世界最大快餐公司麦当劳称，公司将在汉堡包和炸薯条包装上印上营养常识，包括脂 肪、盐分、热量以及碳水化合物含量。此前，人们只能从食品公司的网站或宣传品上看到一些销路好的食 品有关信息，比如含有 30 克脂肪的 Big Mac。 But labellin
16、g is not enough; the food firms know they must also offer healthier fare. McDonalds has introduced salads and fruit to its menus. Kraft and others have brought out low-carbohydrate ranges. Last year, McDonalds even announced a sporty makeover for Ronald McDonald, its mascot clown, in a bid to encourage children to be more active. But some in the industry suspect t
