【卫报】诶~吃个蔬菜都难|第43期

• hedge bets  几面下注（以规避风险）

• 注：Morrissons：英国第四大的超级市场集团

The UK produces only 23% of the fruit and vegetables it consumes and imports twice as much food as it exports.

英国消费的蔬菜水果仅有23%源自国内生产，蔬菜水果进口量为出口量两倍。

Morrisons is aiming to recruit 200 more British suppliers after a report commissioned by the supermarket found that only just over half the food eaten in the UK comes from local sources.

由莫里森超市委托进行的一项调查报告显示:当地生产食品占英国国内食品消费总量的比率，仅仅略高于50%。鉴于此，莫里森超市将计划招募200多家国内供应商。

• commission  v.正式委托（谱写或制作、创作、完成）

The report, by Professor Tim Benton of the University of Leeds, highlights the growing risks associated with a global food supply chain. Benton warns that increased frequency in severe weather events caused by climate change, combined with political changes, such as Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, may affect global trading relationships and compromise the food supply. Trump's protectionist agenda may lead to countries hoarding the crops they specialise in, for example.

利滋大学教授提姆.本顿撰写这份报告，并在报告中强调，与全球食品供应链相关的风险正日趋加大。并发出预警，由于全球气候变化，极端天气现象日益频繁，加上诸如英国脱欧和特朗普当选等政治形势变化，全球贸易关系或将受到影响，进而波及食品供应领域。比如，特朗普的保护主义议案可能导致粮食生产国进行粮食囤积。

• hoard v. 囤积

The effect of restricted food supplies has been highlighted by recent shortages of fresh produce due to poor weather in southern Spain, where more than 80% of the UK's leafy vegetables come from during winter.

冬季，英国超过80%的绿叶蔬菜均来自西班牙南部。因西班牙南部受恶劣天气影响，近期英国新鲜绿叶蔬菜供应出现短缺。故而，全球食品供应弊端日益显现。

"The future of the UK food system that we advocate is a response to the risks and uncertainties of the future. It is not to disengage from reliance on global trade, but to hedge our bets by increasing local production for local consumption," Benton argues in the report.

本顿在报告中指出:我们希望英国食品供应体系将来有能力防范风险，对抗市场不确定性。但这不表示退出全球贸易，而是通过增加当地供应在当地消费的比重来规避风险。

• disengage  v.解脱，松开

The chairman of Morrisons, Andy Higginson, said: "Morrisons is already British farming's biggest single customer, and the publication of the report today from Prof Benton makes us more determined to produce more of our food and source more from local British suppliers ... We want small UK food suppliers to become bigger ones and we also want to give our customers the option of more food that meets their local food tastes."