超市裏的食材的7個祕密
Most of us don't spend our days ploughing fields or wrangling cattle. We're part of the 99 percent who eat food, but don't produce it.
我們大多數人每天的工作都不是務農，我們就是那99%的“只吃、不生產”的人。Because of our intimate relationship with food, people should be very concerned about how it's produced.
不過，由於我們和食物的關係如此密切，我們還是應該多瞭解一下它們是怎麼被生產出來的。But we don't always get it right.
但我們知道的通常是錯的。
Next time you're at the grocery store, consider these 7 modern myths about the most ancient occupation.
下次你去超市買食材的時候，請想想這7條關於這個古老行業的傳說吧。
1. Farming is traditional and low tech
錯誤1：農業是個傳統而低科技的產業Self-driving cars are still out of reach for consumers, but tractors have been driving themselves around farms for years.
雖然自動駕駛的汽車現在還買不到，但農場上的拖拉機已經自動駕駛了好多年了。And driving tractors isn't the only role GPS plays on a farm.
而且這還不是GPS在農場上的唯一應用。The seeds farmers plant are also carefully crafted by years of state-of-the-art research to maximise yield and efficiency.
農民們種的種子，也是用最先進的研究成果精心培育了數年的，這些工序可以最大化它們的產量和效益。And genetic engineering enables scientists to move genes between species or turn off genes for undesirable characteristics.
而基因工程技術讓科學家們能在不同種的植物間交換機因，還能關閉那些造成不好性狀的基因。Organic farms are not necessarily any less high-tech.
有機農場的科技含量也並不會更低。2. A pesticide is a pesticide is a pesticide
錯誤2：農藥就是農藥Pesticide is a generic term for a range of compounds.
農藥是對一系列化合物的總稱。Different classes target certain types of pests: herbicides for weeds, fungicides for fungi, insecticides for insects, rodenticides for rodents.
不同門類的農藥能殺滅不同門類的危害：除草劑除草，殺真菌劑殺真菌，殺蟲劑殺蟲，老鼠藥殺齧齒類動物。Pesticides fight bugs and weeds in organic and conventional fields.
不管是有機農場還是普通農場都會用農藥來對抗蟲子和雜草。The difference is that organic pesticides cannot be synthesised artificially.
唯一的不同就是有機農藥不能被人工合成。3. Organic farmers and conventional farmers don't get along
錯誤3：有機農業的農民、普通農業的農民，合不來Adjacent farms have to cooperate regardless of how they grow their crops.
對於相鄰的兩塊田來說，不管兩邊的人用它種什麼，都得與對方合作。Poorly managed weeds or insects can also spread from one field to another.
因爲雜草和昆蟲這些問題如果處理不好就會在田地之間傳播。But many farm families actually grow organic and conventional crops on different fields.
不過，其實很多農戶都同時用不同的地塊來種植有機作物和普通作物。Organic and conventional agriculture are different business models.
有機農業和普通農業只是不同的商業模式罷了。4. A GMO is a GMO is a GMO
錯誤4：轉基因就是轉基因Farmers and plant scientists find the term 'GMO', or genetically modified organism, frustrating.
農民和植物學家讀覺得“轉基因”這個詞特別麻煩。（因爲總有人反對）There are many ways to genetically modify a crop inside and outside of a lab.
不管是在實驗室裏還是實驗室外，都有很多辦法來給一個作物做轉基因。The technique has produced virus-resistant papayas, grains that can survive herbicide application, squash unpalatable to insects, and apples that don't brown.
這種技術已經創造了抗病毒的木瓜、不怕除草劑的穀物、蟲子吃不了的南瓜，以及不會變黑的蘋果。5. Only meat with a "hormone-free" label is hormone-free
錯誤5：只有標了“無激素”的肉纔是無激素的No meat is hormone-free, because animals (and plants) naturally produce hormones.
世界上沒有肉是無激素的，因爲動物和植物（還有人）天生就會產生各種激素。Hormones like oestrogen can be used to help cows reach market weight more quickly, but the average man produces tens of thousands of times more oestrogen every day than the amount found in a serving of beef from a hormone-treated cow.
像雌激素這樣的激素能讓牛更快地達到上架需要的重量，但一個普通的男人自己每天產生的雌激素就比一塊牛排裏含有的要高出上萬倍（對，男人也產生雌激素）。6. Only meat with an "antibiotic-free" label is antibiotic-free
錯誤6：只有寫了“無抗生素”的肉纔是無抗生素的All the meat in your grocery store is antibiotic-free.
事實上所有的肉都是無抗生素的。An animal treated with antibiotics cannot be slaughtered until the drugs have cleared its system.
一隻還在服用抗生素的動物是不允許被宰殺的，只有等抗生素從它體內清乾淨了才能殺。7. Foods labelled "natural" are produced differently
錯誤7：那些標有“純天然”的食物，生產方式不太一樣Natural food labels don't actually mean anything.
“純天然食品”這個標識其實沒有任何意義。Not yet, anyway.
至少現在還沒有。Where to draw the line between natural and unnatural is a tough call, and many experts argue it's irrelevant, because naturalness is not an indication of quality or safety.
天然和非天然之間的界限很難劃分，而且很多專家都認爲這個說法沒啥意義，因爲“天然”這個概念並不代表高質量和安全。
