“智能作物”將取代米飯地位？

Lunchtime in Taipei’s Ximending district is a test of wills and patience as tourists and locals jostle at restaurants and street stalls to choose from steamed and fried dumplings, flat and thin noodles, stuffed pancakes, grills and desserts.

午餐時間的臺北西門町是對意志力和忍耐力的考驗:游客和當?shù)厝藬D在餐館里和街邊小攤上，在蒸餃和煎餃、寬面和細面、銅鑼燒、燒烤和甜點之間做出選擇。

In this foodie haven, one item makes only an occasional appearance on menus and on plates - rice.

在這個美食的天堂，有一樣東西在菜單和餐盤里很少看到：米飯。

Once a staple of Taiwanese diets, rice consumption per person has fallen more than two-thirds in 50 years, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), as “smart crops” and “super foods” muscle their way onto plates.

據(jù)聯(lián)合國糧食及農業(yè)組織(FAO)數(shù)據(jù)，大米曾是臺灣地區(qū)日常飲食中的主食，不過近50年來，大米的人均消耗量下降了2/3以上，原因是“智能作物”和“超級食物”的大舉流入。

It is the steepest drop in Asia but a trend across the continent as urbanization, rising incomes, climate change and concerns about health and food supplies drive a push for alternatives for the future such as millets and more protein.

這是亞洲在這方面出現(xiàn)的最大跌幅，也是在城鎮(zhèn)化、收入上升、氣候變化以及對健康和糧食供應的擔憂促使人們尋找像小米和更多蛋白質這類未來可替代米飯的其他食物選項之際，亞洲各地正在形成的一種趨勢。

“I ate a lot of rice when I was younger but now I eat more vegetables, fish and meat. It’s healthier,” said Guan-Po Lin, 24, who moved to Taipei for university.

去臺北上大學的24歲的林關波(音)說：“小時候我吃了很多米飯，但現(xiàn)在，我吃的更多的是蔬菜、魚和肉。這樣的飲食更健康。”

“People are spending more on food, and they want to eat healthy, and rice is not seen as a healthy choice.”

“人們在食物上花的錢比過去更多了，他們想吃得健康，而米飯被認為不是健康的選擇。”

About 90 percent of global rice production and consumption is in Asia, home to 60 percent of the world’s population.

亞洲人口占世界總人口的60%，而大米的產(chǎn)量和消耗量卻占了90%。

Yet, as trends in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong show, consumption is set to drop significantly as diets change.

不過，從臺灣地區(qū)、日本、韓國、和香港的趨勢可以看出，隨著飲食發(fā)生變化，大米的消耗量將會出現(xiàn)大幅下降。

Per capita consumption has fallen about 60 percent in Hong Kong since 1961, and by almost half in Japan. In South Korea, it has slid 41 percent since 1978, FAO data showed.

自1961年以來，香港的大米人均消耗量減少了約60%，日本則減少近一半。根據(jù)聯(lián)合國糧農組織的數(shù)據(jù)，自1978年以來韓國的大米消耗量減少了41%。

Alongside that the consumption of fish, meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables has risen significantly.

與此同時，魚、肉、乳制品、水果和蔬菜的消耗量大幅上升。

Rice will still be the single most important crop in the region, key in diets and a symbol of Asian culture, but it will not be as dominant in coming years as new foods are snapped up, said David Dawe, a senior economist at the FAO in Bangkok.

聯(lián)合國糧農組織駐曼谷的資深經(jīng)濟學家戴維?道說，大米仍將是亞洲地區(qū)最重要的一種作物，在飲食中扮演關鍵角色，也是亞洲文化的象征，不過未來隨著新的食物不斷涌現(xiàn)，大米將不再占據(jù)主導地位。

“It is the future for Asia - well-nourished people who can perform better. You cannot get that by filling up on rice; you need more fish, meat, fruits and vegetables,” he said.

他說：“這是亞洲未來的趨勢，營養(yǎng)豐富的人才能表現(xiàn)的更好，只靠米飯來填飽肚子是不能做到這一點的。還需要更多的魚、肉、水果和蔬菜。”

Rice is said to have first been domesticated in the Yangtze River valley in China more than 10,000 years ago.

據(jù)說大米最早于一萬多年前在中國的長江流域開始栽培。

In Asia, rice was consumed mostly by the wealthy and did not become as ubiquitous until the Green Revolution of the 1960s, when governments introduced higher yielding seeds and better fertilisers to improve output and feed expanding populations.

在亞洲，大米最初主要供富人消費，直到20世紀60年代“綠色革命”之后才變得普及，當時亞洲各地的政府為了提高水稻產(chǎn)量并養(yǎng)活日益增加的人口，引入了更高產(chǎn)的種子和更優(yōu)質的化肥。

In Taiwan, millets were the staple of indigenous and rural people, and had a higher status in ritual ceremonies than rice.

在臺灣，小米是原住民和農村人的主食，在祭祀儀式上，它的地位高于大米。

In India, malnutrition is one reason the government is pushing millets which are richer in protein, fiber and micronutrients than rice or wheat, said S.K. Gupta, a principal scientist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad.

國際半干旱熱帶作物研究所駐海得拉巴的首席科學家S?K?古普塔說，在印度，營養(yǎng)不良問題是政府推廣小米的一個原因，因為它含有的蛋白質、纖維素和微量元素比大米和小麥更為豐富。

Also millets need less water and can grow in saline soil and withstand warmer climate, crucial factors as temperatures and sea levels rise in South Asia.

此外，小米生長時需要的水較少，而且可以長在鹽堿地并忍受更熱的氣候，隨著南亞地區(qū)溫度和海平面的上升，這些因素變得至關重要。

“Historically, a large section of the population was eating millets and maize, but when they moved to urban areas, they switched to rice and wheat,” Gupta said.

古普塔說：“從歷史上看，很多人吃的是小米和玉米，但是在他們移居城市以后，他們轉而開始食用大米和小麥。”

“Consumers can be encouraged to go back to millets if they are more readily available, and farmers will grow more if they get better prices. It’s already happening,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

他對湯森路透基金會說：“如果小米可以更方便地獲取，會促使消費者重新開始食用這種作物，而如果小米的價格更高，農民會種植更多小米。這樣的局面已經(jīng)在出現(xiàn)。”

The shift away from rice in wealthier Asian nations is explained by Bennett’s Law, which argues that as income increases people spend proportionately less on starchy staples such as rice, FAO’s Dawe said.

聯(lián)合國糧農組織的道說，亞洲富裕地區(qū)不再把大米作為主要食物的趨勢符合貝內特定律，該定律認為，隨著收入的增加，人們消耗的像米飯這種含大量淀粉的主食會大幅減少。

Rice is regarded as inferior when per capita income reaches $2,364 in Asian nations, according to FAO’s estimates.

據(jù)糧農組織估計，在亞洲國家的人均收入達到2364美元(約合人民幣15089元)時，大米在飲食中的重要性就會降低。

Changes are already evident in mainland China and some southeast Asian countries, where people are eating a more protein-rich diet with more meat and fish, Dawe said.

中國大陸和一些東南亞國家已經(jīng)明顯出現(xiàn)了這樣的變化，這里的人們吃的肉和魚增多了，飲食中的蛋白質更為豐富。

In the Philippines, one of the world’s biggest importers of rice, the government has considered substitutes such as corn, banana, sweet potato, cassava, taro and adlai - an heirloom grain also known as Job’s Tears or Chinese Pearl Barley.

在世界上最大的稻米進口國之一菲律賓，政府考慮用玉米、香蕉、紅薯，木薯、芋頭和一種被稱為“喬布的眼淚”或中國薏米的谷物作為大米的替代物。

At the other end, food companies and chefs are responding to the demand for healthier diets with millets in bread, pasta, even craft beers.

另一方面，食品公司和廚師正在針對顧客對更健康飲食的需求作出回應，將谷物添加到面包、通心粉，甚至手工釀造的啤酒中。

The FAO promotes rice alternatives as “smart crops” to make them more attractive.

聯(lián)合國糧農組織推廣了“智能作物”這樣的大米替代物，讓它們更具吸引力。