首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Agricultural News Food and Agriculture in Twenty-five Years According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, t
Agricultural News Food and Agriculture in Twenty-five Years According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, t
admin
2010-10-14
62
问题
Agricultural News
Food and Agriculture in Twenty-five Years
According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, there is enough food to feed everyone in the world, if the food were given out evenly. But, it is not. As a result, more than 700 million people in developing countries do not get enough food to eat.
IFPRI officials say that in the next 25 years the world population will increase by about 100 million people each year. They say that unless something is done soon, the situation will become much more serious.
There are different opinions about the problem of feeding the growing population. Some experts say an intense use of chemicals and the loss of soil from wind and rain have damaged some farmland beyond repair. Other experts believe that recent discoveries in bio-technology will help increase production. They say farm land has not been damaged as much as some people have reported.
In an effort to better understand the problem and ways to solve it, IFPRI has developed a three-part international program. Part one began in 1994. It continued through June of 1995. It involved research a bout the world food situation, poverty and the environment. The research results are being published and sent to experts for their comments.
The second part involves an international conference to discuss way to meet the world’ s food needs by the year 2200 and beyond. Government officials from developed and developing countries, experts on agriculture and environment, and leaders of international organizations will attend. IFPRI officials hope the conference to be held in Washington DC will lead to a program of action that both sides can agree to support.
Part three of the program will inform people about results of the conference and plans developed to deal with the situation. That effort began in June of 1995 and continue through 1996. The International Food Policy Research Institute says steps must be taken before a worldwide shortage of food develops and all natural resources are destroyed.
New Super Rice
Scientists with the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines have developed what they call a super rice. They say it could increase world production of rice by as much as 25 percent.
Last year, farmers are expected to produce about 350 million tons of rice. But more rice than that will be eaten. The extra rice will come from supplies saved during years when production was greater than demand.
Today, there are about 4.5 billion people in the world. But the World Bank says that in 30 years there will be more than eight billion. The huge increase in population will greatly increase the demand for rice.
Researchers say the new rice could produce 100 million tons more of rice each year. That amount could feed almost 500 million people.
More rice plants grown today have about 25 stems on each plant. Only about 15 of these stems pro duce flowers. The flowers produce the rice. Each flower usually contains about 100 grains of rice.
The researchers used computers to design a new plant. They decided that to produce more rice they needed to reduce the number of stems on each plant. Then more of the plant’ s energy would go to producing grains of rice. So they mixed existing rice plants until they grew a plant that looked like their design.
The new rice contains only eight stems. But each stem contains a flower. And each flower produced as many as 250 grains of rice.
Lester Brown, president of World watch Institute, says the demand for rice in Asia will be two times greater 35 years from now. But as the population increases, less land will be available for growing rice. He says this is why the announcement of the new more productive rice is so exciting.
Researchers plan to begin to test the new rice in different growing conditions. They first will add genes that will give the new plant some natural defense against diseases and insects.
Amaranth, a Promising Food Crop
Agriculturists believe amaranth is the most promising cereal crop to come along in recent years. Am aranth is a plant whose name comes from a Greek word meaning "unfading". Some agriculturists believe the plant can be grown commercially in many environments to help feed a hungry world.
It is not a new idea to grow amaranth as a foodstuff. In Mexico during the sixteenth century, the Aztecs cultivated it. The plant was an important part of their diet. It has been shown .that the Aztecs harvested close to 6 000 metric tons of the grain each year. However, when Cortes and his Spanish army invaded Mexico, they destroyed the crop completely. Today only a few wild and uncultivated kinds of amaranth exist, and it is rarely used as a food in Mexico.
It has been discovered that amaranth is a highly nutritious food. The plant’ s seed is high in protein, and it contains an important amino acid called lysine. Amino acids are organic compounds that are the buildings blocks of protein. Lysine is an essential amino acid that is missing in wheat, rice, and corn. The leaves of some varieties compare in taste and nutritional value with spinach and other vegetable greens.
Amaranth can be ground into flour and made into baked goods. Bread made from amaranth flour is heavy and very compact when compared with the light and airy bread common in North America. The flour can also be used for cakes, cookies, and crackers, as well as high-protein breakfast cereals and snack foods.
It is true that breeding a wild plant into a major food crop such as wheat requires much research time. Agriculturists know that it has taken hundreds of years of breeding different varieties of corn to get the kinds we have today. Presently there are several problems in growing amaranth as a crop. Because it is a wild plant, it is hard to predict the date when the crop will be ready to be harvested. It is also impossible to know the expected height of the individual plants or the yield of a given amount of seeds. It is important for economic reasons to breed a plant of uniform height and one that can be harvested at a specific time each year.
Plant researchers are now working on developing new hybrids. A hybrid is an offspring resulting from the crossing of different parent plants. The hybrid is more vigorous, or stronger, than either parent. Re searchers want to develop a hybrid that resists to disease and insect pests and at the same time provides a high yield of grain. The hybrid must also be adaptable to a wide range of environmental conditions. A hybrid that matures in three months or less would make it possible to grow amaranth in cold areas with short growing seasons.
Some farm experts feel that selling the amaranth grain commercially may not be easy. Wheat is still the major crop demanded by most countries. Many questions arise about the feasibility of amaranth cultivation. How much will it cost to grow and harvest amaranth? Does the crop require special machinery to harvest it? Will a new grain be acceptable to people who are accustomed to consuming other grains? It will be some time before we have answers to all these questions.
Amaranth may be the kind of high-protein grain that poorer countries need to feed people who go hungry every day. Amaranth is a hardy plant that grows in poor areas which are unable to support other crops. It may be that in countries that are short of an adequate food supply, amaranth is the foodstuff of the future.
Amaranth is a hardy plant that grows in ________.
选项
答案
poor areas
解析
由原文“Amaranth,a Promising Food crop”部分最后一段的第二句“Amaranth is a hardy plant that grows in poor areas which are unable to support other crops.”可知正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/U1y7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
A、BecausetheUNdidn’twanttheproblemsinfluencepeoples’dailylife.B、BecausetheUNwantedtoattractpeople’sattentiont
Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayentitledEnglishCorners.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsf
A、Paytheentrancefee.B、Takeoffyourshoes.C、Putyourclothesinalocker.D、ShowyourIDcard.B细节题。Phil说First,youtakeoff
A、Atamusicstore.B、Atthepostoffice.C、OntheInternet.D、AtaGermanparty.C细节题。Pete说Imetthisreallynicewomanthrough
A、AdigitalcameraB、ATVC、AstereoD、ADVDplayerA细节题。在谈话开头thewoman向theman炫耀她用信用卡买回来的东西。其中的关键词是entertainmentcenter,widescr
WhyTheyCameNotmanydecisionscouldhavebeenmoredifficultforafamilytomakethemtosayfarewelltoacommunitywhe
______(不管我们会遇到什么样的困难),weareconfidentinfinishingtheprojectontime.
A、Heshouldbasehispaperonalotofresearch.B、Heshouldincludelessargumentsinhispaper.C、Heshouldusehisexperience
A、Heimaginedthem.B、Heusedmagazinecovers.C、Hehiredmodels.D、Hereadstories.C此类题目,耍注意会话话题的转换,以及每一个话题,说话者都说了什么,可以边听边做出选择
Mobileofficeisthemutualproductofeconomic,scientificandsocialprogress.Mobileofficehasbecomeasolutionthatprovid
随机试题
Jackisn’tgoodenough______figure,buthisoutstandingskillcompensatesforit.
患者女性,25岁。发现尿毒症2年,未进行系统治疗,2d前突然出现恶心、呕吐,神志淡漠,急检血气分析示:pH:7.20,实际碳酸氢盐为12mmol/L,此时应
A.偶氮偶联法B.酸碱指示剂法C.葡萄糖氧化酶法D.四甲替联苯胺法E.特异性酯酶法尿干化学Hb测定用
建筑内钢结构在高温条件下存在强度降低和蠕变现象,极易失去承载力。钢结构构件的防火保护措施主要有两种:其一采用砖石等无机耐火材料包覆;其二采用钢结构防火涂料。下列对建筑物钢结构防火检查要求中不正确的是()。
社会审计组织在办理审计机关的委托审计事项时,其审计结果()。
(2013年)2006年6月,梁某因交通肇事罪被判入狱服刑4年。2011年11月,因虚开普通发票罹被判处有期徒刑4年。下列有关梁某的刑罚适用及执行的说法中,正确的有()。
亮亮(10岁)在父母离婚后,跟随母亲一起生活,其父对亮亮可以不用尽教育义务。()
我国确认发明专利权的第一审行政案件应当由:
2009年1─10月份我国商品房销售面积总计66368.73万平方米,同比增长48.4%,总销售额为31529.12亿元,同比增长79.2%。分地区看,东部地区商品房销售面积为35190.87万平方米,同比增长56.3%,商品房销售额为21789
Thehealth-careeconomyisfilledwithunusualandevenuniqueeconomicrelationships.Oneoftheleastunderstoodinvolvesthe
最新回复
(
0
)