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  3. The largest egg recall in U. S. history is underway, after a salmonella outbreak more than doubled the number of such cases betw

The largest egg recall in U. S. history is underway, after a salmonella outbreak more than doubled the number of such cases betw

admin2015-03-25  39
问题     The largest egg recall in U. S. history is underway, after a salmonella outbreak more than doubled the number of such cases between May and July, from an anticipated 700 to almost 2,000. The eggs have been traced to two Iowa egg producers, Wright County Egg and Hilland-ale Farms, but more than two dozen different brands and distributors in 17 states have been affected. When a salmonella outbreak on two Iowa farms leads to a nationwide recall of a half-billion eggs, it points to a bigger question: what happened to the food system?
    America is growing increasingly dependent on industrial agriculture: fewer—and larger— farms are feeding the country. At so-called factory farms, food production is a decidedly non-rural business; animals are pumped up with hormones and confined in tiny spaces. An estimated 95 percent of America’s eggs are produced at just 192 farms, down from 2,500 in 1987. But is industrial agriculture to blame for the salmonella outbreak?
    No, says Darrell Trampel, a poultry veterinarian at Iowa State University. Buying organic or local doesn’t necessarily mean you’re protected from diseases. The source of the outbreak is still under investigation, but one likely criminal is mice, which can be a problem for farms of any size, Trampel says. The particular strain of salmonella associated with eggs—Salmonella enteriti-dis—emerged in the late 1980s, when it moved from rats to chickens.
    Still, for local egg producers, the outbreak has been an unexpected fortune, as customers turn to farmers’ markets instead of supermarkets. Smaller farms, many of which advocate their free-range and organically fed products, may intuitively feel like a safer choice to some shoppers. But while small-scale producers may be more humane, salmonella outbreaks aren’t u-nique to large-scale operations.
    Despite the hype, there’s contradictory evidence about whether eggs laid by free-range or organically fed hens are less likely to contract the bacteria than eggs laid in factory-farm settings. According to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, claims that chickens labeled " kosher," " free range," " organic," or " natural" having lower salmonella levels are unsubstantiated.
    But the extension of large-scale industrial food production does mean that when there is a problem, it’s magnified. As a result, salmonella outbreaks on two Iowa farms can sicken thousands across the country. Smaller farms produce less food, and that food often doesn’t travel too far from farm to table. As a result, outbreaks are relatively isolated and affect fewer people. But this model is rapidly changing as food production and distribution becomes a national affair.
    Yesterday, Tyson Foods recalled 380,000 pounds of deli meat sold in sandwiches at Wal-Mart stores because of a potential contamination with listeria, a bacterium that can cause high fever, headaches, and nausea. Last year hundreds were sickened by a salmonella outbreak that was ultimately traced to peanut butter produced in Georgia and distributed around the country.
The passage is mainly about
选项 A、salmonella outbreak and its solutions.
B、food safety and industrial food production.
C、free-range eggs and factory-farm eggs.
D、egg recall and its investigation.
答案B
解析 主旨大意题。本文第一段由美国历史上最大的鸡蛋召回事件引出问题：美国的食品系统出了什么问题?接着第二段提出疑问：工业化的农业是不是导致沙门氏菌爆发的罪魁祸首呢?接下来都是针对该问题的讨论与例证。因此综合起来可以看出，本文讲的主要是食品安全问题和工业化食品生产，因此[B]正确。本文的确提到沙门氏菌的爆发，但是并未提及其解决方法，因此排除[A]；本文前五段说明了鸡蛋感染的事故，但是最后两段说明的是工业化食品生产，并通过熟食肉类和花生酱为例进行说明，因此[C]也不全面；本文对鸡蛋召回有所涉及，但是并未详细提及调查，因此排除[D]。
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