Equal Rights for Ugly Foods
♦ 蘆晨編譯
Europe became a better place for less-than-picture-perfect fruits and vegetables this month as the European Union scrapped rules banning oddly shaped produce from supermarket shelves. "This marks the new dawn for the curvy cucumber and the knobby carrot," said E.U. Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.
最近，“歪瓜裂棗”們?cè)跉W洲的境遇得到了改善，這個(gè)結(jié)果來自于本月歐盟取消了禁止賣相不佳的蔬果上架的規(guī)定?！斑@將是那些彎黃瓜和多節(jié)胡蘿卜的春天?！睔W盟農(nóng)業(yè)委員波爾如是說。
For the past 20 years, strict E.U. regulations, spelled out over some 100 pages, had dictated the shape, size and appearance of 36 fruits and vegetables sold in supermarkets, with strangely precise bans on such items as:
? Green asparagus that is not green for 80% or more of its length
? Cucumbers that bend by a curve of more than 10 mm per 10 cm
? Cauliflower less than 11 cm in diameter
? Forked carrots
在過去的二十年間，歐盟制定了長(zhǎng)達(dá)100頁(yè)的嚴(yán)格標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，對(duì)36種超市中常見的蔬果的形狀、尺寸、外觀做出了異常精確的限制。例如：蘆筍的綠色部分要占到全部長(zhǎng)度的80%以上；每十公分黃瓜的曲率不得超過1公分；花椰菜的直徑不得小于11公分；以及多節(jié)的胡蘿卜不得出售等等。
The regulations have long caused outrage among foodies, farmers, retailers and eco-minded eaters who bemoaned how wasteful it was to throw out up to 20% of perfectly tasty produce simply because it wasn't up to snuff visually.
這項(xiàng)規(guī)定一直引起各方面的諸多不滿，其中就包括了一些節(jié)儉的顧客，他們慨嘆這樣將會(huì)造成近20%的食物浪費(fèi)，而僅僅是因?yàn)椤八鼈兊耐庑尾粔蛎烙^”這樣的原因。
In the U.S., the farm-to-table and local-food movements have encouraged consumers to embrace irregularly shaped produce. Last year they helped convince the Federal Trade Commission to ease restrictions on the sale of a coveted hybrid heirloom tomato called the UglyRipe. "Fruits and vegetables can be ugly on the outside but still taste fine on the inside, where it counts," says chef Amanda Cohen, whose newly opened restaurant in New York City is called Dirt Candy, in reference to the origin of its vegetarian treats. "Heirloom tomatoes may look like Frankenstein, but they often taste better than the perfectly round, slightly plasticized tomatoes you sometimes see in supermarkets. An irregular shape usually has nothing to do with taste."
由于美國(guó)的一系列“本土化食物”運(yùn)動(dòng)的影響，消費(fèi)者早已大大接收了那些形狀不規(guī)則的蔬果。去年他們甚至說服了聯(lián)邦商務(wù)委員會(huì)放寬了對(duì)一種叫做UglyRipe的雜交西紅柿的限制?！笆吖耐庥^可以不規(guī)則但是吃起來要美味，這才是重點(diǎn)?！睆N師阿曼達(dá)說。她最近在紐約開設(shè)了一家意在表現(xiàn)素食來歷的主題餐廳“泥土糖果”。她說：“這種西紅柿雖然看起來賣相不佳，但是味道甚至好過那些超市里的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)西紅柿。味道與形狀完全沒有關(guān)系?！?BR> Europe, however, might have to wait a while for the UglyRipe. Although the rules have been changed for all but 10 of the 36 restricted fruits and vegetables, the regulations still stand that apples, kiwis, strawberries, lettuce, peaches, nectarines, pears, table grapes, sweet peppers and, yes, tomatoes still need to be pretty.
然而，“UglyRipe”的時(shí)代還遠(yuǎn)沒有到來。盡管放寬了大部分蔬菜水果的外觀標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，蘋果等十種產(chǎn)品依然不在此列，當(dāng)然，這其中就包括了西紅柿。
新聞來源：http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1859905,00.html 時(shí)代周刊