US Finds Unapproved Form of Wheat in Oregon

美国俄勒冈州发现未经批准种植的转基因小麦

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道节目。

Some countries have suspended imports of wheat from the United States. The suspensions were announced after an unapproved form of wheat was found in the American state of Oregon. The crop was made through processes of genetic engineering.

一些国家已经暂停从美国进口小麦。宣布暂缓进口是在美国俄勒冈州发现一种未经批准种植的小麦之后，这种作物是通过基因工程制成的。

An Oregon farmer recently discovered wheat in his field that survived the popular weed killer Roundup. Roundup is designed to destroy unwanted plants. It is a product of the seed and chemical company Monsanto.

一位俄勒冈州农民最近在他的地里发现一些未被常用除草剂农达（Roundup）除掉的小麦。农达被用于除掉有害植物。它是来自种子和化学品公司孟山都公司的一款产品。

The company has created genetically engineered corn, cotton, soybean and canola crops that resist Roundup. Monsanto had field-tested Roundup-resistant wheat. But it never sought government approval of the wheat and the seed were never sold.

该公司研制了能够抵抗农达的转基因玉米、棉花、大豆和油菜作物。孟山都公司曾经实地测试抗农达的小麦。但它从未寻求政府批准种植这种小麦，种子也未上市销售。

Michael Firko is with the United States Department of Agriculture, he says the wheat had passed safety inspections.

迈克尔·菲可（Michael Firko）就职于美国农业部，他表示这种小麦通过了安全审查。

"Although there are no wheat varieties that are approved for unrestricted planting, we have no safety concerns related to planting of this transgenic wheat at this time."

他说，“虽然没有小麦品种被批准无限制种植，但现阶段也不存在涉及种植这种转基因小麦的安全问题。”

Monsanto ended its wheat project mainly because buyers in Europe and Asia were concerned about the safety of genetically engineered crops. The discovery of unapproved wheat in Oregon led Japan and South Korea to suspend some imports, at least temporarily.

孟山都公司终止了它的小麦项目，主要是因为欧洲和亚洲的买家担心转基因作物的安全性。在俄勒冈州发现未经批准种植的小麦导致了日本和韩国暂停进口，至少暂时会如此。

Mark Welch is an agricultural economist at Texas A&M University. He says American Farmers do not want to produce genetically engineered wheat because there is no demand for it. he also says the incident could affect America's standing in a competitive world marketplace.

马克·韦尔奇（Mark Welch）是德克萨斯农工大学的一名农业经济学家。他说，美国农民无意生产转基因小麦，因为没有需求。他还表示，这一事件可能会影响美国在竞争激励的全球市场中的地位。

The United States is the world's largest wheat exporter. Mark Welch says American agriculture already has difficulty competing against other countries because production costs are higher in the United States.

美国是全球最大的小麦出口国。韦尔奇表示，因为美国生产成本太高，美国农业在和其它国家的竞争中已经媪倮选

"If we're going to maintain a place in world markets, we have to primarily on two fronts: one on quality, and the other on reliability. And this raises a red flag, of course, when something like this happens."

他说，“如果我们要维持美国在全球市场中的地位，我们必须主要抓住两点：一是质量，二是可靠性。当然现在发生这样的事情，红灯就会亮起。”

Right now it is not clear how the incidents happened. American officials are working to identify where the genetically engineered wheat came from. There is no evidence yet that it has entered the food supply, However, the Agriculture Department is working to make tests available to buyers.

目前尚不清楚这一事件是如何发生的。美国官员正在努力查明这种转基因小麦源自何处。尚未有证据表明它已经进入食品供应。然而，农业部正致力于为卖家提供检测办法。

Prices of wheat on world markets have changed little since the discovery of the unapproved wheat. But this could change after the investigation is completed.

从发现这种未经批准种植的小麦以来，全球市场上的小麦价格变化不大。但这点可能会在调查完成后改变。