◎魏國金
Up to half of all the food produced worldwide ends up going to waste due to poor harvesting, storage and transport methods as well as irresponsible retailer and consumer behavior, a report said.
全球生產的食物中多達半數最後流於浪費，因為不良的收成、儲藏與運輸方式，以及零售商、消費者不負責任的行為，一份報告指出。
The world produces about four billion metric tons of food a year but 1.2 to 2 billion metric tons is not eaten, the study by the London-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers said.
全球一年生產約40億公噸的食物，但12至20億公噸沒有被食用，總部設於倫敦的機械工程師學會研究指出。
In developed countries, efficient farming methods, transport and storage mean that most of the wastage occurs through retail and customer behavior.
在已開發國家，有效率的農作方式、運輸與儲存，意味著多數的浪費發生在零售與消費行為上。
Retailers produce 1.6 million metric tons of food waste a year because they reject crops of edible fruit and vegetables because they do not meet exacting size and appearance criteria, the report by the engineering society said.
零售商一年造成160萬公噸的食物浪費，因為他們拒絕大小與外觀不符合嚴格標準的可食用蔬果作物，該工程師學會的報告指出。
Of the food which does reach supermarket shelves, 30-50 percent of what is bought in developed countries is thrown away by customers, often due to poor understanding of "best before" and "use by" dates.
至於上了超市貨架的食物，在已開發國家中有30%至50%被買走的食物遭消費者扔掉，而原因往往是對「此日期前最佳」與「食用至此日期」的理解不足。
A "use by" date is when there is a health risk associated with using food after that date. A "best before" date is more about quality - when it expires it does not necessarily mean food is harmful but it may lose some flavor and texture.
「食用至此日期」（食用期限）是該日期後，食用此食物將有危害健康之虞。而「此日期前最佳」（賞味期限）比較關乎品質—過期並不必然表示食物將損害健康，但它或許會失去一些風味與口感。
Promotional offers and bulk discounts also encourage shoppers to buy large quantities in excess of their needs.
促銷與大手筆折扣也鼓勵消費者購買超過所需的大量商品。
By contrast, in less developed countries, wastage mostly happens due to inefficient harvesting and poor handling and storage.（Reuters）
相較之下，在低度開發國家中，浪費多半因無效率的採收或低劣的處理與儲存而發生。（路透）
新聞辭典
go to waste︰動詞片語，被浪費掉、白費、付諸東流。例句︰Don’t let this good food go to waste.（別讓這好好的食物給糟蹋了。）
end up︰動詞片語，最後、告終。例句︰Wasteful people usually end up in debt.（揮霍者最後往往負債。）
exacting︰形容詞，嚴厲的、難以討好的。例句︰She is an exacting mother.（她是一位嚴苛的母親。）
文章出處 ：自由時報電子報中英對照新聞
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