米歇尔·奥巴马：健康食品让企业与孩子双赢

 　　The Business Case For Healthier Food Options - Michelle Obama

　　For years, America's childhood obesity 1 crisis was viewed as an insurmountable problem, one that was too complicated and too entrenched 2 to ever really solve. According to the conventional wisdom, healthy food simply didn't sell─the demand wasn't there and higher profits were found elsewhere─so it just wasn't worth the investment.
　　多年来，美国的儿童肥胖危机一直被人们视作一个不可逾越的难题，一个过于复杂、过于根深蒂固因而永远不可能真正解决的问题。传统看法认为，健康食品就是无法成为受欢迎的畅销商品──市场没有需求，利润空间不及其他的商品──因此，就是不值得投资。
　　But thanks to businesses across the country, today we are proving the conventional wisdom wrong. Every day, great American companies are achieving greater and greater success by creating and selling healthy products. In doing so, they are showing that what's good for kids and good for family budgets can also be good for business.
　　然而，在全美众多企业的努力下，如今我们证实了，这个传统观点是错的。日复一日，那些了不起的美国公司通过生产并销售健康产品，获取了越来越大的成功。这些企业用他们的实际行动证明，那些让孩子受益、对家庭支出有利的事，也可以给企业带来好处。
　　Take the example of Wal-Mart WMT +2.12% . In just the past two years, the company reports that it has cut the costs to its consumers of fruits and vegetables by $2.3 billion and reduced the amount of sugar in its products by 10%. Wal-Mart has also opened 86 new stores in underserved communities and launched a labeling program that helps customers spot healthy items on the shelf. And today, the company is not only seeing increased sales of fresh produce, but also building better relationships with its customers and stronger connections to the communities it serves.
　　以沃尔玛(Wal-Mart)为例。就在过去两年里，这家公司表示，他们帮助消费者将用于购买水果和蔬菜的花费减少了23亿美元，并将其所售产品中糖的含量降低了10%。沃尔玛还在那些购物不方便的社区开设了86家新店，并通过一项贴标签的措施，帮助消费者辨认货架上的健康食品。而今，这家公司不仅新鲜农产品的销量大增，而且还与消费者建立了良好的关系，与他们所服务的社区建立起更紧密的联系。
　　Wal-Mart isn't alone in discovering that healthier products sell. DisneyDIS +0.85% is eliminating ads for junk foods from its children's programming and improving the food served in Disney theme parks. Walgreens is adding fresh fruits and vegetables to its stores in underserved communities. And restaurants around the country are cutting calories, fat and sodium 3 from menus and offering healthier kids' meals.
　　发现健康产品也能销路很好的企业，不只是沃尔玛一家。迪尼斯公司(Disney)如今正在将该公司所制作出品的儿童电视节目中的垃圾食品广告清理出去，还改善了迪斯尼主题乐园内所出售食品的质量。沃格林斯(Walgreens)则在那些所处社区购物不是很方便的连锁店内，开始出售新鲜水果和蔬菜。全美各地的餐馆都在降低所提供菜品中的卡路里、脂肪和钠的含量，并出售更为健康的儿童餐。
　　These companies and so many others are responding to clear trends in consumer demand. Today, 82% of consumers feel that it's important for companies to offer healthy products that fit family budgets, according to the Edelman public relations firm. Meanwhile, a study conducted by Nielsen revealed that even when many families are operating on tight budgets, sales of fresh produce actually increased by 6% in 2012. And in 2011, the Hudson Institute reported that in recent years, healthier foods have generated more than 70% of the growth in sales for consumer packaged-goods companies─and when these companies sell a high percentage of healthier foods, they deliver significantly higher returns to their shareholders 4.
　　上述企业、以及其他很多公司都是在迎合消费需求中所出现的明显变化趋势。根据爱德曼国际公关公司(Edelman)的数据，如今，82%的消费者认为企业提供符合家庭支出水平的健康商品很重要。与此同时，尼尔森公司(Nielsen)所进行的一项调查显示，尽管目前许多家庭的日常开支吃紧，但新鲜农产品的销售却在2012年增加了6%。哈德逊研究所(Hudson Institute)在2011年发布报告称，近年来，在快速消费品的销售额增长中，更健康的食品所实现的销售增长占到70%以上──而且，当这些企业所出售的更健康食品在全部商品中占到较高的百分比时，他们能够为股东所带来的回报也显著增加。
　　These trends don't just matter for businesses that produce and sell food. They matter for every business in America. We spend $190 billion a year treating obesity-related health conditions like diabetes 5 and heart disease, and a significant portion of those costs are borne by America's businesses. That's on top of other health-related costs like higher absenteeism and lower worker productivity, costs that will continue to rise and threaten the vitality 6 of American businesses until this problem is solved once and for all.
　　这些趋势不只是与那些生产和销售食品的企业有关，而是关乎美国的每一家企业。每年为了治疗糖尿病和心脏病等等各种肥胖相关疾病，我们的医疗支出高达1,900亿美元，而这其中很大一部分开支是由美国的企业来承担的。除此之外，还有各种与健康有关的开支，比如病假增加、员工生产效率降低等所带来的成本，除非这一问题被一次性地彻底解决，否则这类成本还会继续增加，并威胁到美国企业的生存。
　　That's why American businesses are stepping up to invest in building a healthier future for our kids. In doing so, they are joining leaders from every sector 7 across the country. Over the past few years, through Let's Move!─our nationwide campaign to help kids grow up healthy─we've seen teachers bringing physical education back into schools. We've seen mayors building safe spaces where children can play, faith leaders educating their congregations about healthy eating, and parents preparing healthier meals and snacks for their kids. And we've seen Republicans and Democrats 8 working together in Congress to pass groundbreaking legislation to improve school lunches.
　　这就是为何美国的企业界开始在为我们的孩子构建一个更健康未来的方面增加了越来越多的投入。企业的这一做法与美国各行业各部门领袖的努力方向不谋而合。在过去几年里，通过“舞动起来”(Let's Move!)这个覆盖范围遍及全美的儿童健康成长计划，我们已经看到，学校的老师们开始将体育教育带回校园。我们看到，市长们在为孩子修建可以让他们放心安全玩耍的地方，宗教领袖们在教导他们的教众学会健康饮食，父母们则为孩子准备更健康的三餐与零食。而且，我们看到，国会的共和党和民主党人齐心协力，共同通过了一项开创性的立法，帮助学校改善午餐质量。
　　And we're starting to see real results. In Mississippi, obesity rates have dropped by 13% for elementary school-aged kids. States like California, and cities like New York and Philadelphia, have also seen measurable declines in childhood obesity.
　　而且我们开始见到切实的成效。在密西西比州，小学学龄儿童的肥胖人口比率下降了13%。在加利福尼亚州等州以及纽约、费城等城市，儿童的肥胖人口比率也明显下降。
　　So it's clear that we are moving in the right direction. But we also know that the problem is nowhere near being solved. We need more leaders from all across the country to step up, and I stand ready to work with business leaders who are serious about taking meaningful steps to forge a healthier future. We need every business in America to dig deeper, get more creative, and find new ways to generate revenue by giving American families better information and healthier choices. We know this can be done in a way that's good for our kids and good for businesses.
　　因此，很显然我们正在朝着正确的方向前进。不过我们也很清楚，要彻底解决问题，还有一段漫漫征途要走。我们需要全国上下有更多的领袖人物走出来采取行动，而我本人随时准备与那些真正有诚意采取切实措施来推进一个更健康未来的商界领袖们共同努力。我们需要美国的每一家企业都深入挖掘，发挥创造性，找到更多途径来为美国家庭提供更好的信息和更健康的选择。我们知道，这一切可以以一种让我们的孩子和企业实现双赢的方式来实现。
　　That's why, even though we still have a long way to go, I have never been more optimistic about our prospects 9 for solving this problem. And I am confident that, with leadership from America's business community, we can give all our children the bright, healthy futures 10 they so richly deserve.
　　这就是为何尽管我们还有很长的路要走，但我依然比以往任何时候都要乐观，相信我们未来必将能够彻底解决这一问题。而且我相信，在美国企业界的带动下，我们可以给我们的孩子一个他们理所应得的光明、健康的未来。
　　（本文作者Michelle Obama为现任美国第一夫人。）