VOA标准英语2012--Efforts Mount to Conserve Wild Turkey Breeds
时间:2019-01-14 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2012年(十一月)
Efforts Mount to Conserve 1 Wild Turkey Breeds
A sprinkle of corn, and Rachel Summers' turkeys come running. She raises a small flock of a breed called Standard Bronze at Crowfoot Farm, about an hour from Washington.
These are birds with history, Summers says. "They are what you would have found in colonial barnyards."
And you'll find them today in re-creations of those 17th and 18th-century barnyards, like the ones here at Claude Moore Colonial Farm outside Washington, where workers in period costumes are chopping wood for the fire. Summers started volunteering at the farm when she was just 11. It was here, she says, she grew to love and appreciate these uncommon 2 birds.
"When I started learning more about their history and their place in the world now, I realized how rare they are and how important it is to preserve them," Summers noted 3.
Julie Long is a turkey researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She says today's commercial birds were bred for size, then crossed with white-feathered varieties to produce unblemished skin.
"The heritage breeds are at risk simply because they are not being used commercially," Long explained. "Those birds became very popular in about the [19]50s and just took over the market at that point."
And heritage breeds nearly disappeared. Today there are fewer than 10,000 Standard Bronze turkeys left, according to the American Livestock 4 Breeds Conservancy.
Local livestock breeds are threatened in many parts of the world. One reason is that efficiency is trumping 5 diversity in order to meet the growing demand for animal protein.
But Long says it would be a mistake to lose the heritage breeds.
"It's best to keep these around, sort of as an insurance policy," Long added. "You may never need those genetics. But if you do and they're gone, then you're out of luck."
That genetic 6 "insurance policy" could provide tolerance 7 for harsher environments brought on by climate change. Or resistance to new diseases. Or better ability to forage 8 for themselves as the cost of commercial feed goes up.
One key to saving these rare breeds, experts say, may be found in the kitchen. John Critchley is executive chef of Urbana Restaurant in downtown Washington. He prefers heritage birds to the standard supermarket variety.
"To me it has a better mouthfeel," said Critchley. "It has a richer taste. A more buttery finish to it."
A growing number of chefs and consumers are seeking out flavors they say have been lost in modern agriculture.
Sales of heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving are up. And Rachel Summers hopes this niche 9 market will help preserve not just the flavor, but all the other useful traits of these heritage birds.
"I'm not just raising these turkeys to sell for Thanksgiving," said Summers. "I want to have them be available as a resource to the world, if needed. Just our few turkeys. We're just preserving a little piece of that here on our little farm."
Just as Thanksgiving is about tradition, heritage turkeys are about keeping tradition alive.
- He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
- Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力,你会用得着的!
- Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
- Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。
- The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
- Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
- Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
- The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。
- Reality has a way of trumping art, and human-climate change is very real indeed. 现实总有它的王牌艺术,受人类影响的气候变化的确成了事实。 来自互联网
- This quirky aversion may be a case of psychological security trumping physical comfort. 这种奇怪现象可能是缘于一个心理上的安全感战胜生理上的舒适感的例子。 来自互联网
- It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
- Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。
- Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
- Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。
- They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
- Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。