Many of us like to dine out and treat ourselves to delicious food. Among the top choices are hearty dishes with high-fat meat, despite the fact that they may be unhealthy.
我們許多人都喜歡下館子享受美食。最受歡迎的一大選擇便是高熱量的肉類大餐，盡管這些佳肴或許并不健康。

Plant-based food, however, gives diners a smarter choice. According to CGTN, two popular chains – KFC and Starbucks – announced in April they were debuting items featuring meat substitutes in China.
而植物類食品則為食客們提供了更明智的選擇。據(jù)中國國際電視臺報道，今年四月，兩大連鎖品牌肯德基與星巴克宣布在中國首次推出肉類的替代產(chǎn)品。

“Today we mark an important milestone ..., advancing our goal of increasing accessibility to plant-based protein globally,” said Ethan Brown, chief executive of Beyond Meat, told Market Watch.
“今天對于我們而言是個重要的里程碑……推動了我們將植物蛋白推廣至全球的目標(biāo)，”Beyond Meat 公司首席執(zhí)行官伊桑·布朗在接受“市場觀察”網(wǎng)站采訪時如此表示。

The plant-based meat substitute has been popular in the US and the UK for years and offers meat-lovers a healthy alternative to an otherwise unhealthy indulgence.
多年來，植物肉在英美兩國大受歡迎，為肉食愛好者們不健康的放縱飲食提供了另一種健康的方式。

Despite the negative impacts on our health, the tempting taste and convenience of fast food have made it a popular option across the world for decades. But with the introduction of the plant-based food, it’s likely that fast food won’t be considered “junk food” any more, as the calorie intake for typical fast food items will be reduced. The meat substitute also provides rich protein and different minerals and vitamins while still whetting our taste buds.
盡管快餐無益于健康，但誘人的味道以及方便快捷都令其數(shù)十年來在全球大受歡迎。而隨著植物性食品的加入，快餐或許也不再會被視為“垃圾食品”了，因?yàn)槎鄶?shù)快餐產(chǎn)品的卡路里攝入都會有所減少。這種肉類替代品還能提供豐富的蛋白質(zhì)、不同的礦物質(zhì)與維生素，同時讓人食指大動。

Another factor contributing to the product’s popularity is a new breed of environmentally-aware consumers. On average producing 1 kilogram of meat emits 36.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide. With such a high carbon emission, many environmentalists choose to cut down on the intake of meat, making the plant-based diet characterized by environmental protection a popular choice.
植物肉大受歡迎的另一個因素在于注重環(huán)保的新消費(fèi)者群體。每生產(chǎn)1公斤肉平均會產(chǎn)生36.4公斤的二氧化碳排放量。如此高的碳排放量也讓許多環(huán)保人士選擇減少肉類攝入，令以環(huán)保為特點(diǎn)的植物性飲食備受歡迎。

Unveiled at the end of April, plant-based food seemed to come at a time when increased animal-human interactions are blamed for the coronavirus, which is believed to have been transmitted to humans through an intermediate animal host. Therefore, the debut of meatless dishes means a safer choice for consumers.
四月底推出的植物性食物似乎恰逢其時。如今人們認(rèn)為人類與動物的接觸增加，從而導(dǎo)致新冠病毒通過動物中間宿主傳播給人類。因此，推出素食菜品對于消費(fèi)者而言是更安全的選擇。

Without doubt, the newcomers on the Chinese table represent a change in people’s dietary lifestyle that is heading toward “healthy, environmentally-friendly and less animal-human interaction”, CGTN noted.
毫無疑問的是，中國人餐桌上的這一新品代表著人們飲食生活方式變得“健康環(huán)保，與動物的接觸也減少了”，中國國際電視臺報道指出。

以上文章內(nèi)容選自《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報高中版》，詳情請見《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報高中版》高二791期