第1470期:The future of food production

词汇表

to set foot (in) 去（某处）
automated 自动化的
fleet 舰队、船队
robotics 机器人技术
sector 行业，领域
on the up 蒸蒸日上的，稳步上升的
forecast （对形势的）预测
yield （农作物的）产量，常作复数
to dispense with 免去，不再使用
stack 叠
LED lights 发光二极管照明技术
emission （气、热、光等）排放物
checkout 收银处，付款台
to beg the question 引人发问
mechanisation 机械化
workforce 劳动人口

Imagine a future where all farming is done by machine, and humans never set foot in the fields. 

想象一下所有农业都由机器完成的未来，人类从未涉足农田。

No, it’s not science fiction. In Shropshire in the UK, engineers in the Hands Free Hectare project are developing automated tractors and fleets of drones to grow and harvest crops. 不，这不是科幻小说。在英国的什罗普郡，Hands Free Hectare 项目的工程师正在开发自动拖拉机和无人机机队来种植和收获农作物。

And their experiment is not alone: agricultural robotics is a booming sector. 

他们的实验并不孤单：农业机器人是一个蓬勃发展的领域。

Investment bank Goldman Sachs estimates the market will be worth $240bn over the next five years.

投资银行高盛估计，未来五年市场价值将达到 2400 亿美元。

 
One reason why the sector is on the up is that global demand for food is rapidly increasing. 该行业呈上升趋势的一个原因是全球对食品的需求正在迅速增长。

The World Bank estimates we will need to produce 50% more food by 2050 if the planet’s population continues to grow at its current speed. 

世界银行估计，如果地球人口继续以目前的速度增长，到 2050 年我们将需要多生产 50% 的粮食。

Add to this to the forecast that yields will decrease by over a quarter due to climate change, and the situation looks serious.

再加上预测，由于气候变化，单产将减少四分之一以上，情况看起来很严重。

Could futuristic farming provide the answer?

未来农业能否提供答案？

One company in Japan believes so. The firm Spread has dispensed with farming on land altogether, and instead grows vegetables on stacks of trays indoors in an automated factory.日本的一家公司这么认为。 Spread 公司完全放弃了在土地上耕作，而是在自动化工厂的室内托盘堆上种植蔬菜.

"In countries like Japan, where land is actually a very scarce resource, it makes more sense to stack your production, just like a skyscraper," says JJ Price, Spread's global marketing manager.“

在像日本这样的国家，土地实际上是一种非常稀缺的资源，将你的产品堆叠起来更有意义，就像一座摩天大楼一样，”Spread 的全球营销经理 JJ Price 说。

Mr Price told the BBC that this method of vertical farming not only reduces costs by 50%, but it is also greener. 

普莱斯先生告诉 BBC，这种垂直农业方法不仅可以降低 50% 的成本，而且更环保。

LED lights cut energy bills by a third, and 98% of water can be recycled.

 LED 灯将能源费用减少了三分之一，98% 的水可以回收利用。

By growing crops close to where people consume them, transport costs and emissions are also minimised, he says. They hope to be producing 30,000 lettuces per day next year.

他说，通过在人们消费的地方附近种植农作物，运输成本和排放量也降到了最低。他们希望明年能每天生产 30,000 颗生菜。

And where will we buy this futuristic food? Perhaps in shops with no staff? Amazon has recently launched its first Amazon Go store in the US, which has no checkouts. 

我们将在哪里购买这种未来主义的食物？也许在没有员工的商店里？亚马逊最近在美国推出了第一家没有结账的 Amazon Go 商店。

Customers simply pick their items from the shelves, and technology does the rest.

顾客只需从货架上挑选商品，剩下的工作就交给科技来完成。

All this begs the question: if everything is automated, what jobs will people do? The mechanization of farming means fewer and fewer people work the land. 

所有这些都引出了一个问题：如果一切都是自动化的，人们会做什么工作？农业机械化意味着在土地上劳作的人越来越少。

From 1950 to 2010, agricultural laborers have decreased from 81% to 48.2% of the workforce in developing countries, and from 35% to 4.2% in developed countries, according to the International Labour Organization. It’s a trend that looks set to continue.

根据国际劳工组织的数据，从 1950 年到 2010 年，农业劳动力在发展中国家的劳动力中从 81% 下降到 48.2%，在发达国家从 35% 下降到 4.2%。这是一个看起来将继续的趋势。