第1600期:Could eating jellyfish be sustainable?

While giant sharks are more common sea monsters in films, jellyfish also pose a major threat in real life – with some able to kill people with their stings. And the potential danger they cause doesn’t stop there, with reports of them attacking salmon farms, shutting down power stations and incapacitating warships. There are even some scientists in Australia researching whether box jellyfish could ultimately destroy our oceans – so could devouring them be a possible solution?

虽然巨型鲨鱼在电影中是更常见的海怪，但水母在现实生活中也构成了重大威胁——有些能够用刺痛杀死人。他们造成的潜在危险并不止于此，有报道称他们袭击了鲑鱼养殖场，关闭了发电站并使军舰失去能力。甚至澳大利亚的一些科学家也在研究箱形水母是否最终会破坏我们的海洋——那么吞噬它们是否可能是一种解决方案？

The huge number of jellyfish in our oceans means that if we did start eating them, there is already a large supply of these potential morsels to be dined on. Also, some people argue that due to their reproductive cycle, jellyfish are actually a sustainable food source. Removing a jellyfish from the ocean doesn’t stop new ones being born. This is because they are spawned from polyps on the seabed. In some ways, you can compare them to apples. When you take an apple from a tree, the tree still goes on to produce more apples.

我们海洋中数量庞大的水母意味着，如果我们真的开始食用它们，那么已经有大量这些潜在的食物可供食用。此外，有些人认为，由于它们的繁殖周期，水母实际上是一种可持续的食物来源。从海洋中清除水母并不能阻止新水母的诞生。这是因为它们是从海床上的息肉中产生的。在某些方面，您可以将它们与苹果进行比较。当你从树上摘下一个苹果时，这棵树仍然会结出更多的苹果。

What about their nutritional value? Jellyfish contain 36 calories per ounce, which puts it on a par with iceberg lettuce. However, unlike lettuce, it is full of protein, making it potentially a great diet food. And indeed, in many parts of the world, particularly in Asia, they are already consumed, often raw, fried or chopped up as part of a salad. The demand for these animals, combined with their numbers, means that selling jellyfish is becoming an ever more lucrative business.

它们的营养价值如何？水母每盎司含有 36 卡路里的热量，与卷心莴苣相当。然而，与生菜不同，它富含蛋白质，使其成为潜在的减肥食品。事实上，在世界许多地方，特别是在亚洲，它们已经被食用，通常是生吃、油炸或切碎作为沙拉的一部分。对这些动物的需求，再加上它们的数量，意味着出售水母正在成为一项更有利可图的业务。

But what do they taste like? While some say they are flavourless, others describe them as having a salty taste. This could be due to their absorbent nature, which also leads them to being often served in a sauce. As for the texture, some people negatively compare the experience to eating gristle.

但它们的味道如何？虽然有人说它们没有味道，但也有人说它们有咸味。这可能是由于它们的吸收性，这也导致它们经常被放在酱汁中。至于质地，有些人将这种体验比作吃软骨。

So, the next time you fancy chowing down on some fish, you might look at jellyfish as a sustainable alternative. They might not be the tastiest thing you’ve ever eaten, but it beats fleeing the sea to avoid being stung.

因此，下次您想吃一些鱼时，您可能会将水母视为一种可持续的替代品。它们可能不是你吃过的最美味的东西，但它胜过逃离大海以避免被蜇伤。

词汇表

jellyfish 水母，海蜇
salmon 三文鱼，鲑鱼
devour 吞食
morsel 少量食物
dine on 吃，食用
sustainable food source 可持续的食物来源
nutritional value 营养价值
calorie 卡路里（热量单位）
iceberg lettuce 冰山生菜，结球生菜
protein 蛋白质
diet food 减肥食品
consume （大量地）吃，喝
raw 生的（食物）
fried 油炒的
chop up 切成小块
salad 沙拉
flavourless 无味的
salty 咸的
sauce 调味酱汁
texture 口感
gristle 软骨
chow down 大快朵颐