Gobble, gobble?

咯咯，咯咯咯咯（火雞叫聲）

Socially distanced Thanksgiving weakens appetite for big turkeys

社交距離限制下的感恩節(jié)削弱了人們對大火雞的胃口

Smaller gatherings raise demand for Smaller birds

小型集會增加了對小型禽類的需求

Nov 5th 2020 |

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IN BARNS OR?pens, or already in freezers, 40m American turkeys await their fate. More than half of the whole turkeys sold in America each year are eaten over Thanksgiving, which this year falls on November 26th. Most of the rest are polished off the following month, at Christmas. Social-distancing rules and travel restrictions mean that celebrations will look rather different in 2020—and so will the market for meat.

谷倉、圍欄，或是已經(jīng)在冷藏室里，4000萬只美國火雞在等待著它們的命運。美國每年售出的火雞中有一半以上是在感恩節(jié)時被吃掉的，今年的感恩節(jié)是11月26日。剩下的大部分在接下來的一個月，也就是圣誕節(jié)時被解決掉。社交距離的規(guī)定和旅行限制意味著2020年的慶祝活動將會大不相同——肉類市場也將如此。

詞匯

Pen/圍欄

polish off/英英釋義：kill intentionally and with premeditation（預(yù)謀）大致就是故意處死的意思

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Some 30% of Americans say they will spend Thanksgiving with their immediate family only, up from 18% last year, according to Butterball, a North Carolina firm which rules the roost of turkey producers, supplying one in three Thanksgiving birds. Flight bookings for November are a third lower than last year, reports Skyscanner, a search platform, suggesting fewer people are going home for the holidays. In Britain, where 9m turkeys are usually eaten over Christmas, 61% of people say they are less likely than usual to have guests on Christmas Day, according to Kantar, a data firm.

北卡羅來納州的一家火雞飼養(yǎng)廠家Butterball稱，約30%的美國人表示他們只會和直系親屬一起過感恩節(jié)，在去年這一比例為18%。該公司將為感恩節(jié)提供了1/3份額的火雞。搜索平臺Skyscanner的報告顯示，11月的機票預(yù)訂量比去年減少了三分之一，這表明回家過節(jié)的人減少了。在英國，人們通常會在圣誕節(jié)期間吃掉900萬只火雞。根據(jù)一家數(shù)據(jù)公司Kantar的調(diào)查，61%的英國人表示，他們在（今年）圣誕節(jié)期間招待客人的可能性比平時要低。

詞匯

roost /棲息處

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Birds bred to feed large gatherings are therefore out of favour. Walmart and Kroger, large American food retailers, both plan to offer more Small turkeys. However, “a lot of supply for the holidays is locked in well before the fall,” says Beth Breeding of America’s National Turkey Federation, an industry group. It is too late for producers to switch to daintier varieties, since a hen takes 14-16 weeks to mature from hatchling to main course. Changing a bird’s diet or the temperature of its surroundings can reduce its size, and it can be slaughtered earlier. But many Thanksgiving turkeys have already been dispatched and frozen, to fatten up inventory for the “Super Bowl” of the turkey calendar, as a Butterball spokeSman describes it.

因此，為了喂養(yǎng)大型群體而飼養(yǎng)的禽類不受歡迎。美國大型食品零售商沃爾瑪和克羅格都計劃提供更多的小火雞。然而，“節(jié)日火雞的大量供應(yīng)在秋季之前就被鎖定了，”行業(yè)組織美國國家火雞聯(lián)盟的Beth Breeding 說。因為母雞從孵化到上主菜要花14-16周的時間才能成熟，所以生產(chǎn)者轉(zhuǎn)向更美味的品種已經(jīng)太遲了。改變鳥的飲食或周圍環(huán)境的溫度可以減小它的體型，它可以更早被宰殺。但是許多感恩節(jié)火雞已經(jīng)被運送和冷凍，為火雞日歷上的“超級碗”增加庫存，一位Butterball（上文的火雞生產(chǎn)廠家）發(fā)言人描述道。

詞匯

?Bred/[原breed，過去式bred]（為某種目的而）培育（動、植物）

daintier /精致的;美味的（dainty）

hatchling/剛孵化的小動物

Slaughter/ 屠宰；大屠殺

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Some consumers may therefore end up buying spare parts cut from big birds. Walmart plans to increase by 20-30% its stock of breast meat, for families who can’t manage a whole turkey. Such cuts command a premium but may mean that the leftover dark meat goes unsold. “Whole birds are easier to produce and with no waste, so producers like them,” says Richard Griffiths of the British Poultry Council. Some farmers are in a flap at the prospect that turkey could lose out to more petite meats. Kroger is buying in more ham, beef, pork-roast and seafood, as well as vegetarian “meatless roasts”.

因此，一些消費者最終可能會購買從大型禽類身上切下來的塊件。沃爾瑪計劃將胸脯肉的庫存增加20-30%，以滿足那些無法處理一整只火雞的家庭。這樣的削減需要溢價，但可能意味著剩下的黑肉（指禽類的腿等部分燒不白的肉）賣不出去。英國家禽協(xié)會的Richard Griffiths說:“整只雞更容易生產(chǎn)，也不會產(chǎn)生廢棄料，所以生產(chǎn)者喜歡它們。”一些農(nóng)民擔(dān)心火雞可能會比不上更小的肉類?？肆_格（美國一企業(yè)名稱）正在買進(jìn)更多的火腿、牛肉、豬肉燒烤和海鮮，以及素食的“無肉烤肉”。

詞匯

petite /嬌小的，小個子的

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Yet the signs are that most consumers want to stick to tradition. Although millions of people accustomed to their mother’s cooking will have to fend for themselves this year, convenience products will mostly stay on the shelf, believes Scott McKenzie of Nielsen, another data company. Lockdowns have encouraged homely hobbies: Americans are buying 81% more yeast than last year and 41% more seaweed for wrapping home-made sushi, Nielsen reckons. Mr McKenzie expects increased demand for “made-from-scratch” products over the holidays, and beyond: “Homebody habits are here to stay,” he believes. If that is true, the glut of large turkeys may have a happy outcome: more leftovers. ■

然而，有跡象表明，大多數(shù)消費者希望堅守傳統(tǒng)。另一家數(shù)據(jù)公司尼爾森的 Scott McKenzie 認(rèn)為，盡管今年數(shù)以百萬計習(xí)慣了母親烹飪的人將不得不自己照顧自己，便民產(chǎn)品仍將大部分停留在貨架上。封鎖鼓勵了家庭嗜好:尼爾森估計，美國人購買的酵母比去年多81%，用于包裝自制壽司的紫菜也多41%。McKenzie預(yù)計，在假期及以后，對“自制”的產(chǎn)品的需求將會增加。他相信，“宅在家的習(xí)慣將會持續(xù)下去。”如果這是真的，過剩的大型火雞可能會有一個令人高興的結(jié)果:更多的火雞能得以幸存?！?/span>

詞匯

Seaweed/紫菜；海帶；海藻

made-from-scratch/自制