由于欧洲各国暴发了史无前例的禽流感疫情，法国名菜鹅肝酱不得不暂别多家米其林餐厅的菜单。和应对新冠疫情类似，鹅肝酱生产商现在急需做好两件事：家禽隔离和接种疫苗。

 

Fois gras, the French culinary jewel that is as delicious as it is controversial, is a staple¹ of upscale restaurants across the country. But now it's vanishing from menus during an "unprecedented²" crisis that has seen some manufacturers begin to consider reducing portions.

法国富有争议的珍馐美食鹅肝酱是法国各地高级餐厅的主打菜品，但如今鹅肝酱却要从菜单上消失了，因为一场“史无前例的”危机正迫使一些鹅肝酱生产商考虑减少供货量。

 

At the heart of the problem is a bird flu epidemic³ that has been sweeping⁴ across the country -- and Europe -- for months. It's already devastated⁵ the country's poultry⁶ industry, but now it threatens one of the country's greatest bastions: Its Michelin-starred restaurants.

这一危机的源头是几个月来一场席卷法国各地和欧洲其他国家的禽流感。这场禽流感已经击垮了法国的养禽业，但现在禽流感威胁到了法国最大的美食阵地之一——米其林餐厅。

 

"It's been a month since we started to have less foie gras, and then this week we got none," says Pascal Lombard, the chef and owner of Le 1862, a one Michelin-star fine dining venue⁷ in bucolic⁸ southwestern France.

法国西南部的米其林乡野美食餐厅Le 1862的主厨兼老板帕斯卡尔·隆巴德说：“我们鹅肝酱减量供应已经有一个月了，这周我们完全没有鹅肝酱了。”

 

Foie gras is no stranger to crises.

这并不是鹅肝酱第一次面临危机。

 

Its traditional production, involving the force feeding of geese and ducks, has long attracted condemnation⁹ from animal rights campaigners, who have succeeded in getting such methods banned elsewhere.

鹅肝酱的传统生产方式，包括填鸭式喂养鸭鹅，长期以来一直受到动物权益倡导人士的谴责，受其影响其他一些地方已经摒弃了这种喂养方式。

 

Yet while French appetites for the delicacy¹⁰ have been largely undimmed by concerns over animal cruelty, another threat to avian welfare is now curbing¹¹ consumption.

尽管大多数法国人对鹅肝酱的好胃口没有因为虐待动物的担忧而受到影响，眼下家禽健康面临的另一个威胁却抑制了法国人对鹅肝酱的消费。

 

The town of Les Eyzies, where Lombard's restaurant is located, is in the heart of Périgord, one of the epicenters of the latest bird flu epidemic.

隆巴德的餐厅所在的莱塞济镇位于佩里戈尔的中心地带，而佩里戈尔是最近的一波禽流感疫情的中心之一。

 

The country has had to kill 16 million poultry since the epidemic first started in November 2021 to try to control the disease, the French Agriculture Ministry¹² confirmed to CNN.

法国农业部向美国有线电视新闻网证实，2021年11月首次暴发禽流感之时，为了控制疫情法国被迫宰杀了1600万只家禽。

 

"This number is unprecedented for France, which had never been exposed to a crisis of such scale," said Marie-Pierre Pé, director of France's interprofessional committee for foie gras producers.

法国鹅肝酱生产商专业委员会主任玛丽-皮埃尔·佩说：“宰杀的家禽数量在法国是史无前例的，法国从来没有经历过这么大规模的家禽危机。”

 

Foie gras production in France is expected to drop by up to 50% this year as the epidemic affects 80% of foie gras producers in the country.

由于疫情影响到了法国80%的鹅肝酱生产商，法国的鹅肝酱产量预计今年将减少多达50%。

 

A veteran of the foie gras industry with 35 years of experience, Pé is no stranger to avian influenza¹³. Like seasonal¹⁴ outbreaks in the human world, bird flu hits Europe almost every year when birds migrate to and from Africa.

作为一位拥有35年经验的鹅肝酱产业老将，佩对禽流感并不陌生。就和人类世界的季节性流感一样，几乎每年在飞鸟自非洲迁徙往来时欧洲都会暴发禽流感。

 

This year the epidemic emerged in spring and reached the Pays de la Loire region in the west and Périgord territory in the southwest -- two crucial poultry production areas in France.

今年春季禽流感在法国暴发后已蔓延至法国西部的卢瓦尔河地区和法国西南部的佩里戈尔，这两地都是法国的家禽主产区。

 

Pays de la Loire alone represents 72% of the ducks and geese hatched in France's foie gras industry, according to Pé.

据佩介绍，单是卢瓦尔河地区就出产了法国鹅肝酱产业所需的72%的鸭鹅。

 

To make the situation worse, other major foie gras producing countries in Europe are also facing a similar crisis, making it hard to make up for the shortfall via imports.

雪上加霜的是，欧洲其他的鹅肝酱高产国也面临着同样的危机，这让法国无法通过进口来填补鹅肝酱缺口。

 

Bird flu has been detected across the European Union since October 2021, including in European Federation¹⁵ of Foie Gras member states Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria and Hungary, according to the latest European Commission report on the epidemic.

根据欧盟关于禽流感的最新报告，自2021年10月以来欧盟各国就相继发现禽流感，包括欧洲鹅肝酱联盟会员国西班牙、比利时、保加利亚和匈牙利。

 

To bring the epidemic to an end and help production return to normal level in 2023, Pé and her fellow foie gras producers rely on two words that the Covid pandemic has made very familiar: isolation¹⁶ and vaccination¹⁷.

为了终结禽流感，帮助家禽产量在2023年回归到正常水平，佩和她的鹅肝酱生产商同行要依靠两个因为新冠疫情而变得耳熟能详的词：隔离和接种疫苗。

 

In areas where bird flu is detected, producers are sheltering ducks and geese to ensure that there is no contamination with migratory¹⁸ birds.

在检测到禽流感的地区，家禽生产商要给鸭鹅搭建养殖舍，确保迁徙的飞鸟不会传染病毒给它们。

 

This requires producers to reduce the number of poultry at their farm so they have enough space indoors to accommodate them, according to Pé.

佩指出，生产商需要减少农场饲养的家禽数量，这样才有足够的室内空间来容纳它们。

 

Two vaccine¹⁹ candidates are on clinical trial, but they won't be available until 2023 at the earliest, Pé said.

佩说，现在有两种候选疫苗正在进行临床试验，但最早要到2023年才能上市。

 

Back in Les Eyzies in southwestern France, chef Lombard is working on new dishes to fill the void left by the foie gras shortage.

在法国西南部的莱塞济，主厨隆巴德正在研发新菜品以填补鹅肝酱供应紧张留下的空白。

 

"2022 will be the year with a bit more vegetable dishes and less meat." Lombard said.

隆巴德说：“2022年将是菜多肉少的一年。”

点击收听单词发音