世界粮食价格不停上涨
Rising world food prices
世界粮食价格不停上涨
The price of wheat has doubled in the past year - and it is not the only foodstuff trading at a high price on the international commodity market. 麦子的价格在去年加倍了，它不是在国际商品市场上的唯一价格高涨的粮食。
Things have got so bad that aid agencies are having to rethink their programmes. 事实发展如此恶劣， 援助机构必须重新考虑他们的计划。
In the UK , pig farmers are protesting at Downing Street over the price of feed.在英国，养猪农户在唐宁街抗议饲料的价格。
BBC science correspondent Tom Feilden looks at the reasons why the era of cheap food may be coming to an end. BBC科学报导員，Tom Feilden看到了为什么廉价食物的时代结束的原因。
What is going on? 到底发生了什么？
Prices are increasing sharply for some of the most basic foodstuffs traded on international commodity markets.在国际商品市场上某些最基本粮食的价格剧烈地增加。。
The price of wheat has doubled in less than a year, while other staples such as corn and soya are trading at well above their 1990s averages. 麦子的价格在不到一年内加倍了，而其他主要副粮如玉米和大豆的价格远高于他们90年代水平，
Rice and coffee prices are running at 10-year highs, and in some countries, prices for milk and meat have more than doubled. 白米和咖啡价格攀上10年的高涨，在某些国家，牛奶的价格和肉的价格加倍高涨了。
Why are we seeing these increases now? 至今我们为什么看到了这些物价高涨呢？
It could be the breakdown of the "Goldilocks era" for global commodities - a period stretching back more than 30 years, during which the price of basic foodstuffs has been neither too high nor too low, but remained relatively constant. 它可能是全球性商品的“黄金时代”的尾声，这个时代跨越超过30年的时间，在这期间内基本的粮食的价格不是太高和太低，但是依然是对立不变的。
For most of this period, the cost of staples such as wheat, corn and soya has actually fallen in real terms. 在大多数这个期间内，副粮的成本费用，例如麦子，玉米和大豆按实际价值来计算，事实上是下落了。
But it seems this long period of stability is coming to an end. Most commentators believe we are on the cusp of a new era of volatility and rising prices. 但是它看来似乎这长期性的稳定将快要结束了。 多数评论员相信我们是处于一个疯狂性和涨价新时代的峰顶。
What are the main causes?主要起因是什么？
The first reason why prices are rising is growth in the world's population, which is expected to top nine billion by the middle of the century. 第一个原因为什么价格上升，那是在世界的人口的成长，预计人口在本世纪中期将九十亿以上。
That is an incredible number of mouths to feed and will put pressure on a range of resources, including land, water and oil, as well as food supply. 那些哺养的嘴吧正以一个难以置信的数字和压力，施压于全球所有资源，如土地、水，燃油，和食品的供应。
But lurking behind the headline figures for population is an even more significant factor pushing up prices, and that's the economic miracle driving emerging economies such China and India . 但是潜伏在人口的数字之后，是提高价格一个更加重大的因素，那就是像中国和印度创造了奇迹般的经济。
To put it bluntly, rich people eat more than poor people, and all this economic growth is generating a whole new tier of middle-class consumers.让我们不客气坦白地说，富有的人民吃得比穷苦的更多，这样的经济增长是由新一代中产阶级消费者所造成的。
What other factors are involved?包含了什么其他因素？
There is also the added environmental pressure all these extra people are loading onto the planet, as well as the impact of climate change. 也存有着这地球上额外人口迅速增加的环境压力，并且又要面对气候变化的冲击。
Desertification is accelerating in China and sub-Saharan Africa , while more frequent flooding and changing patterns of rainfall are already beginning to have a significant impact on agricultural production. 沙漠化的现象在中国和撒哈拉以南的非洲等地区加速了。同时降雨量的增加，频繁的水灾，它们的变化已经开始有对农业生产，产生了重大影响。
And global warming has played a significant role in another driver of rising prices: the shift in agricultural production from food to biofuels.全球性变暖在涨价狂热风潮中，扮演一个重大角色： 农业生产从食物，变到生物燃料的转移。
Ethanol production is on course to account for some 30% of the US corn crop by 2010, dramatically curtailing the amount of land available for food crops and pushing up the price of corn flour on international commodity markets.
30%的美国玉米庄稼在2010年时，将用来生产酒精。很明显削减了相当数量利用为食用农作物的土地，并且提高在国际商品市场上的玉米粉价格
。
