THE corner shop on South Honore and West 59th inEnglewood is an uninviting sort of place. Thosewindows that are not bricked up are covered in heavysecurity grilles; the shopkeeper hides behind aPlexiglas wall. Most of what is on offer is eitherpackaged or carbonated, and is always processed.

　　在恩格爾伍德，南奧諾雷和西59街的拐角商店是個沒有吸引力的地方。這些商店沒有用磚堵住的窗戶被厚重的鐵柵欄保護著，店主藏在玻璃墻后面。它們銷售的大多數食品是有包裝的或者是加氣的，都是加工過的。

　　This part of Chicagos South Side is in the heart of one of Americas many food deserts. Theseare notable not for the absence of food, but for the kind of food available. Though crisps,sweets and doughnuts are easy to come by, an apple is a rare commodity. Yet all theevidence shows that poor access to quality food results in a higher risk of obesity, diabetesand cancerand more avoidable deaths.

　　芝加哥南部的這個地區是美國許多的食品荒漠之一。這些地方之所以著名，不是因為缺少某些食品，而是因為一些類型的食品可以得到。雖然炸薯片，糖果和油炸面圈餅很容易得到，但是蘋果確實稀缺的農產品。所有證據也證明獲取有質量的食品不足導致了還肥胖、糖尿病和癌癥以及更多可避免的死亡疾病的幾率升高。

　　Although cynics might argue that the market gives people the food they deserve, researchpublished this month in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests otherwise. During the1990s, when the American government paid for around 1,800 women to move out of publichousing, the women who had moved showed a 20% lower rate of obesity and diabetes thanthose who had not. In other words, their improved environment led to their better health.

　　盡管憤青們可能會爭辯市場給顧客的食品是顧客應當得到的，但這幾個月發表在《新英格蘭藥物雜志》上的調查研究卻有不同的看法。上世紀90年代，美國政府斥資幫約1800名婦女搬離公共住房。調查顯示，搬入新居的婦女得肥胖癥和糖尿病的概率比未搬遷的婦女低80%。換句話說，改善的環境是讓她們的健康得以改善的重要原因。

　　Research published this week by Mari Gallagher, an independent food researcher, suggeststhat the problem of food deserts may be relatively tractable. Over the past five years, thanksto the arrival of some new grocery stores, Chicagos desert has shrunk by 40% to a mere384,000 people. It sometimes takes only one shop to change things vastly for the better. Forexample, the Food-4-Less store in Englewood improved access to fresh food for almost 41,000people, most of whom are black.

　　獨立的食品研究調查機構Mari Gallagher本周發表的調查表明，食荒的問題可能是相對溫和的。在過去的五年中，多虧一些新型食品雜貨店的降臨，芝加哥地區的食荒已經縮減了 40%，反影響384000居民。例如，Food-4-Less一家位于恩格爾伍德的商店就為將近41000戶居民改善了新鮮食品的途徑，并且，這些居民中的大多數都是黑人。

　　This is all grist to the mills of Michelle Obama, Americas first lady, and Rahm Emanuel, Chicagosmayor, who appeared together at a South Side pharmacy on October 25th to promote accessto fresh food. Both have been adept in their own ways at twisting the arms of retailers such asWalmart, SUPERVALU and Walgreens to open grocery stores in underserved areas.

　　這對出現在芝加哥南部一家藥店，允許藥店銷售新鮮食品的美國第一夫人米歇爾﹒奧巴馬和市長拉姆?伊曼紐爾來說是有利的。兩人都擅長于像沃爾瑪、超價商店和沃爾格林這樣的大零售商在不適合的地方開設零售店。

　　Walgreens, a chain of almost 7,800 drug stores, now has a large selection of fresh food in tenfood oasis stores in Chicago. It has also promised that over the next five years it will providemore fresh food in 19 other sites in the city, most of them food deserts, and in 1,000 otherstores across the country. This could make a big difference. The firms chief executive, GregWasson, says that two-thirds of all Americans live within three miles of one of his shops.

　　沃爾格林，一家擁有接近7800家分店的連鎖藥店，現在已經在芝加哥的十家食品綠洲商店中擁有一個大的挑選。它還許諾在下一個五年，在城市其他19處有食品荒漠的地方和1000家遍布鄉村的分店提供更多新鮮食品。這可以有很大地改變現狀。公司的行政總裁格雷格?沃森說三分之二的美國人將要住在距他分店三英里的范圍內。

　　Moreover, the opening of a halfway decent grocery store is often the trigger for the arrival ofother better-class shops in the area, which then spurs a local economic revival. This could gosome way towards reversing a worrying trend pointed out by Ms Gallagher. She says that theretend to be more diet-related deaths in places where fringe retailers accept food stamps.Fringe retailers, by her definition, are those shops that specialise in food high in salt, fat andsugar, plus non-food items such as fizzy drinks. The sad thing, as she points out, is that foodstamps are supposed to protect the poor from malnutrition, not make them ill.

　　此外，一個中途相當好的食品店的營業經常引起其他更好的上流商店在這里集聚，然后將刺激當地經濟的復蘇。這也可能朝著加拉格爾指出的一種令人擔憂的反面趨勢走一段路程。她說在一些邊緣零售商接受食物標記的地方將會有更多與節食相關的死亡。用她的定義來說，邊緣零售商就是那些特殊的高鹽、高脂和高糖食物，還有一些像碳酸飲料這些不屬于食物范疇的物品。正如她所說，令人傷心的食品標記本應是保護窮人，讓他們遠離營養不良，而不是讓他們生病。

　　Mrs Obama made a point of saying that nobody in government is telling anyone what theyshould, or should not, be eating. But good food does have to be available. As any parent cantell you, the fruit bowl always needs to be easier to reach than the cookie jar.

　　奧巴馬夫人曾強調政府里沒人告訴任何人他們應該或者不應該吃什么，但好的食物總是有的。就像父母告訴你，果盤比餅干罐更接近健康。

　　THE corner shop on South Honore and West 59th inEnglewood is an uninviting sort of place. Thosewindows that are not bricked up are covered in heavysecurity grilles; the shopkeeper hides behind aPlexiglas wall. Most of what is on offer is eitherpackaged or carbonated, and is always processed.

　　在恩格爾伍德，南奧諾雷和西59街的拐角商店是個沒有吸引力的地方。這些商店沒有用磚堵住的窗戶被厚重的鐵柵欄保護著，店主藏在玻璃墻后面。它們銷售的大多數食品是有包裝的或者是加氣的，都是加工過的。

　　This part of Chicagos South Side is in the heart of one of Americas many food deserts. Theseare notable not for the absence of food, but for the kind of food available. Though crisps,sweets and doughnuts are easy to come by, an apple is a rare commodity. Yet all theevidence shows that poor access to quality food results in a higher risk of obesity, diabetesand cancerand more avoidable deaths.

　　芝加哥南部的這個地區是美國許多的食品荒漠之一。這些地方之所以著名，不是因為缺少某些食品，而是因為一些類型的食品可以得到。雖然炸薯片，糖果和油炸面圈餅很容易得到，但是蘋果確實稀缺的農產品。所有證據也證明獲取有質量的食品不足導致了還肥胖、糖尿病和癌癥以及更多可避免的死亡疾病的幾率升高。

　　Although cynics might argue that the market gives people the food they deserve, researchpublished this month in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests otherwise. During the1990s, when the American government paid for around 1,800 women to move out of publichousing, the women who had moved showed a 20% lower rate of obesity and diabetes thanthose who had not. In other words, their improved environment led to their better health.

　　盡管憤青們可能會爭辯市場給顧客的食品是顧客應當得到的，但這幾個月發表在《新英格蘭藥物雜志》上的調查研究卻有不同的看法。上世紀90年代，美國政府斥資幫約1800名婦女搬離公共住房。調查顯示，搬入新居的婦女得肥胖癥和糖尿病的概率比未搬遷的婦女低80%。換句話說，改善的環境是讓她們的健康得以改善的重要原因。

　　Research published this week by Mari Gallagher, an independent food researcher, suggeststhat the problem of food deserts may be relatively tractable. Over the past five years, thanksto the arrival of some new grocery stores, Chicagos desert has shrunk by 40% to a mere384,000 people. It sometimes takes only one shop to change things vastly for the better. Forexample, the Food-4-Less store in Englewood improved access to fresh food for almost 41,000people, most of whom are black.

　　獨立的食品研究調查機構Mari Gallagher本周發表的調查表明，食荒的問題可能是相對溫和的。在過去的五年中，多虧一些新型食品雜貨店的降臨，芝加哥地區的食荒已經縮減了 40%，反影響384000居民。例如，Food-4-Less一家位于恩格爾伍德的商店就為將近41000戶居民改善了新鮮食品的途徑，并且，這些居民中的大多數都是黑人。

　　This is all grist to the mills of Michelle Obama, Americas first lady, and Rahm Emanuel, Chicagosmayor, who appeared together at a South Side pharmacy on October 25th to promote accessto fresh food. Both have been adept in their own ways at twisting the arms of retailers such asWalmart, SUPERVALU and Walgreens to open grocery stores in underserved areas.

　　這對出現在芝加哥南部一家藥店，允許藥店銷售新鮮食品的美國第一夫人米歇爾﹒奧巴馬和市長拉姆?伊曼紐爾來說是有利的。兩人都擅長于像沃爾瑪、超價商店和沃爾格林這樣的大零售商在不適合的地方開設零售店。

　　Walgreens, a chain of almost 7,800 drug stores, now has a large selection of fresh food in tenfood oasis stores in Chicago. It has also promised that over the next five years it will providemore fresh food in 19 other sites in the city, most of them food deserts, and in 1,000 otherstores across the country. This could make a big difference. The firms chief executive, GregWasson, says that two-thirds of all Americans live within three miles of one of his shops.

　　沃爾格林，一家擁有接近7800家分店的連鎖藥店，現在已經在芝加哥的十家食品綠洲商店中擁有一個大的挑選。它還許諾在下一個五年，在城市其他19處有食品荒漠的地方和1000家遍布鄉村的分店提供更多新鮮食品。這可以有很大地改變現狀。公司的行政總裁格雷格?沃森說三分之二的美國人將要住在距他分店三英里的范圍內。

　　Moreover, the opening of a halfway decent grocery store is often the trigger for the arrival ofother better-class shops in the area, which then spurs a local economic revival. This could gosome way towards reversing a worrying trend pointed out by Ms Gallagher. She says that theretend to be more diet-related deaths in places where fringe retailers accept food stamps.Fringe retailers, by her definition, are those shops that specialise in food high in salt, fat andsugar, plus non-food items such as fizzy drinks. The sad thing, as she points out, is that foodstamps are supposed to protect the poor from malnutrition, not make them ill.

　　此外，一個中途相當好的食品店的營業經常引起其他更好的上流商店在這里集聚，然后將刺激當地經濟的復蘇。這也可能朝著加拉格爾指出的一種令人擔憂的反面趨勢走一段路程。她說在一些邊緣零售商接受食物標記的地方將會有更多與節食相關的死亡。用她的定義來說，邊緣零售商就是那些特殊的高鹽、高脂和高糖食物，還有一些像碳酸飲料這些不屬于食物范疇的物品。正如她所說，令人傷心的食品標記本應是保護窮人，讓他們遠離營養不良，而不是讓他們生病。

　　Mrs Obama made a point of saying that nobody in government is telling anyone what theyshould, or should not, be eating. But good food does have to be available. As any parent cantell you, the fruit bowl always needs to be easier to reach than the cookie jar.

　　奧巴馬夫人曾強調政府里沒人告訴任何人他們應該或者不應該吃什么，但好的食物總是有的。就像父母告訴你，果盤比餅干罐更接近健康。