蘋果削皮后如果不馬上吃掉，沒過一會兒整個果肉表層就會被氧化變成褐色，讓人看上去毫無食欲。如今美國已經生產出了永不氧化變色的蘋果，而且很快就要上市銷售。不變色的蘋果好是好，但因為這種蘋果是轉基因水果，到底還是讓人心里不踏實。樂觀的商家認為，如果這種蘋果在市場上獲得成功，就會打消人們對轉基因食品的恐懼，但是批評者則認為，消費者還是應該保持懷疑態度。

After years of development, protest and regulatory red tape, the first genetically modified, non-browning apples will soon go on sale in the United States.
歷經多年研發與非議，經受了監管部門條條框框的約束，終于，首款防褐變轉基因蘋果就要在美國開售了。

The fruit, sold sliced and marketed under the brand Arctic Apple, could hit a cluster of Midwestern grocery stores as early as Feb. 1. The limited release is an early test run for the controversial apple, which has been genetically modified to eliminate the browning that occurs when an apple is left out in the open air.
這種備受爭議的“北極蘋果”預計最早于2017年2月1日在美國中西部的多家商店以切片的形式進行初期的試點銷售。因為經過了轉基因改良，這種蘋果的果肉暴露在空氣中不會發生氧化變色。

Critics and advocates of genetic engineering say that the apple could be a turning point in the nation’s highly polarizing debate over genetically modified organisms (GMOs). While genetic modifications have in the past been mainly defended as a way to protect crops, the Arctic Apple would be one of the first GMOs marketed directly to consumers as more convenient.
基因工程的批評家們與支持者們均表示，美國國內在轉基因生物的爭論上，觀點已呈兩極化，“北極蘋果”的試售可能會是這一局面的轉折點。在過去，轉基因技術主要運用于農作物的保護，而切片包裝的“北極蘋果”因其方便食用，將成為消費者直接吃進嘴里的第一種轉基因水果。

“What companies are desperate for is some really popular GMO product to hit the market,” said McKay Jenkins. “Any successful product could lift the cloud over GMOs.”
麥凱?詹金斯表示：“企業渴望的是真正受市場歡迎追捧的轉基因產品。任何轉基因商品在市場上的成功都可能會打消人們對轉基因生物的疑慮。”

Industry executives predict the apple could open a whole new trade in genetically engineered produce, potentially opening the market to pink pineapples, antioxidant-enriched tomatoes, and other food currently in development.
業內高管預測，“北極蘋果”可以為轉基因農產品打開一個全新市場，同時也為今后把粉色菠蘿，抗氧化西紅柿等尚在研發的轉基因食物推向市場做好了鋪墊。

“We see this as less about genetic modification and more about convenience,” said Neal Carter, founder of the company that makes the Arctic Apple. “I think consumers are very ready for apples that don’t go brown. Everyone can identify with that ‘yuck’ factor.”
“北極蘋果”的生產商、加拿大奧卡諾根特色水果公司創始人尼爾?卡特認為：“在我們看來，該蘋果的重點在于食用便利而非其轉基因的身份。我相信消費者能夠接受不變色的蘋果。也能包容別人所謂的瑕疵。”

GMO critics say they are hopeful, however, that consumers will continue to show skepticism about the produce. Despite a growing consensus in scientific circles that GMOs pose little risk, environmental and consumer groups have successfuly mounted campaigns against GMOs over the past 30 years, successfully limiting the practice to commodity crops like soybeans and corn.
轉基因生物的批評者們則表示，他們希望消費者們能繼續對轉基因產品保持懷疑態度。盡管科學界對轉基因生物幾乎無風險的事實已逐漸認可，但在過去30年里，反對轉基因生物的環境組織和消費者團體的宣傳力量不可小覷，這樣一來就大大限制了大豆和玉米等農作物商品的轉基因研究。

Anti-GMO groups have successfully pushed for GMO crop bans in places like Boulder County, Colo., and Sonoma County, Calif., and several major food brands have agreed not to use GM ingredients. Critics have also questioned how consumers will be able to judge the freshness of sliced apples when they don’t brown.
反轉基因生物組織已成功地推動了科羅拉多州博爾德縣和加州索諾瑪縣的轉基因作物種植禁令，幾大主要食品品牌也就不使用轉基因原料達成了共識。同時，評論家們提出，如果轉基因的切片蘋果不會氧化變色，消費者要如何判斷水果是否新鮮。

“This apple is understudied, unlabeled, and unnecessary,” said Dana Perls, the senior food and technology campaigner with environmental nonprofit Friends of the Earth. “It’s only a matter of time before consumers realize they’re being falsely marketed to … And then there will be an uproar.”
非盈利環保組織“地球之友”的資深食品和技術活動家德納?帕爾斯表示：“這種轉基因蘋果仍有待研究，它不該與普通蘋果混在一起賣，它的上架甚至是完全多余的。消費者遲早會意識到自己被市場誤導愚弄，這只不過是時間問題。到那時將會一片嘩然。”

Most Americans already consume a large number of GMOs or GMO-derived ingredients every day. Over ninety percent of all corn and soybeans grown in the US are engineered to improve agricultural efficiency and withstand frequent pesticide applications. The resulting corn and soy are frequently fed to animals intended for human consumption, or routed into processed foods as corn starch, corn syrup, soy lethicin and dozens of other derivatives.
大多數美國人每天已然在消費大量的轉基因或含轉基因成分的食物。美國對國內所種植的90%以上的玉米和大豆都進行了品種改良，以此來提高農業生產效率，使其禁得起殺蟲劑的頻繁使用。這些玉米大豆常用作肉用家禽飼料，或加工成玉米淀粉、玉米糖漿、大豆卵磷脂等食品和其他數十種衍生產品。

This non-browning technology could theoretically be applied later to any number of tree fruits, including pears and cherries, which Okanagan’s scientists have already begun to research.
理論上，這種防褐變技術將會大量應用于梨樹、櫻桃樹等果樹，奧卡諾根公司的科學家們已經開始著手研究了。

英文來源：華盛頓郵報
翻譯：羅玲敏（中國日報網愛新聞iNews譯者）
編審：丹妮