The Agriculture Department has given a preliminary green light for the first commercial production of a food crop engineered to contain human genes, reigniting fears that biomedically potent substances in high-tech plants could escape and turn up in other foods.
美國農業部已初步核准首例商業生產一種帶有人類基因改造的糧食作物，再度令人憂心，高科技農作物所含高效生物醫學物質，可能流出並出現在其他食品中。
The plan, confirmed by the California biotechnology company leading the effort, calls for large-scale cultivation in Kansas of rice that produces human immune system proteins in its seeds.
這項計畫業經帶頭進行這項實驗的加州生物科技公司證實，將在堪薩斯州大規模培育稻米，這種稻米的種子可以產生人類免疫系統蛋白質。
The proteins are to be extracted for use as an anti-diarrhea medicine and might be added to health foods such as yogurt and granola bars.
萃取這種蛋白質，是用來當抗痢疾藥，也可能添加到優格及格蘭諾拉燕麥捲等健康食品中。
"We can really help children with diarrhea get better faster," said Scott E. Deeter, president and chief executive of Sacramento-based Ventria Bioscience, emphasizing that a host of protections should keep the engineered plants and their seeds from escaping into surrounding fields.
「我們真可幫助腹瀉的兒童盡快復元，」總部在加州沙加緬度的文特里亞生物科學公司總裁兼執行長狄特說，他強調可採取一大堆保護措施，來防止基改植物及其種子外流到周遭到耕地中。
But critics are assailing the effort, saying gene-altered plants inevitably migrate out of their home plots. In this case, they said, that could result in pharmacologically active proteins showing up in the food of unsuspecting consumers.
但論者攻擊這項計畫，指基改農作物難免從母田偷渡出去，在這起案例中，他們指稱，這可能導致在藥理學上活躍的蛋白質，出現在毫無戒心的消費者的食物中。
Although the proteins are not inherently dangerous, there would be little control over the doses people might get exposed to, and some might be allergic to the proteins, said Jane Rissler of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a science policy advocacy group.
雖然這些蛋白質本身並不危險，但人可能接觸的劑量無從控制，而且有人可能對這種蛋白質過敏，科學政策活躍團體「科學家關懷聯盟」的珍．李斯勒說。
"This is not a product that everyone would want to consume," Rissler said, adding that other companies grow such plants indoors or in vats. "It is unwise to produce drugs in plants outdoors."
「這種產品並非人人都想消費，」李斯勒說，並稱其他公司只在室內或在大桶缸裡培育這種作物。「在室外種植作物生產藥物並非明智之舉。」
《詞解》
give a green light 核准
food crop 糧食作物
human genes 人類基因
reigniting 重新引燃
immune system 免疫系統
diarrhea 痢疾，腹瀉
inherently 天生，固有
unsuspecting 毫無戒心的
pharmacological 藥理學的
granola bars 格蘭諾拉燕麥捲
biomedically potent substances 高效生物醫學物質