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[03-13] [Economist-文艺]History of the Potato: Wonder-food 神奇的土蛋蛋
History of the potato
马铃薯的历史
Wonder-food
神奇的土蛋蛋
Feb 28th 2008
From The Economist print edition
Propitious Esculent: The Potato in World History
By John Reader
《吉祥食物：人类历史上的马铃薯》
作者 约翰.里德尔
ON THE face of it, John Reader'snew biography of the potato seems to have a silly title—“propitiousesculent” is just a fancy way to say “helpful food”—and an even silliersubtitle. But that is because the virtues of the world's fourth biggestfood crop (after maize, wheat and rice) and its influence on worldhistory are easily overlooked. “I used to take potatoes for granted,”the author writes. His aim is to discourage readers from doing likewise.
约翰.里德尔最近为马铃薯立了一部传。印在传记封面上的书名——不过是别出心裁的把“有益食物”说成是“吉祥食物”罢了——看似愚蠢，而书的副题则更加可笑。不过，这是由于人们很轻易地忽略了这种全球第四大粮食作物（仅位于玉米、小麦和水稻之后）的优点和它对人类历史上的影响的缘故。“过去我一直低估了土豆的价值，”作者如是写道。他的目的就是要让读者不要重蹈自己的覆辙。
The key to the potato's value liesin its high yield and its almost perfect balance of nutrients. Potatoescan produce more energy per unit area per day than any other crop, andit is possible (though tedious) to subsist on a diet of spuds and verylittle else.
马铃薯产量很高，而且几乎含有一切人体必需的营养物质，这便是它的价值所在。以每天每单位面积来计算，它所产生的能量比任何其它粮食作物都要多。而且只要有了它，人类便几乎不需要其它食物来维系其生存了（虽然这样的食谱过于单调乏味）。
First domesticated in the Andes,the potato was carried to Europe in the 16th century. At firstEuropeans were suspicious: the potato was variously thought to be anaphrodisiac, to cause leprosy or to be poisonous. But it slowly caughton as its merits in times of famine and war became apparent (it is morereliable than grain and remains hidden underground until harvested). Bythe late 18th century it was being hailed as a wonder-food—for thepoor, at least. Marie Antoinette promoted potatoes by wearing theirflowers in her hair.
安第斯山脉是最早进行马铃薯人工培育的地区。到了16世纪，欧洲也开始种植马铃薯。最初欧洲人对它充满戒心：他们对马铃薯的看法迥异。有的说吃了能壮阳；有的说吃了会得麻风病；还有的说吃了会中毒。但饥荒和战争使它的优点得以显现（它比谷物更可靠，而且到收获前一直都埋藏在土里），它逐渐受到人们的青睐。到了18世纪晚期，马铃薯被人们冠以“神奇食物”的美称——至少对穷人而言是如此。玛莉.安托瓦内特为了宣传它，曾把马铃薯花戴在头上做头饰。
People then started to worry thatthe potato was too popular, and that its abundance was causing anunsustainable increase in population. Exhibit A was Ireland, where thebooming population subsisted almost entirely on potatoes. The danger ofsuch dependency was starkly revealed by the Irish potato famine of1845: at least a million people died, and another million emigrated.
后来，马铃薯实在是太招人喜爱了，以致于人们开始对此产生忧虑。而且，它的广泛种植导致了人口数量疯长。爱尔兰便是其中一例。爱尔兰迅猛增长的人口几乎全部依赖于马铃薯。1845年爆发的马铃薯灾荒赤裸裸的暴露了这种过度依赖所造成的危害：至少一百万人死亡，还有一百万人不得不背井离乡。
Mr Reader's tale ends with themodern efforts to understand the genetics of the potato, which couldlead to more disease-resistant varieties. The propitious esculent, heexplains, is likely to feature in the diets of space-farers who willhave to grow their own food.
在作品末尾，里德尔试图用现代技术来破解马铃薯的基因构造，从而有助于培育出更能抵御病虫害的马铃薯种类。在他看来，这种吉祥食物很有可能成为航天员太空食谱里的重要成员，因为将来他们必须自己在太空上种植粮食。
The all-potato diet will not appealto all readers, but this accessible account embraces the latestscholarship and addresses the failings of previous works on thesubject. Indeed the book, like the tuber it describes, fills a void:the spud now has the biography it deserves.
并非所有读者都喜欢只有清一色土豆的食谱，但这本浅显易懂的读物既介绍了最新的学术成果，又试图弥补同题材作品的不足。实际上，这本书就像它所描述的“土蛋蛋”一样，填补了一项空白：现在马铃薯也有了应得的传记。
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