双语新闻：全球转基因种子生意稳赚不赔

2014-07-08 17:31:01来源：可可英语

　　All those Facebook memes featuring Willy Wonka and The Most Interesting Man in the World warning that genetically modified crops will kill us all have done little to help the anti-GMO cause. Most recently, activists have been fighting to force food companies to affix warning labels to products that contain GMOs. Whether they win or lose won’t matter much, because Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, is an unstoppable Leviathan, and GMOs are here to stay.

　　Facebook上所有主打威利o旺卡(电影《查理和巧克力工厂》里好莱坞影星约翰尼o德普饰演的一个角色——译注)和电影《世界上最有趣的人》、警告世人转基因作物会害死大家的“迷因”(meme，一些风格独特的图像或影片，搭配上被社群接受的标语或口号，在病毒式传播下，产生许多变形和二次创作的产物——译注)其实都对反转基因运动帮助甚微。最近，不少激进分子努力要让食品公司为含有转基因生物成分的产品贴上警示标签。不过他们成功与否都关系不大，因为全球最大的种子企业孟山都公司(Monsanto)是无人可挡的业界巨头，而正是这家公司一直在致力于推广转基因作物。

　　The beside-the-pointness of the labeling movement is made starkly plain by a glance at Monsanto’s financials. The company on Wednesday reported a drop in earnings of nearly 6% in the third quarter, but its stock soared by more than 5%. The company also announced it will buy back $10 billion worth of shares over the next two years, and, more to the point, declared that it expects to at least double its profits by 2019, thanks almost entirely to its seeds and genomics businesses.

　　看看孟山都的业绩表现就会发现，这场贴标签运动其实是多么不值一提。这家公司上周三报告称，它第三财季营收下降了近6%，但股价却飙升超过了5%。它还宣布，今后两年将回购100亿美元的股票。这家公司尤其表示，主要受益于旗下种业和转基因业务，它的盈利到2019年将至少增加一倍。

　　None of this is particularly surprising, except perhaps to some of the meme-spreaders. And it’s all happening despite more-serious resistance to GMOs across big swaths of the globe.

　　这些情况其实不足为奇，可能只会让一些“迷因”传播者大跌眼镜。而这个业绩实际上是在全球大范围反对转基因作物的背景下取得的。

　　Monsanto MON -0.43% makes money almost no matter what. If its corn business sinks, as it has this year, it makes up for some of the losses by selling more soybean seeds (many farmers tend to switch between the crops depending on market conditions). If rivals gain market share, it often makes money from the technology licenses it sells to, for example, DuPont DD -0.18% , its chief competitor (and, as a licensee, one of its biggest customers). When its patents expire, it sells farmers on the newer seed varieties it is constantly pushing through its pipeline. The company is hedged to the hilt: seemingly, any loss is also a potential gain.

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