2020-06-01

Where's our beef?
出自汉堡店的一个梗，讽刺牛肉在哪呢？讽刺肉少

In the hierarchy of essential things in America, it appears, cheeseburgers rank near the top. The president's recent declaration that
meatpacking plants are "critical infrastructure" speaks volumes about this country's attachment to an abundant supply of beef and
pork even amid a pandemic.

The perceived essentialness of cheeseburgers and other meat products is also a function of certain distinctly American food habits and
beliefs.

Both have deep roots. As the English writer Frances Trollope describes in a 1832 travel book, Americans were indiscriminate in their love
for animal protein. Beef, pork, lamb and mutton were all consumed with relish.

According to dietary surveys conducted at the turn of the 20th century by Wilbur Atwater, father of American nutrition,
Americans ate a phenomenal 147 pounds of meat a year on average; Italians, by contrast, consumed 24.

During World War I, the idea that American vitality was tied to a meat-heavy diet dictated how the troops were fed.
To give them a fighting edge, tremendous quantities of beef and pork were shipped overseas, enough to provide soldiers with 20 ounces
of beef a day or 12 ounces of bacon. The cost was staggering, but the Army refused to trim meat rations.

It's no coincidence that the archetypal American hero, the cowboy, is a cattle herder, or that we claim hamburgers as the quintessential
American food. Much of what has defined us as Americans is expressed through our meat consumption.

meatpacking plants ;肉类加工, 工厂 安置 栽种

critical infrastructure;关键基础设施

speaks volumes; 充分表明... a picture speaks volumes without using a single word 一图胜千言

attachment to ; 依赖 珍视 附着 情感上黏人

The perceived essentialness of ;有种观念认为..重要

a function of;...的结果 由..决定

certain distinctly American food;某些明显的特有的美国食物

beliefs;理念 想法

have deep roots;有很深的历史根源

were indiscriminate in;盲目的 肆意的 不加选择的, 毫无保留近乎盲目的程度

with relish;享受地 津津有味

conducted;开展的 进行

at the turn of the 20th century;在20世纪之交

a phenomenal ;

vitality;活力 生命力

was tied to a meat-heavy diet;离不开 相关,肉类丰富的饮食

troops;军队

the idea that A dictated B;A影响 决定 支配了 B, 与A is a function of B (...的结果)

a fighting edge;战斗优势

The cost was staggering; astounding

It's no coincidence that;并非巧合 自有道理

archetypal;原型的 经典的

is a cattle herder;牧民 牧牛人

quintessential;精髓的 典型的