When a business makes long-term plans, they call it prudence(审慎，明智). When a government makes long-term plans, they call it communism(共产主义). Any sustained state intervention attracts the prefix “Soviet-style(苏联式的)”, and triggers vicious(恶毒的，凶残的) attacks across the billionaire media(亿万富翁媒体). So governments have developed a bias(偏见，倾向) against long-term thinking. This may explain why we no longer maintain(维持，保持) strategic food reserves.
当企业制定长期计划时，人们称之为审慎。当政府制定长期计划时，人们称之为共产主义。任何持续的国家干预都会招致“苏联式”的标签，并在亿万富翁掌控的媒体上引发恶毒攻击。因此，政府已经形成了一种反对长远思维的偏见。这或许可以解释为什么我们不再维持战略粮食储备。
In Britain, where soils have parched(干裂的，焦干的), market analysts(市场分析师) warn that we’re facing the most severe(严重的，严峻的) food security(粮食安全) crisis in decades. In normal years, crop failures(农作物歉收) at home don’t threaten our security, thanks to(多亏，由于) global trade. This is one of the reasons why hunger and famines are rarer and less deadly than they used to be.(这就是为什么如今饥荒比过去更罕见、致命性更低的原因之一。) But this is not a normal year, because the problem is now global.
在英国，土壤已经干裂，市场分析师警告说，我们正面临几十年来最严重的粮食安全危机。在正常年份，国内的农作物歉收并不会威胁到我们的安全，这要归功于全球贸易。这也是如今饥荒比过去更罕见、致命性更低的原因之一。但今年并非正常年份，因为问题如今是全球性的。
Similar impacts are hitting farmers across Europe and in the US, whose wheat production this year is forecast(预测，预报) to be lower than at any point since 1971. Until a few weeks ago, harvest forecasts in Canada were excellent, now its spring wheat(春小麦) is also shrivelling(枯萎，皱缩) in hot and dry conditions.
类似的冲击正影响着欧洲和美国的农民，美国今年的小麦产量预计将低于1971年以来的任何时期。直到几周前，加拿大的收成预测还非常乐观，如今其春小麦也在炎热干燥的环境中枯萎。