Career：Farmers
【明報專訊】How much food do we need every day?
Without farmers, we would probably be starving. According to figures from the government in 2018, Hong Kong citizens consumed 846 tons of rice, 2310 tons of vegetables, 4313 head of pigs, 47 heads of cattle and 22 tons of poultry per day! This is an enormous amount. Although most of our food is imported, our local primary producers help meet part of our demand.
Agricultural industry in Hong Kong
Owing to Hong Kong's geographical features and economic structure, farmland in Hong Kong is shrinking (正在減少). Hong Kong has a mountainous terrain with steep slopes, and most citizens work in the tertiary industry (第三產業), which includes trading, financial services and tourism. In 2018, only two percent of the vegetables we consumed came from local farmland. However, we should not underestimate the importance of farmers in Hong Kong.
Scan and watch : Organic food
There is a large variety of organic food. We can choose from organic vegetables, organic potato chips or organic meat. Have you ever heard of or even eaten organic food? Do you know what is the definition of organic? Some scientific studies have shown that consuming organic food is good for our health. Are those findings reliable? You may find the answers to those questions in this short clip!
■English highway﹕Owing to
We use this preposition to connect an outcome with a reason.
e.g. Owing to the coronavirus outbreak in Britain, many students and workers living there returned to their homeland.
We need to put off the match owing to the rain.
■Glossary
consume (v) 消耗
enormous (adj) 巨大的
meet (v) 滿足
steep (adj) 陡峭的
[Smarties' Power English 第278期]
