研究生科技英语阅读课文翻译对照(3)

关于人口增长和饥饿的统计数字读来令人感到不安。去年，世界人口达到了60亿。联合国预测，到2D0年，这个数字很可能将接近90亿，而增加的人口几乎都来自发展中国家。与此同时，世界人均耕地正在减少。国际农业生物工程应用技术采购管理局(ISAAA)称，自1960年以来，耕地面积一直持续下降，并将在今后50年减少一半。
The UN estimates that nearly 800 million people around the world are undernourished. The effects are devastating. About 400 million women of childbearing age are iron deficient, which means their babies are exposed to various birth defects. As many as 100 million children suffer from vitamin A deficiency, a leading cause of blindness. Tens of millions of people suffer from other major ailments and nutritional deficiencies caused by lack of food.
联合国估计，世界上有近8亿人口营养不良。它产生的效应是破坏性的。大约有4亿的育龄妇女体内缺铁，也就是说，她们的婴儿将可能有各种天生的缺陷。数量多达1亿的儿童缺乏维生素A，这是导致失明的主要原因。还有数千万的人患有因食物匮乏而导致的其他严重疾病和营养不良症。
How can biotech help? Biotechnologists have developed genetically modified rice that is fortified with beta-carotene -- which the body converts into vitamin A -- and additional iron, and they are working on other kinds of nutritionally improved crops. Biotech can also improve farming productivity in places where food shortages are caused by crop damage attribution to pests, drought, poor soil and crop viruses, bacteria or fungi.