Feeding the Hungry, but Not With Pigeons

Feeding the Hungry, but Not With Pigeons
A listener wonders if the birds could be caught and exported to crisis areas as protein to prevent starvation. Transcript of radio broadcast:
18 May 2008
This is the VOA Special English Development Report

Saint Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy, is known for its historic buildings and its pigeons. Tourists have long enjoyed feeding the birds. As a result, the pigeon population has grown and grown. But local officials say all those droppings are not good for the buildings or the people in the square. As of this month, police will fine people who feed the pigeons.

But a listener named Phillip Ghee has another thought about how to control pigeon populations. He asks, why not catch the birds and export them to crisis areas to supply protein to people in danger of starvation?

He says good farming and science could probably breed out any diseases that may be harmful to humans. "No offense against pigeons but they seem, in their current numbers, such an unnecessary bird," he says.

Others may disagree with his opinion. In any case, we put the question to two squab producers. After all, young pigeons, called squab, have been raised for centuries for food.

Tony Barwick is president of the Palmetto Pigeon Plant in South Carolina. He says that aside from any questions about health risks, including from pollution, adult pigeons are not that easy to catch.

And, he says, exporting them would not be as cost-effective as exporting other forms of protein, such as chicken. Suppose you have a dollar, he says. Half that dollar would be spent catching the pigeon and the other half processing it. With that same dollar, he says, you could buy a processed chicken that offers more meat.

Bob Shipley is president of the Squab Producers of California. These producers are a group of seventy-seven independent squab farms in northern California. They process about one million birds a year.

Bob Shipley says exporting smoked squab would not be a solution either. In the smoking process, squab meat becomes very soft, almost like paste. The meat also breaks down if it is overcooked.

Squab from the United States is generally exported frozen, so there would be a need for refrigeration. And there is something else to consider about raising pigeons as a food source. Both men said it takes a lot of food to raise squab. Generally it takes more than three and a half kilograms of grain to get half a kilogram of meat.

And that’s the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. Archives of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com.


----------------------------Google Translate

喂养饥饿，但不与白鸽
一名听众质疑，如果鸟类可以捕获，并出口到危机地区，作为蛋白质以防止饥饿。全文电台广播：
2008年5月18日
这是美国之音特别英语发展报告

圣马克广场，在威尼斯，意大利，众所周知，其历史价值的建筑物和其鸽。游客早已享有的喂养鸟类。因此，乳鸽人口增长和成长。但当地官员说，所有这些粪便是没有好处的建筑物或人民群众在广场上。作为本月初，警方将被罚款人谁饲料的鸽子。

但一名听众名为菲利普酥油有另一个思考如何控制鸽子的人口。他问，为什么不捉鸟，并出口到危机地区，以供应蛋白质的人在饥饿的危险呢？

他说，良好的耕作和科学可能滋生出任何疾病，可能对人体有害。 “没有进攻对鸽子，但他们似乎，在他们目前的号码，这种不必要的鸟， ”他说。

其他人可能不同意他的意见。在任何情况下，我们提出的待决议题2 squab生产者。毕竟，年轻的白鸽，所谓squab ，已提出了数百年的食物。

托尼巴威克是总统的棕榈植物鸽在南卡罗来纳州。他说，除了从任何疑问，健康风险，包括免受污染，成年鸽是不容易追上。

和他说，他们的出口将不会作为成本效益的出口其他形式的蛋白，如鸡。假设您有一个美元，他说。上半年，美元将用于捕捉白鸽和另一半的处理。与同一港元，他说，你可以购买一个处理鸡提供更多的肉类。

鲍勃希普利是总统的squab生产者加州。这些生产商是一组77独立squab农场，在北加州。他们的过程中约一百万鸟类一年。

鲍勃希普利说，出口熏squab不会是一个解决办法。在吸烟过程中， squab肉类变得非常柔软，几乎就像粘贴。肉也坏了，如果这是overcooked 。

squab来自美国的出口普遍冻结，因此，将需要冷藏。并有一些其他考虑提高白鸽作为食物来源。两人说，它要花很多的食物，以提高squab 。一般需时三年多了一个半公斤粮食，以获得半公斤肉。

这是该美国之音特别英语的发展报告，写的小杰苔。档案我们的报告是在voaspecialenglish.com 。