雅思大作文评析——食品运输

【写作题目】

Today food travels thousands of miles to consumers. Is this a positive or negative trend?

【题目翻译】

食品通过远程运输送达消费者，这是一个好的现象吗？

【考题评析】

本题从内容上来看属于社会类话题。内容讨论食用远程运输的食品利弊问题，是近些年被热议的一个话题，也是雅思写作题库中常考的题材。

【结构与思路】

诸如此类探讨利弊的话题，是雅思写作中常考的题型。建议考生写作此类题时可以分别探讨利弊，但有所侧重（利大于弊或弊大于利）；也可以分别探讨利弊，后得出一个中立的观点（就此题而言，中立的观点是：非当地产的食品对有些地方的人而言是有利的，而对另一些地方的人而言就弊大于利了）。
Introduction
交代背景：Thanks to the modern food industry, Zespri (a brand for kiwifruits from New Zealand) has been popular among Chinese people, and Beijing roast duck from China has appeared in the market in Africa. 引出观点：Enjoying the fantastic taste, many people think highly of the non-local food.
Body 1: 远程运输的食品的确能带来益处。
It can not be denied that modern technology applied in food transportation has contributed to the diversity of people’s diet, 【好处一：对于物资缺乏的地方有好处】and this is especially beneficial to people living in the regions with the least local produces. Take Japan for example, an island as it is, it is generally short of natural resources for growing crops. As a result, it has to import various agricultural products from other countries such as the U.S. Without modern transportation, Japanese people would have no beef or potatos on their dinning table.【好处二：让游子可以吃到乡的食品】 What is more, food industry has made it possible for tourists or students far away from home to enjoy food from their hometown, and this helps to cure their homesickness.
Body 2: 但弊端也不容忽视。
On the other hand, non-local food is not all good, and I, living in Shanghai where there are enough choices of local food, would definitely pick up a local-grown apple from the surrounding Sunkist oranges and Zespri kiwifruits when shopping in the supermarket. I do this for at least two reasons: 【弊端一：贵】one simple reason is that local food is much cheaper than the imported ones, since the price of imported food is pushed by the cost of preservation, transportation and marketing. 【弊端二：没那么营养】Another reason is that local food could be more nutritious, since nutrition decline with time spent on the way. 【弊端三：运输过程带来污染】To further justify my choice, another more important reason should be added. That is, it is more environmentally friendly to eat local food, since pollution is caused in the process of transporting food. According to some relevant surveys, the miles that organic food often travels to our plate creates environmental damage that outweighs the benefit of buying organic food.

Conclusion:
Modern technology used in food transportation is worth a bravo, but only when it is used to solve the problem of food shortage in some regions. If not, local food is a better choice for most of us.