A food mile is the distance that food travels from the farmer’s field to the person who buys the food. This trip, from“field to plate”, is called “food miles”.

Today, food often travels thousands of miles to get to the buyer. Why is this, and what are the effects (影响) of these long distance?

Traditionally, farmers sold their food in the local market, so the food didn’t have to travel very far. Now, food comes from all over the world. We do not have to wait for spring or summer to buy strawberries or tomatoes. We can buy them in winter if we want.

Some countries have to get most of their food from other countries. This is because they have difficult climates. The UAE, for example, gets 85%of its food from other countries.

I believe these miles are worrying for some reasons. First of all, because food travels such long distances, we need more planes, so there is more pollution. Besides, food that travels a long way is not fresh and usually not very tasty.

Tomatoes, for example, are picked early and stored for their long trips. For this reason, they are useually tasteless when they get to the buyer. Local food has a better taste and it also make the global pollution less. We need to buy more local food.

When you and your family go out for dinner, do you notice how many dishes you usually order? It’s OK if you finish all of them. But if you waste too much food, you need to pay for it.

Last year, China’s top legislature（立法机关）reviewed（审议）a draft law（法律草案）for stopping food waste for the first time. In general, a draft will become law after the top legislature reviews it three times.

According to the draft law, restaurants should tell customers not to order too much. If customers leave too much food uneaten, restaurants can charge（收费）them for food waste. The law also bans（禁止）waiters from encouraging people to order too much food. Some restaurants may use the “N-1” mode for people to order dishes. “N” stands for the number of persons at a table. So if there are six people at your table, you should order just five dishes, which can help people control the amount of dishes in a proper way.

The draft law also asks schools to teach their students to avoid food waste. It also bans TV programs about overeating and over drinking. Producers of such programs will face a fine of up to 100 000 yuan.

Food waste happens in many places and has long been a big problem around the world. We need to obey the law and refuse to waste food.

Dina’s family lived in a small town in Madagascar, an island country in Africa. 【小题1】. After her family planted Chinese hybrid rice (杂交水稻), they were not only able to feed themselves but also save enough money to build a new house and support three college students.

Dina said, “Chinese experts were responsible. 【小题2】.” Hu Yuefang, from the Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, was one of the experts that Dina said. In 2008, he arrived in Madagascar with his team to study and promote hybrid rice. They have been there for more than ten years.

【小题3】, Madagascar’s rice production was low and couldn’t meet people’s needs. To cultivate suitable rice for the local environment, Hu and his team visited almost all rice-growing areas there. So far, the hybrid rice varieties (品种) developed by the Chinese have a production (产量) of two to three times higher than before. 【小题4】. In the local language, it means the best thing.

People’s lives in Burundi, a small country in Africa, have also changed greatly. In 2018, Chinese experts went there and led 134 families to grow hybrid rice on large scales. “Thanks to Chinese technology, our rice production has increased from three to four tonnes (吨) per hectare (公顷) to ten to eleven tonnes,” said a local official. 【小题5】. It improves local people’s lives and brings them happiness.