問題詳情

The promise of finding long-term technological solutions to the problem of world foodshortages seems difficult to fulfill. Many innovations that were once heavily supported andpublicized, such as fish-protein concentrate and protein from algae grown on petroleumsubstrates, have since fallen by the wayside. The proposals themselves were technicallyfeasible, but they proved to be economically unviable and to yield food products culturallyunacceptable to their consumers. Recent innovations such as opaque-2 maize, Antarctic krill,and the wheat-rye hybrid triticale seem more promising, but it is too early to predict theirultimate fate.One characteristic common to unsuccessful food innovations has been that, even withextensive government support, they often have not been technologically adapted or culturallyacceptable to the people for whom they had been developed. A successful new technology,therefore, must fit the entire sociocultural system in which it is to find a place. Security of cropyield, practicality of storage, palatability, and costs are much more significant than hadpreviously been realized by the advocates of new technologies. For example, the better proteinquality in tortillas made from opaque-2 maize will be of only limited benefit to a family on themargin of subsistence if the new maize is not culturally acceptable or is more vulnerable toinsects.The adoption of new food technologies depends on more than these technical and culturalconsiderations; economic factors and governmental policies also strongly influence theultimate success of any innovation. Economists in the Anglo-American tradition have taken thelead in investigating the economics of technological innovation. Although they exaggerate inclaiming that profitability is the key factor guiding technical change—they completelydisregard the substantial effects of culture—they are correct in stressing the importance ofprofits. Most technological innovations in agriculture can be fully used only by largelandowners and are only adopted if these profit-oriented business people believe that theinnovation will increase their incomes. Thus, innovations that carry high rewards for bigagribusiness groups will be adopted even if they harm segments of the population and reducethe availability of food in a country. Further, should a new technology promise to altersubstantially the profits and losses associated with any production system, those with economicpower will strive to maintain and improve their own positions. Since large segments of thepopulations of many developing countries are close to the subsistence margin and essentiallypowerless, they tend to be the losers in this system unless they are aided by a governmentpolicy that takes into account the needs of all sectors of the economy. Therefore, althoughtechnical advances in food production and processing will perhaps be needed to ensure foodavailability, meeting food needs will depend much more on equalizing economic power amongthe various segments of the populations within the developing countries themselves.
77. Which of the following best describes the organization of the first paragraph?
(A) A suggestion is made and arguments in its favor are provided.
(B) A criticism is levied and an alternative proposal is suggested.
(C) A generalization is advanced and supporting evidence is provided.
(D) An example is analyzed and general conclusions are derived from it.

參考答案

答案：C
難度：困難0.397059
統計：A(11),B(14),C(27),D(10),E(0)

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