were wasted by American retailers and shoppers

浪費了價值300億的蔬果

in part because of cosmetic problems and perceived spoilage.

部分原因是因為美觀問題和物品本身的腐敗

That's a poor use of about 30% of the produce on the market,

目前市場上約有百分之三十的農產品使用不當

not to mention the water and energy required to grow and transport it,

更不用提農產品生長所需的水及運送所需的能源了

and the landfill space getting used up by rotting fruit.

再者，垃圾掩捚場也幾乎充斥著腐爛的水果

So what are those cosmetic problems?

那美觀問題又是什麼呢？

You've probably passed over a spotty apple in the grocery store,

你可能在店裡瞄了一眼有斑點的蘋果

or accidentally sunk your thumb into a mushy patch on a tomato.

或在檢視蕃茄時，不小心用大姆指在蕃茄表面壓了一個糊狀瑕疵

These blemishes can doom produce to the trash can.

這樣的瑕疵都將使得這些農產品被丟棄

But what are they anyway,

但是，它們究竟是什麼？

and are they actually bad for you?

它們真的對人體有害嗎？

Those spots are evidence of an epic battle between plants and microbes.

水果上的斑點，是植物和微生物間奮戰過的證據

Like humans, plants coexist with billions of fungi and bacteria.

如同人類一樣，植物也和數十億的真菌與細菌共存

Some of these microbes are beneficial to the plant,

有些微生物對植物是有益的

suppressing disease and helping it extract nutrients.

可以讓植物免於疾病，並提供植物養分

Others are pathogens, attacking the produce,

有些微生物則是病原體，它們會攻擊農產品

still alive as it sits in a store display or your refrigerator

但是依然附生於商店陳列的商品或冰箱中的農產品中

and siphoning off molecules they can use themselves.

而這些病原會不斷地再生

The good news is they're almost never bad for you.

好消息是，這些植物的病原體對人體是無害的

These fungi and bacteria have spent millions of years

真菌和細菌花了數百萬年的時間

developing strategies to overcome a plant's immune system.

培養克服植物免疫系統的戰略

But healthy human immune systems are different enough

但是健康人體免疫系統是完全不一樣的

that those strategies just don't work on us.

這些策略對人體並不管用

So in a plant, what does this process look like?

在植物中，這個過程看起來如何？

Microbes can reach plants in a number of ways,

微生物可以透過澆水或是施肥等方式

like getting splashed onto it during watering or fertilization.

到達植物體內

Under the right conditions,

在適當的條件下

the microbes grow into large enough colonies

這些微生物會長成菌落

to attack the waxy outer layer of fruit or leaves.

來攻擊水果或葉子的蠟狀外層

Their target: the delicious sugars and nutrients inside.

它們的目標是：植物內部美味的糖分和養分

This type of pathogen often makes spots like this.

這種病原體常常會產生這樣的斑點

A clump of bacteria drains the nutrients and color from the fruit's cells

一群細菌從水果細胞排出養分和顏色

making that yellow halo.

造成這樣黃色環狀的斑點

It then moves outward,

然後斑點逐漸擴散變大

leaving a black spot of dead cells in its wake.

最後死掉的細胞留下黑色的斑點

Each spot, which could contain hundreds of thousands of microbes

每一個斑點都可能包含數成千上萬的微生物

is actually caused by a combination of microbial attack

而這些微生物，實際上是由微生物攻擊和植物本身的自我防禦機制

and the host defending itself.

結合而成的

For example, this is the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae.

舉例來說，這是一個細菌病原體丁香假單胞菌

Once on a tomato, it enters the fruit and leaves,

一旦它落在蕃茄上面，它會進入到果實和葉子裡

multiplies in the space between the cells,

在細胞之間倍數成長

and produces toxins and proteins

並產生破壞植物免疫反應的

that allow it to disrupt the plant's immune response.

毒物和蛋白質

One toxin coronatine makes plants' stomata open up,

具有毒素的冠菌素使植物的氣孔打開

allowing bacteria to enter more freely.

讓細菌更自由地進入

Coronatine also activates pathways leading to chlorophyll degradation,

冠菌素也導致葉綠素降低效能

which you can see as yellow spots.

產生了你現在看到的黃色斑點

As the bacteria continue to feed and multiply,

當細菌持續進食和繁殖

they start to kill off the plant cells.

它們開始殺害植物本身的細胞

That explains spots, but what about mushy blemishes?

這就是斑點的形成。那麼糊狀的瑕疵又是怎麼一回事呢？

Those are usually caused when the fruit is attacked by microbes

這些通常是果實與植物體分離時

after it's detached from the plant.

被微生物攻擊所造成的

If the plant is wounded during transport,

如果植物在運送途中受損

necrotic fungi can infiltrate through the wound,

壞死的真菌會從傷口滲透進入果實

kill the cells,

殺害植物細胞

absorb their nutrients,

吸收植物的養分

and leave your food looking mushy or brown.

造成食物看起來有糊狀瑕疵或棕色表面

Those spots in particular can taste pretty bad.

這些斑點嚐起來特別糟

You're eating dead and decomposing tissue, after all.

畢竟你吃到的是死掉及分解的組織

But you can usually salvage the rest of the fruit.

但是通常植物的其他部分還是好的

The non-mushy spots, like the ones you typically see on apples or tomatoes,

通常在蘋果或蕃茄上看到的非糊狀斑點

are just on the surface and don't usually affect flavor.

通常只在表面 並不會影響食物的口感

Of course, microbes that do make us sick, like E. coli and salmonella,

當然，植物上的微生物，像大腸桿菌和沙門氏菌

can hitch a ride on vegetables, too.

都會讓我們生病

But because they're not plant pathogens, they don't typically cause spots.

但是，因為這些微生物不是病原體，所以它們通常不會造成食物上的斑點

They just hang out invisibly on the surface.

它們只是停留在物體的表面

So it's washing fruit and veggies, not avoiding the spotty ones,

所以除了避開有斑點的食物外，蔬菜水果在吃之前先洗乾淨

that will help you avoid getting sick.

可以避免生病

So the next time you're at the grocery store,

下一次逛雜貨店時

don't be afraid to pick up funky-looking fruit.

不妨選擇看起來很不起眼的水果

Some stores will even give you a discount.

有些商店甚至會給你折扣

Wash them well and store them properly,

將它們洗乾淨並適當存放

as some produce like apples and cabbages will keep in the fridge for weeks.

像蘋果和高麗菜等放在冰箱可以存放幾週的時間

The spotty ones may not be eye candy, but they're safe and just as delicious.

有斑點的農產品也許看起來一點也不美觀，但它們絕對是安全且同樣美味喔！