[新聞] 比爾蓋茲成為美國私有農地最大擁有者的爭議
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比爾蓋茲成為美國私有農地最大擁有者的爭議
The controversy over Bill Gates becoming the largest private farmland owner
in the US
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Bill Gates might be a tech billionaire — but he and his wife Melinda French
Gates, who are in the process of divorcing, are also two of the largest
private farmland owners in the United States.
比爾蓋茲 (Bill Gates) 除是一位科技億萬富翁外，也是與正在離婚的妻子梅琳達·弗倫
奇·蓋茲 (Melinda French Gates) 為美國私有農地的最大兩個擁有者。
Recent reports detailing the extent of Gates’s land ownership have prompted
criticism from some environmental advocates and farmers, who say there seems
to be a contradiction between his public environmental advocacy and his
personal investment strategy.
最近一些環保提倡者與農民因關於蓋茲土地擁有量的詳細報導而進行批評，他們表示蓋茲
的公共環境宣傳與他的個人投資之間似乎存在著矛盾。
Others have speculated the farmland purchases may be a part of the billionaire
’s overall climate efforts. Bill Gates has said there’s no connection,
either way. But the new details on the purchases — and the discussion
surrounding them — serve as an important reminder that billionaires can
store their massive wealth in all sorts of unexpected places, and that there
can often be a tension between their personal investments and their more
publicized philanthropic work.
其他人則猜測，購買農地可能是這位億萬富翁為全球氣候努力的一部份。比爾蓋茲表示，
無論哪種想法都與此無關。但關於收購的新細節與圍繞其的討論是一個重要的警示，即億
萬富翁可以將巨額財富以各種難以想像的方式儲藏起來。而且，他們的個人投資與其公開
慈善表現間存在著緊張關係。
On Tuesday, NBC News reported that the Gateses had acquired more than 269,000
acres of farm in the United States in the past 10 years. Those purchases,
made with the help of the Washington-based firm Cascade Investment and a
number of shell companies, include farmland in nearly 20 states that
cultivate vegetables such as carrots, soybeans, and potatoes (some of which
end up in McDonald’s French fries). These details come after the agriculture
outlet the Land Report reported in January that the tech billionaire and his
wife were the country’s top private farmland owners in the country. An NBC
News analysis also identified Gates as the largest farmland owner in the US.
NBC 新聞於週二報導到，蓋茲夫婦在過去十年間便收購了超過 269,000 英畝 (譯按：約
1,088 平方公里)。這些收購是藉由總部位於華盛頓的 Cascade Investment 公司與一些
空殼公司完成的，橫跨近 20 個州，農地種植胡蘿蔔、大豆與馬鈴薯等蔬菜 (部分最終
將成為麥當勞的炸薯條)。這些細節資訊是一月份於農業媒體土地報告 (Land Report) 刊
載而出，該媒體稱這為科技億萬富翁與其妻子為該國私有農地的最大擁有者。NBC 新聞亦
進行分析與驗證，蓋茲確為美國私有農地的最大擁有者。
Almost 300,000 acres is a lot of land for one family or private individual to
own, but it’s still just a small part of the estimated 911 million acres of
farmland in the US. While Gates appears to be one of the largest private
farmland owners in the country, he’s far from alone in wanting to
incorporate farmland into his investment strategy.
近 30 萬英畝土地對於一個家庭或個人而言是十分巨大的，但也僅估計是美國 9.11 億英
畝農田的一小部分。雖蓋茲是該國私有農地最大擁有者之一，但並非唯一希望將農地納入
投資策略的人。
As Mother Jones recently reported, other large financial firms have sought to
purchase agricultural land, too, even if they have no involvement in the
day-to-day farming operations. Land Report, the outlet that named Gates the
top private farm owner, notes several other families that claim well over
100,000 acres. The US Department of Agriculture estimates that about 30
percent of US farmland is rented out by owners who serve as landlords and aren
’t involved in farming, like Gates.
如同 Mother Jones 報導，其他大型金融機構即便平常未參與農業營運亦嘗試收購其用地
。經蓋茲評為私有農地最大擁有者的媒體土地報告指出，其他幾個家庭宣稱擁有超過 10
萬英畝的土地。美國農業部估計，大約 30% 的美國農地是由像蓋茲這樣作為不參與農業
的出租地主所有。
All this is to say, it shouldn’t be surprising that Bill Gates, one of the
wealthiest people in the world, makes investments to serve his own financial
interests.
這意味著，像比爾蓋茲這樣作為世界上最富有的人之一，會為了自己的經濟利益而進行投
資並不足為奇。
“It’s a good investment,” Johnathan Hladik, a farmer and the policy
director for the Center on Rural Affairs. “It’s smart, it’s stable, and
especially over the past couple decades, it seems to be going up.”
「這是一項很好的投資，很聰明。特別是在過去數十年裡，價格穩定上升。」身為農民
兼 Center on Rural Affairs 的政策主任 Johnathan Hladik 如此說道。
Still, Gates’s landownership has attracted particular attention because the
billionaire has tried to make a name for himself in climate advocacy. Gates
is currently promoting a book on the subject, and has positioned himself and
the Gates Foundation as a leader in what the future of agriculture should
look like, especially in regard to technology.
無論如何，因這位億萬富翁於全球氣候議題中為自己打響了名聲，其土地擁有權引起了關
注。蓋茲目前正在推廣一本關於此主題的書籍，並將自己與蓋茲基金會定位為定義未來農
業的領導者，尤其是在技術方面。
One Georgia farmer and environmental advocate, John Quarterman, told NBC that
while he expected that Gates would encourage more sustainable practices after
buying farmland nearby, his acquisition of that land didn’t change much. And
the National Farmers Union has suggested that the growing number of
non-farmer owners like Gates buying up farmland — and renting it out —
could lead to practices that hurt the environment: Short-term farmers who
rent land are less likely to take long-term conservation steps, the
organization argues, and non-farmer owners don’t have the experience to “
understand the importance of protecting natural resources.”
喬治亞州 (Geogia) 農民與環保提倡者 John Quarterman 向 NBC 表示，雖他預計蓋茲在
收購農田後會鼓勵更可持續的作法，但他對這片收購的土地並沒有太大變化。全國農民聯
盟 (National Farmers Union) 表示越來越多的非農民擁有者，如蓋茲收購農田並將其出
租，可能導致損害環境的作法：該組織認為，租用土地的短期農民不太可能採取長期保護
措施，非農民擁有者「無法理解保護自然資源的重要性」。
Others have floated the opposite idea: that Gates’s massive investment in
farmland might have a direct relationship to his other climate efforts.
Newsweek, for instance, recently suggested his land ownership “may be
connected to his investments in climate change agricultural developments and
Impossible Foods,” though it didn’t offer much support for that premise.
其他人則提出了相反的見解，蓋茲對農地大規模投資可能與他的全球氣候努力有直接關係
。例如新聞周刊 (Newsweek) 最近報導他土地的擁有權「可能與他在氣候變遷上的農業開
發及不可能食品 (Impossible Foods) 的投資相關」，盡管它沒有為這一說明提供太多的
支持。
While Bill Gates has previously tried to separate his Gates Foundation work
on the climate from his private investments, Cascade Investment has defended
its record on sustainability.
雖然比爾蓋茲先前曾試圖將蓋茲基金會在全球氣候方面的工作與其私人投資切割，但
Cascade Investment 為其在可持續性進行辯護。
In response to criticism, a spokesperson for Cascade Investment emphasized
that it had enrolled all its farmland in a program by Leading Harvest, a
nonprofit that releases standards for sustainability focused on biodiversity,
conservation, and soil. “Cascade plans to continue to evaluate and implement
new initiatives that will improve the overall sustainability of its farmland
portfolio,” the spokesperson told Recode.
在回應批評時，Cascade Investment 的一位發言人強調他已將其所有農田納入了
Leading Harvest 的一項計劃。Leading Harvest 是一非營利組織，發表了以生物多樣性
、著重土壤的保護與可持續性的標準。「Cascade 計劃繼續評估與實施新的措施，以此提
升農地組合的整體可持續性」發言人對 Recode 說道。
More broadly, Gates and other wealthy buyers of farmland have also been
criticized for contributing to the concentration of land ownership. Because
they can usually make higher bids than what local farmers can afford, fewer
people end up owning their own farmland. As University of New Mexico
professor Nick Estes wrote for the Guardian in April, this results “in a
greater push for monocultures and more intensive industrial farming
techniques to generate greater returns,” while Indigenous people and small
farmers “are more cautious with the use of land.”
更一般點來說，蓋茲與其他農地富有買家也因助長土地擁有權集中而受批評。由於他們通
常能提出高於當地農民承受能力的收購高價，最終擁有自己農田的人越來越少。正如新墨
西哥大學 (University of New Mexico) 教授 Nick Estes 四月於衛報 (Guardian) 所寫
的，這導致「單一栽培與更集約工業化的農作法能產生更大的回報而大力發展」，而原住
民 (Indigenous people) 與小農「對土地的使用更為警慎」。
The issues at play go beyond what pieces of land Bill Gates has bought. “
People tend to look either for the salvation story — he’s doing this to
save the planet — or they look for the opposite — you know, it’s just
another greedy landowner,” Bruce Sherrick, an agriculture professor at the
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, told Recode. Sherrick, who is on the
board of Leading Harvest, says that Gates-owned farms are taking a positive
step by following Leading Harvest’s standards.
問題不僅限於比爾蓋茲購買了哪些土地。「人們傾向於尋求救贖的故事—他這樣做是為了
拯救地球—或者尋找相反的故事—你知道，這又只是一個貪婪的土地擁有者」伊利諾伊大
學厄巴納香檳分校 (University of Illinois Urbana Champaign) 農業教授 Bruce
Sherrick 向 Recode 說道。Leading Harvest 董事會成員 Sherrick 表示，蓋茲擁有的
農地正積極採取遵循組織標準的措施。
Gates himself made a point to differentiate his climate advocacy and his
investments. In a Reddit AMA in March, the billionaire seemed to try to
separate his climate advocacy and his personal investments when asked about
his wealth of land. “My investment group chose to do this. It is not
connected to climate. The agriculture sector is important,” he said in the
post, before adding a more general comment about deforestation and biofuels.
蓋茲本人也特別為他的氣候倡議與其投資進行說明。在三月份的 Reddit AMA 中，當被問
及他的土地財產時，這位億萬富翁似乎嘗試將其兩者進行分開。「我的投資團隊選擇這樣
作，他與全球氣候問題無關。農業產業很重要。」他在帖子中如此說道，然後開始了關於
森林砍伐與生物燃料的一般討論。
But whatever Gates might wish, many observers can’t quite separate the two
things. For them, Bill Gates the environmentalist is also Bill Gates the
commercial farmland owner, and they think the two roles are connected even if
Gates doesn’t consider them to be.
但無論蓋茲想要什麼，許多觀察家都無法將這兩件是分開。對他們來說，環保主義者比爾
蓋茲也是商業農地擁有者比爾蓋茲，他們認為這兩個角色是相互關聯的——即使蓋茲並不
這麼認為。
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