If all proceeds as planned, the world’s biggest animal cloning center will open next year in the northeastern Chinese port city of Tianjin, taking factory farming to a new level.

如果一切按计划进行，世界上最大的动物克隆中心将于明年在中国北方的港口城市天津开业，将工厂化农业提升到一个新水平。

The center, being built by Boyalife Group, a Chinese biotechnology company, and Sooam Biotech, a South Korean company that specializes in animal cloning, will eventually churn out up to a million beef cattle embryos¹ a year, as well as sniffer dogs, racehorses and other animals, its backers say. When completed, at a projected cost of $500 million, it will include a research laboratory, a gene bank and a museum.

该中心是由中国生物技术公司博雅控股集团(Boyalife Group)和专门从事动物克隆的韩国秀岩生命工学研究院(Sooam Biotech)兴建。它的投资者说，该中心最终能一年大量生产出上百万个肉牛胚胎，以及嗅探犬、赛马和其他动物。这个预计花费5亿美元（约32亿元人民币）兴建的中心落成后，内部的设施将包括研究实验室、基因库和博物馆各一个。

Public education appeared to be a concern of Xu Xiaochun, Boyalife’s chief executive, during a conference call with journalists on Thursday, in which he sought to quell² anxieties over the technology.

在周四与记者的电话会议中，博雅控股首席执行官许晓椿似乎对公众教育相当重视。他试图平息公众对这项技术的各种焦虑。

“Clone technology is already around us,” Mr. Xu said. “It’s just that not everyone knows about it.” He added that many strawberries and bananas sold in Chinese supermarkets were the products of this technology.

“克隆技术已经在我们日常生活当中，”许晓椿说。 “只是不是每个人都知道这件事。”他补充说，许多在中国超市出售的草莓和香蕉都是这项技术的产品。

The process, he said, is just like “pouring a glass of orange juice into another empty glass,” meaning the cloned entity³ will be identical to the original.

他说，克隆过程就像“将一杯橙汁倒到另一个空杯子里”，也就是说克隆体将与原体毫无区别。

“And I call tell you all that cloned beef is the tastiest beef I have ever had,” he said.

他说：“我想告诉你们的是，克隆牛肉是我吃过最美味的牛肉”

But Mr. Xu must contend with skeptical⁴ consumers in China, where food safety is a near obsession⁵ after scandals like melamine-tainted baby formula and recycled industrial “gutter⁶ oil.” Online reaction to the project has been overwhelmingly negative.

但是，许晓椿必须努力说服持怀疑态度的中国消费者。当婴儿配方奶粉被三聚氰胺污染、“地沟油”被回收使用等丑闻传出后，他们对食品安全异常关注。网上对项目的反应一直是非常负面的态度。

“Crazily evil!!!” commented the user No-Music-No-Life on Weibo.

微博用户No-Music-No-Life评论说：“邪恶到疯狂！！！”。

A person with the handle Xingchen Miaoyu wrote, “Please serve cloned beef to leaders first!”

微博网名为“星尘喵语”的用户写道，“请先让领袖尝尝克隆牛肉！”

A commenter with the user name Zhenwei Shusheng added, “China has become a major biotech research lab and Chinese are the experimental subjects.”

微博用户“真伪书生”补充评论道：“你国就是一个全球大型生物实验基地。你国人就是实验品。”

Others questioned the decision to build such a plant in Tianjin, the site of a deadly chemical explosion in August that killed 173, fearing lax law enforcement could compound an already complicated issue.

其他人质疑将这样一个工厂建立在天津的决定。天津在8月发生了一场致命的化学爆炸，导致173人死亡。他们担心执法不严可能加剧本已复杂的问题。

“The real-life version of ‘Resident Evil’?” asked the Weibo user Li Li, referring to the science-fiction film series that features a bioengineering company that produces bioweapons.

微博用户“李理64025”问道：“现实版‘生化危机’吗？”他指的是一个科幻电影系列，情节涉及一家生产生化武器的生物工程公司。

The undertaking⁷ has also been clouded by a scandal that embroiled⁸ the head of the South Korean partner, Hwang Woo-suk. In 2005, Dr. Hwang was found to have fabricated research that he had claimed used cloning to produce human embryos and extract stem cells from them.

该项目也因另一个原因而蒙上了阴影，因为韩国合作伙伴的负责人黄禹锡(Hwang Woo-suk)有丑闻缠身。2005年，黄禹锡被揭捏造研究，他声称利用了克隆技术制造人类胚胎并从中提取干细胞。

But he has since focused his attention on animal cloning. His company worked with Boyalife to develop a rare Tibetan mastiff last year with a hefty price.

但他从那时开始，他就专注于动物克隆。去年，其公司与博雅合作，投入巨资培养了一种罕见的纯种藏獒。

Beijing has watched with both envy and caution since the first cloned mammal, Dolly, a sheep, was born in Scotland in 1996. Since then, Chinese scientists have cloned cows and pigs, but they have largely limited such activities to experimental purposes.

北京对此既羡慕又谨慎，因为在1996年，首只克隆哺乳动物，绵羊多莉(Dolly)，在苏格兰出生。从那时起，中国科学家克隆了牛和猪，但这种活动很大程度只限于实验目的。

Cloning is used in some farm animal breeding programs in the United States, but in September, the European Parliament voted in favor of a ban on cloned animals and their products, arguing that current techniques inflict⁹ greater suffering on animals than conventional breeding.

在美国，克隆技术用于一些农场动物的育种计划。但在9月，欧洲议会投票赞成了一项针对克隆动物及销售克隆动物产品的禁令，因为目前的技术，会比常规育种对动物造成更大的痛苦。

Zhu Yi, an associate professor at China Agricultural University, said that cloning technology could help China reduce its reliance on cattle imports to meet its people’s rising demand for beef. “But long term, this is not a solution,” she warned, emphasizing the need to assess the risks of using such technology and to overhaul¹⁰ China’s livestock¹¹ industry.

中国农业大学副教授朱毅说，克隆技术可以帮助中国减少对牛进口的依赖，满足人们对牛肉日益上升的需求。她警告说，“但长期来看，这不是一个解决方法。”她还强调，需要评估使用这种技术的风险，也需要改革中国的畜牧业。

The high costs of grain for feed and other items have squeezed profits for many Chinese cattle breeders and have depressed¹² production, forcing a number of meat processors to turn to imports.

饲料及其他项目成本高昂，挤压了许多中国养牛者的利润，也减少了产物，迫使一些肉类加工商转而使用进口牛肉。

That situation presented an opportunity for Mr. Xu, who said he hoped cloning would help improve livestock production within China.

这种情况对许晓椿来说是个机会，他说希望克隆技术将有助提高中国国内畜牧业产量。

“One reason we have so much low-quality beef is because we haven’t applied¹³ clone technology,” Mr. Xu said. “This is the only way to allow Chinese and many other people in the world to enjoy high-quality beef in an efficient manner.”

“我们有这么多的低质量牛肉的原因之一是还没有应用克隆技术，”许晓椿说。“这是让中国人和世界上的其他其他的人，能够以高效地享用高品质牛肉的唯一途径。”

Before bringing cloned beef to the market, Mr. Xu said, his company must receive the approval of the Ministry¹⁴ of Agriculture and other government agencies. He did not elaborate. The ministry did not immediately reply to a faxed request for comment.

许晓椿说，把克隆牛肉带进市场前，该公司必须先获得农业部及其他政府机构的批准。他没有详细说明。该部门并没有对传真过去的置评请求立即作出回复。

Ma Wenfeng, an analyst¹⁵ at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant¹⁶, raised doubts over this approach for mass-producing beef. “I think clone technology can be used for endangered species, but it’s not very necessary for animal husbandry,” he said. “I don’t think this will be very economical, and I doubt this model will take off any time soon”.

北京东方艾格农业咨询公司分析师马文峰，对于以此种方式大量生产牛肉表示怀疑。“我认为克隆技术可用于濒危物种，但对于畜牧业则不是非常必要的，”他说。“我不认为这样做很经济，而且我怀疑这种模式在可预见的未来能否推广开来。”

On Thursday, Mr. Xu said the venture had aims beyond just profits. “Our priority is to do a good job,” he said, “so we’ll achieve greater social influence.”

周四，许晓椿表示，合资公司的目的不仅仅是利润。 “我们的首要任务是要把这做好，”他说，“这样我们会获得更大的社会影响力。”