Whole milk isn't made wholly of fat, or largely of fat, or even substantially of fat. In fact, it doesn't contain much fat all.Whole milk is actually only about 3.5 percent fat.

全脂牛奶和脱脂牛奶

　　全脂牛奶并非全是脂肪，也非大部分是脂肪，甚至也不是很多脂肪。事实上，它所含脂肪根本就不多。全脂牛奶实际上只有3.5%左右的脂肪。

　　The reason it's called "whole milk" has less to do with its fat content, than the fact that it's comparatively unadulterated. As the Dairy Council of California puts it, whole milk is "the way it comes from the cow before processing."

　　我们把全脂牛奶称为“全脂”的理由是不是它实际的纯度，而是并不怎么有关的脂肪含量。加州乳品协会把全脂归结为“没有经过加工的天然牛奶。”

　　While that's not entirely true, it does capture the gist of the justification. Whole milk is whole because it is — for lack of a better word — intact. "2 percent," "1 percent," and "nonfat milk" are not intact, because they've been stripped of some of their dairy fat, which makes them less creamy (and caloric).

　　当然这不完全是事实。但它抓住了主要因素。全脂牛奶之所以称为全脂是因为他比较好的保留了纯牛奶的天然性。(用全是因为没有更好词来形容)。“2%的低脂牛奶”、“1%的低脂牛奶”或者“脱脂牛奶”并不天然，因为他们去除了本该含有的脂肪，这使它们少油脂(热量)。

　　The Food and Drug Administration allows milk sellers to call different varieties of milk by a range of names. Whole milk is, for instance, also allowed to be called, simply, "milk."

　　美国食药监允许经销商给牛奶定义不同的名称。包括全脂牛奶，也被允许只简单的称为“牛奶”。

　　Still, milk sellers have largely preferred to call and advertise milk as "whole milk," for unclear reasons.

　　不过，不知道为什么，牛奶经销商更倾向在广告中把牛奶称为“全脂牛奶”。

牛奶在美国的销量

　　Americans have been drinking less milk, in general, for quite some time. But it wouldn't surprise me if whole milk's precipitous fall has, at least in part, come as a result of its misleading name.

　　很长段时间内，美国人通常都喝低脂牛奶。但我并不为此感到吃惊，只要全脂牛奶中有这个“全”字，那这个误导消费者的名字也会成为一部分消费者不喜欢他的原因。

（来源：沪江英语）