A typical Uruguayan asado, or barbecue, is made upof vast racks of prime cuts of beef, pork or chickenroasted on a grill next to — not on top of — a woodburning fire。

　　一个典型的乌拉圭烤肉，或者烧烤是这样构成的：烤架上大片上好切割的猪牛颈脊肉以及小鸡，熊熊燃烧燃烧的木头。

　　At parilla restaurants across the capitol Montevideo,the asados are pretty epic; the fatty cuts sizzle andthen get slapped onto your plate, oozing with juice。

　　在遍布首都蒙得维的亚的parilla 饭店，烧烤相当火爆；肥肉发出嘶嘶声，拍打在你的盘子上，渗着汁液。

　　乌拉圭餐馆中放置盐罐为非法

　　But if you want to grab a salt shaker and add a bit of extra salt to your meal these days in theUruguayan capital, you can't。

　　然而这些天来在乌拉圭首都，如果你想摇摇盐罐给你的肉上撒点盐，那是不可能的。

　　"People are not allowed to put salt anymore on the table," says Lucia Soria, the owner of Jacintorestaurant in Montevideo. The city government made it illegal to have salt shakers out inrestaurants, she says. No mayonnaise either. Or ketchup. In fact, pretty much anything with alot of sodium is banned. If you want it, you have to ask for it。

　　首都蒙得维的亚的Jacinto 饭店主人Lucia Soria,说"盐不许摆在餐桌上" ，市政府颁布命令，餐馆中放置盐罐是非法的，沙拉酱、番茄酱也不行。实际上任何含有大量钠离子的都是非法的。如果你确实需要，那么就必须额外要求加点。

　　Unlike in the U.S. – where New York City's last government was unable to pass a law limiting thesize of soft drinks — other countries like Uruguay take a much more active role in what you canand can't eat, in the name of public health。

　　和美国不同，上个任期的纽约市政府没有通过一项限制碳酸饮料的法令------而其他象乌拉圭一样的国家在以健康的名义上规定你可以或者不可以吃什么东西上更为积极。

　　Soria says she doesn't like this interventionist approach。

　　饭店老板娘Soria说她不喜欢这种极端做法。

　　"I think it's the wrong way to do it, I think we have to try to teach people not to eat salt inquantities that are not safe," she says。

　　"我认为这是用错误的方法去做事，我认为我们应该教育人们盐的食用量及其危害"。

　　Public health officials in Uruguay argue education can only do so much。

　　乌拉圭公共卫生官员却认为教育能做的事是有限的。

　　"The national consumption of sodium in Uruguay is about 9 grams per person, which is doublewhat the World Health Organization recommends," says Pablo Anzalone, the director of publichealth for Montevideo。

　　蒙得维的亚公共卫生主任Pablo Anzalone 说" 乌拉圭人均钠消费大约是9克，是世卫组织推荐值的两倍。"

　　According to the Uruguayan Ministry of Health, over 30 percent of the population suffers fromhypertension. Uruguay also has the largest percentage of obese children in the region。

　　根据乌拉圭卫生部，超过百分之30的人口患有高血压。乌拉圭还拥有该地区最高的肥胖儿童比例。

　　And it's not just about removing salt from the table。

　　这项法令并不是简单地把盐从餐桌上撤下。

　　The salt law also stipulates that there needs to be a warning on the menu about saltconsumption, and restaurants need to have low-sodium alternatives available to customers.Nationally, bakers have also agreed to lower the sodium content in their products by 10percent。

　　盐法规定，菜单上必须有盐消费的警示，饭店必须给客户提供低钠替代品。在全国范围内，面包师行业同意降低产品中盐的食用量10%。

　　Anzalone says the government has a duty to protect its citizens from bad choices。

　　公共卫生主任Pablo Anzalone说政府有责任保护其公民避开坏的选择。

　　"People make decisions based on conditioning and the advertising that large corporationsunleash. This is now a serious problem of public health," Anzalone says。

　　Pablo Anzalone说："公众的选择受到大公司的广告诱导以及现实条件的限制，这是个严重的公共卫生问题。"

　　Uruguay's leftist leadership has a history of getting involved in what in many countries is viewedas a private issue. The new president, Tabaré Vázquez, is a former doctor who championedUruguay's tough anti-smoking laws in his first term of office. Recently, he has announced awar on alcohol consumption。

　　乌拉圭左翼领导人习惯于干涉在许多国家视为个人私事的事务。新任总统，Tabaré Vázquez，曾经是医生，在他的第一任期支持了强硬的反吸烟法。现在，又发起了一场对酒精消费的战争。

　　Liber Bisciottano works in an exclusive asado restaurant in Montevideo. So far there are nofigures that show if the law, which was enacted a few years ago, is actually making a difference.He says though there is circumstantial evidence that shows it's changing people's habits。

　　Liber Bisciottano工作于蒙得维的亚一家独家烤肉店。他认为，到目前为止没有数据显示这条几年前颁布的法律带来什么实际的变化。尽管有证据表明人们的习惯有所改变。

　　"I've worked in the restaurant business for 11 years and at the beginning it was only 20 percentof people who didn't salt their food and now it's about 20 percent who do," he says。

　　"我在饭店干了11年，开始的时候只有20%的人不在食物上撒盐，现在只有20%的人撒盐"。

　　He says he supports the law except for one thing。

　　他说除了一件事外，他都支持这项法律。

　　"It makes us have to work harder because we have to walk more — going back and forth to thekitchen to get salt," he says. "I think it's added an extra mile to my day."

　　"这增加了我们的工作，为了拿盐我们必须反复去厨房，我想这大碍要让我每天多走一英里"。