The world is bracing itself for the effect of the Swine Flu Epidemic, which has already raised the international pandemic threat level, and taken the lives of hundreds of people in rural Mexico where it originated in Spring 2009. But how did it originate, and why has another human-life-threatening disease come up again via farm animals?
The common thread is factory farming. It is now thought that Swine Flu originated in an intensive 'pork production unit', where pigs are grown for their meat. The cramming of sometimes thousands of animals into vast windowless sheds with little thought for their welfare or health beyond market forces, is quite literally the perfect breeding ground for all manner of complex viruses and other wholly artificial diseases. The filth and overcrowding of such so-called living quarters, where many sentient creatures spend their entire short lives, are such that the use of antibiotics and other drugs are a routine and constant part of the diet - this overuse of antibiotics doesnt only inevitably lead residues to enter the human food chain, it also weakens the effectiveness of antibiotics to fight infections that afflict us.
Does anyone remember mad cow disease... caused by feeding the remains of one dead animal to another (vegetarian) one solely to fatten it up cheaply for humans to eat? How many more of these horrific diseases will it take before people learn and change the brutal reality of factory farming practices? What's a vegetarian to make of all these issues as we watch this story unfold in the world media?
Swine flu is an issue of global concern, yet far more infectious is the panic and fear spreading before it. Flu kills thousands of people every year - the very old, the very young, those who are ill or otherwise immuno-compromised are vunerable in every society. The rest or us are also at risk of catching flu, and we tend to get very ill and feel truly terrible for a number of weeks, then get better... IF we are fortunate enough to live in a wealthy western society with access to a good diet, hygenic conditions to avoid secondary infection, and antivirals if we need them.
As vegetarians we need to hope media hype doesnt lead to either complacency about the real risks of a secondary pandemic in the winter months, OR a total failure to learn the lessons this outbreak has illustrated about the risks of factory farming. Perhaps we can seize the opportunity to talk to people about the issues involved, in a non-triumphal, instructive and co-creative manner, and maybe then some real changes in animal welfare and farming practices might finally be achieved.
Author Resource:-
Daisy Richards is editor of Vegetarian Weight Loss Success, If you like this article then find out lots more over at the website, with a huge range of slimming plans products and programmes reviewed from a vegetarian perspective
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