The editor:
I read with interest the article in Tuesday's edition about pork. The first line stated "Just say yes to pork." Now of all times people should be saying a big NO to pork raised in factory farms.
The origin of H1N1 are these mass production factory farms where pigs are forced to live in cages so small that they cannot turn around. Below these animals under the metal grates are festering lakes of their own feces, urine, vomit and blood. It is a breeding ground for disease. These factory farms become what some experts have called "super-incubators for viruses" and deadly pathogens.
Science has traced the lineage of H1N1 swine flu to a strain that emerged in 1998 to US factory farms mostly located in North Carolina. At that time experts warned that the strain would mutate and evolve to infect humans, possibly setting off a global pandemic. Here we are 11 years later facing that very serious situation. Part of the reason this early strain evolved was that production in that state increased from 2 million to 10 million even though the number of actual farms decreased. More animals were being more closely confined in these filthy conditions.
Many people are unaware of the conditions in which factory farmed meat is produced. One can do a lot of research online about factory farms. These animals are deprived of fresh air, sunlight, grass, adequate living space, and a healthy environment. They are fed antibiotics on a mass scale in an effort to curb sickness. It does not work. They are fed growth hormones to increase production. Some feel these hormones are being passed along to humans when they consume the meat or dairy products. Insecticides are used in high volume to keep the insect population down to a minimum. Of course many of these insecticides are absorbed and consumed by the animals.
Over 5 years ago the American Public Health Association, one of the largest and oldest associations of public health experts in the world, called for a moratorium on factory farming.
There is a good article discussing the connection to this outbreak of H1N1 and factory farms on the HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) website.
www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/swine_flu_virus_origin_1998_042909.html
You can also read the Q & A with Michael Greger, M.D here:
www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/qa_on_swine_flu_050209.html
If you are going to eat pork, you should buy only from local farms, organic markets or raise your own. The best way to put a stop to factory farms and the diseases they breed is to stop buying mass produced meat. Our future and our health depends on making informed choices. Knowledge and awareness has never been more important.
Julia Sharp
Morehead
