Swine Flu in Mexico Linked to Poorly Managed Factory Farms
Investigations now reveal that the swine flu epidemic that began in Mexico and spread worldwide is probably connected to pollution caused by unsanitary pig breeding farms in the region.
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- Tom Phillpot at Grist asks: “Is Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork packer and hog producer, linked to the outbreak? Smithfield operates massive hog-raising operations Perote, Mexico, in the state of Vera Cruz, where the outbreak originated. The operations, grouped under a Smithfield subsidiary called Granjas Carrol, raise 950,000 hogs per year, according to the company Web site.”
- The Mexican and U.S. hog industries have denied that they are responsible, and David Kirby at The Huffington Post summarizes their claims, but ends his column with this intriguing premise: “There is no proof that this illness emerged on a Mexican hog factory farm, or in Mexico, or even in hogs. But we do know that Mexican pigs with swine flu are being destroyed. And we know that Mexican lawmakers think that CAFOs are making people sick. And now we know that a five-year-old girl in La Gloria has swine flu. I wonder if the CDC is going to go check on her, and see how she contracted that virus.”
- At The Daily Green, Dan Shapley has put the outbreak into the larger context of how large-scale outbreaks are generally linked to animals: “Organizations like Wildlife Trust have for years been warning about this type of outbreak — an estimated 75% of human illness originates with wildlife (think Lyme disease, West Nile virus and every other strain of flu). The term used to describe that study is conservation medicine, since preventing and treating outbreaks typically means tackling environmental problems as well. For instance, in 1999, the deadly Nipah virus spread from bats to humans to pigs because of deforestation of jungles of Borneo and Malaysia.”
- Karl Burkart at the Mother Nature Network makes the now requisite climate change connection: “Though the mismanagement of the hog operation seems primarily to blame for the outbreak, it is also important to note that last year the Wildlife Conservation Society issued a statement that linked climate change to the development of new and potentially lethal influenza strains, particularly new strains of the avian flu. Changing weather patterns are resulting in overpopulation of insects which then carry the disease from bird to bird.”
If you are aware of additional articles that provide insight into the environmental aspects of this story, please add them with links to the comment section below.
Photo Credit: David Light Orchard on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
well now we know the cause, doesnt change the fact thts its here though.
I have heard rumours via facebook that pork shipped through Texas from Mexico into the US is contaminated with the flu. I live in Beaumont, which has a large Port. Should I be worried or is the media blowing this out of proportion?
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This article from Rolling Stone is from December, 2006, but it talks about Smithfield Foods. We found it online when looking for info on La Gloria, Veracruz; friends of ours are from that village and three weeks ago they were terrified to talk to their families back home and hear there was a flu-type outbreak there, and that specialists and sanitary experts had gone in and had no idea what it was. These friends tell us that the pork farms are polluting all the water in the area, and there have been many complaints in the village against them (all gone unheard)
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12840743/porks_dirty_secret_the_nations_top_hog_producer_is_also_one_of_americas_worst_pollutersobre
And, in Spanish:
http://www.lajornadasanluis.com.mx/2009/04/27/pol15.php
sorry, correction on the link:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12840743/porks_dirty_secret_the_nations_top_hog_producer_is_also_one_of_americas_worst_polluters
Evidence that outbreak of Swine Flu may have negative effects on green initiatives:
http://www.newsy.com/videos/the_world_on_swine_flu_alert/
This is completely not true. Both WHO and CDC have both stated today that there is no known link at all as of yet. This is really not honest and lowers the high standard I once thought you had. there really is no need to lower yourself and cause dishonest information to spread in this manner. You would show better service to your reader to stick to the full truth during this very potentially dangerous threat.
However,
we really need more detail of scientific evidence on how climate change affects virus life cycle
This is a terrible article. It is a prime example of fearmongering and manipulative journalism.
The disease that is the subject of this article contains human and avian genetic components in addition to those from swine. So it is more likely that the origin is with small subsistance farmers than with large farms where poultry and pigs are kept separate and human exposure is very limited.
Even the World Health Organization says the virus is mis-named and should be called North American Flu. http://www.reuters.com/article/usDollarRpt/idUSLR47878620090427
But the editors and authors of “Ecowordly” chooses to recirculate poorly researched bad information from authors with self-serving agendas. What can be the purpose of this article, other than to spread baseless fear in order to motivate the general public to call for unwarranted political, social and economic changes.