The Feedlot Factor: First E. Coli, Now Bird Flu, page 1

posted on Nov, 17 2006 @ 10:55 AM

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Antibiotic resistant germs like the new E. Coli strain showing up in California spinach and lettuce are already linked to factory farming. Now, in a new series of scientific studies, international scientists warn that when poultry and hog factory farms are near one another, the risk of H5N1 bird flu spreading to humans is higher. The studies were published this week in the online version of the US government's scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

www.latimes.c om
Growing so large that they are now called factory farms, livestock feedlots are poorly regulated, pose health and ecological dangers and are responsible for deteriorating quality of life in America's and Europe's farm regions, according to a series of scientific studies published this week.

Feedlots are contaminating water supplies with pathogens and chemicals, and polluting the air with foul-smelling compounds that can cause respiratory problems, but the health of their neighbors goes largely unmonitored, the reports concluded.

The international teams of environmental scientists also warned that the livestock operations were contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant germs, and that the proximity of poultry to hogs could hasten the spread of avian flu to humans. ...The findings were from a consensus of experts from the United States, Canada and northern Europe who convened in Iowa two years ago for a workshop funded by the federal government to address environmental and health issues related to large livestock operations. Six reports, written by three dozen scientists mostly from the American Midwest and Scandinavia, were published this week in the online version of the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Turns out that factory farming and other industrial agricultural practices are even more dangerous than previously thought.

The Environmental Health Perspectives journal is here.

The book Bird Flu - A Virus of Our Own Hatching also has a lot of information explaining how industrial farming creates new diseases.

Much mis- and disinformation says the greatest risk from new diseases like bird flu occurs in developing countries, where people live close to their animals.

In truth, the highest risks come from industrial farming practises where animals are crammed together in filthy conditions, and fed vaccines and drug cocktails to keep the inevitable outbreaks from wiping out the profits.

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soficrow

posted on Nov, 17 2006 @ 01:15 PM

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Hmmm. This line is popping up everywhere - Asia, Europe, North America:

Officials say it is not a matter of "if" a flu pandemic will hit, but rather "when."

I remember a "pandemic prevention" conference in Ottawa - 2004 or 05 - that failed to get everyone onside and working together. A while later, it seemed everyone gave up and said it's too late.

So is it too late to change agriculture, and stop pandemics?

If it's not too late - how, what and why should things be changed?

HarlemHottie

posted on Nov, 17 2006 @ 02:38 PM

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That said, how can I avoid it?

Find any links in your research?

soficrow

posted on Nov, 17 2006 @ 04:39 PM

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How to avoid pandemic flu?

...Avoid crowds and public gatherings when it hits, and follow "social distancing" rules - keep at least 3 feet between yourself and others. Practice obsessive personal hygiene - wash your hands with warm soapy water all the time, and try not to touch things like money or door knobs that other people handle.

All of which means - stockpile necessities so you don't have to venture out in public during a pandemic "wave."

Read chapter 4, Surviving the Pandemic, here. ...Search the net for 'pandemic preparedness' plans, and check out survivalist guides too.

...We will be back to conditions at the beginning of the century, and knowing how to be self-reliant and self-sufficient will make a big difference.

And remember - even back then, most people survived.

HarlemHottie

posted on Nov, 18 2006 @ 06:33 AM

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soficrow, you are all over this!

Thank you for the advice.

We keep pretty well stocked up, so we should be okay. I hope.

soficrow

posted on Nov, 18 2006 @ 09:21 AM

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Originally posted by HarlemHottie
soficrow, you are all over this!

Thank you for the advice.

Thank you, and you're welcome.

Still - if we do not change our industrial and agricultural practices - new diseases will keep emerging, and creating new pandemics that we cannot cure or treat.

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HarlemHottie

posted on Nov, 18 2006 @ 10:24 AM

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Originally posted by soficrow
Still - if we do not change our industrial and agricultural practices - new diseases will keep emerging, and creating new pandemics that we cannot cure or treat.

I know.

I'm watching one of those 'emerging diseases' emerge right in NYC. The doctors all feign ignorance. I guess if it wasn't in their textbook 30 years ago, it doesn't exist.

soficrow

posted on Nov, 18 2006 @ 12:39 PM

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Originally posted by HarlemHottie

I guess if it wasn't in their textbook 30 years ago, it doesn't exist.

Oh. They know the new diseases exist - hundreds of them. Many now involve human genetic mutations - and they know that too.

The problem is, there are no cures and no treatments. So they feign ignorance, because they can't play hero with a techno-solution.

The truth is, we have polluted our world, and changed it at the molecular level - and now, it's changing us. Ouch.

But better denial than the costs of prevention and clean-up, apparently.