rssScientific Reports Suggest Possible Link Between Swine Flu and Industrial Pig Farms
Friday, May 01, 2009 at 3:49 pm
- 6 Comments
Since bloggers at Grist and Biosurveillance first starting pointing to a subsidiary of the U.S. pork producer Smithfield Foods as a possible source of the swine flu everyone’s now so panicked about, the mainstream media has started picking up on the story.
Although Smithfield is still denying that its hogs could possibly have been the source of the virus, I came across this illuminating document from the Center for Disease Control that details just how hazardous such Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, known as CAFOs, are — and why they’re tightly regulated in the United States.
U.S. regulations “require CAFOs to carry a permit and to develop nutrient-management plans designed to keep animal waste from contaminating surface water and groundwater,” according to the CDC.
I don’t know if Mexico has comparable regulations, but according to Mexico’s La Jornada (quoted by David Kirby in The Huffington Post):
Clouds of flies emanate from the lagoons where Granjas Carroll discharges the fecal waste from its hog barns – as well as air pollution that has already caused an epidemic of respiratory infections in the town.
If this is the case, it sure doesn’t sound like strict health or environmental rules there are being enforced.
According to the CDC:
People who work with livestock may develop adverse health effects, including chronic and acute respiratory illnesses and musculoskeletal injuries, and may be exposed to infections that travel from animals to humans. Residents in areas surrounding CAFOs report nuisances, such as odor and flies. In studies of CAFOs, CDC has shown that chemical and infectious compounds from swine and poultry waste are able to migrate into soil and water near CAFOs.
Plus, “manure-related discharges at CAFOs include … pathogens, such as parasites, bacteria, and viruses, which can cause disease in animals and humans.”
The World Health Organization confirms that “Humans usually contract swine influenza from infected pigs…” And even though Smithfield says its pigs aren’t sick, the swine can be asymptomatic, yet still be carriers of the virus (pdf).
Of course, this doesn’t prove that the swine flu came from the Granjas Carroll hog farms — a subsidiary of Smithfield — in La Gloria, Mexico. (The WHO has sent experts down to Mexico to investigate the potential link.) But it does seem to call into question the claims of the Mexican pig farming industry that “pigs are not the cause of the flu that is affecting the country. It must remain clear that the flu problem is caused neither by the proximity to swine operations nor by the consumption of pork meat or pork products.”
The pork industry, worried about declining sales, has asked the WHO to change the name of the disease so as to protect the industry’s reputation; the health organization, however, insisting that the disease does come from pigs, has declined.
For a more detailed account of the development of this story and its latest twists and turns, check out Tom Philpott’s excellent reporting at Grist.
6 Comments
Comment posted May 1, 2009 @ 1:21 pm
I heard an NPR story last night where the reporter went to the farm only to find it clean as a whistle. The area residents said the owners cleaned it up ahead of time. Clever, to a point. They should be looking at the receiving points of the discharged wastewater and see if there's evidence of untreated waste. They may be able to clean up their farm, but I doubt they're going to clean up the ditches and brooks where all the excess waste is dumped…
Comment posted May 1, 2009 @ 8:25 pm
Daphne, I hate to be the person to break the news to you … BUT … here in the good ‘ole US of A we’re not any better regulated than they are in Mexico! Technically speaking, on paper perhaps things look better, but the old adage looks can be deceptive certainly applies when it comes to CAFOs.
Those swarms of flies you point to … well, I would invite you on a tour to certain counties in certain states with heavy concentrations of CAFOs, whether they be hog, chicken, diary, or beef. I guarantee you that entry and exit from your car in these areas will ensure your vehicle (and you) come under siege from said swarms – so you can only imagine what the residents in the rural communities where these industrial animal production factories are located must endure within the confines of their own homes.
I happen to live in the immediate vicinity of a 7,500 head beef feedlot – even having a fly swatter in EVERY room is not enough to combat the assault of these airborne bacteria and virus-laden insects. In the summertime, if I should happen to leave my white car outside in my driveway, it will appear black (i.e., covered with flies) in a VERY short period of time.
I would invite you to do some additional research. Johns Hopkins has done some EXCELLENT, groundbreaking research on the very serious public health risks that these CAFOs pose to each and every person on the planet. CAFOs are a pandemic waiting to happen. It’s not a matter of IF, it’s only a matter of when and how bad will it be. Also, you might like to know that the American Public Health Association has been calling for a moratorium on CAFOs since 2003, because of their concerns over the detrimental public health implications from CAFOs. The University of Iowa has also conducted some outstanding research on the adverse of impacts of CAFOs, with some eye-opening data, all the way back in 2003.
To date, the livestock industry (and their very highly paid lobbyists) has been hugely successful in muting the alarm warning resounding from the medical community. We know that they have already requested that we no longer refer to this latest outbreak as the “Swine flu”, but only as H1N1.
In closing Daphne, I enjoyed your article, concise and well reported. With that said, I think you only skimmed the surface, and if you are truly interested in the “rest of the story”, please do some additional research and report back with what you find. I think it will rock your world, and that of your readers.
Alma
Comment posted May 2, 2009 @ 3:25 am
Daphne, I hate to be the person to break the news to you … BUT … here in the good ‘ole US of A we’re not any better regulated than they are in Mexico! Technically speaking, on paper perhaps things look better, but the old adage looks can be deceptive certainly applies when it comes to CAFOs.
Those swarms of flies you point to … well, I would invite you on a tour to certain counties in certain states with heavy concentrations of CAFOs, whether they be hog, chicken, diary, or beef. I guarantee you that entry and exit from your car in these areas will ensure your vehicle (and you) come under siege from said swarms – so you can only imagine what the residents in the rural communities where these industrial animal production factories are located must endure within the confines of their own homes.
I happen to live in the immediate vicinity of a 7,500 head beef feedlot – even having a fly swatter in EVERY room is not enough to combat the assault of these airborne bacteria and virus-laden insects. In the summertime, if I should happen to leave my white car outside in my driveway, it will appear black (i.e., covered with flies) in a VERY short period of time.
I would invite you to do some additional research. Johns Hopkins has done some EXCELLENT, groundbreaking research on the very serious public health risks that these CAFOs pose to each and every person on the planet. CAFOs are a pandemic waiting to happen. It’s not a matter of IF, it’s only a matter of when and how bad will it be. Also, you might like to know that the American Public Health Association has been calling for a moratorium on CAFOs since 2003, because of their concerns over the detrimental public health implications from CAFOs. The University of Iowa has also conducted some outstanding research on the adverse of impacts of CAFOs, with some eye-opening data, all the way back in 2003.
To date, the livestock industry (and their very highly paid lobbyists) has been hugely successful in muting the alarm warning resounding from the medical community. We know that they have already requested that we no longer refer to this latest outbreak as the “Swine flu”, but only as H1N1.
In closing Daphne, I enjoyed your article, concise and well reported. With that said, I think you only skimmed the surface, and if you are truly interested in the “rest of the story”, please do some additional research and report back with what you find. I think it will rock your world, and that of your readers.
Alma
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Comment posted October 19, 2009 @ 7:46 pm
Pig farms are notorious for this type of pollution. A great source of swine flu updates is http:swineflureader.com – Great Blog!.
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