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

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