Someday I pray, we won’t remember that animals were once harvested like timber or timber mowed down like invasive weeds but respected as the holy givers of sustenance they were intended. My mother, the-gardener-extraordinaire, used to tell me:  “Mother Nature is very forgiving of our best efforts and intentions but she does not tolerate disrespect.”

Factory animal farms are neither respectful, honorable or healthy.  Connect the dots, folks, and get over it! Until then (may I live that long but time is not on my side) I offer some news reports and opinions on the origins of the current ‘canary in the coalmine’ — swine flu and the Smithfield Farms connection.

Tom Philpott opened this can of worms on Grist. See his article here.

Another blog post citing a Biosurveillance timeline of the outbreak.

Mysteries about the swine flu are explored in this article from the Associated Press.

Some insight on CAFO’s for your dining pleasure.

[Even the Dept. of Homeland Security, Open Source Report for August 13, 2007 has something to share]

August 10, 2007 Agence France−Presse — Pig farms to shut down in Romania. Eleven unauthorized pig farms belonging to U.S. company Smithfield in Romania are to be shut down following an outbreak of swine fever, the head of the national sanitary and veterinary authority said Friday, August 10. The agency will also send a veterinary doctor to each of Smithfield’s 25 farms in western Timis county to monitor whether sanitary standards were being respected and to oversee the killing of some 40,000 pigs from the two farms where the outbreak occurred, ANSVSA director Radu Roatis said. Veterinary authorities found this week that 11 Smithfield farms had not been authorised to operate in Romania. Swine fever was detected during the 8 week in two farms in western Timis county belonging to Smithfield. One of them did not have an authorization to operate. Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070810/hl_afp/romaniausfarmhea lth_070810132622;_ylt=Ajp_F5IIjjT5TdT1stampleJOrgF

And finally from the CDC…note that swine flu has been around a long time, according to their report.

Smithfield Farms website page

PS:  I’m NOT against kissing pigs. We raised them on our organic farm and they were intelligent, loving, funny, gentle, bonding animals we treated with respect. I’m uncertain I could raise animals for food sacrifice/slaughter again but I know that humane treatment is possible.

If only all pigs could live the kind of life portrayed above…