In the United States, organic family farm advocacy group Cornucopia Institute found that dairy farms throughout the nation, some with herds of up to 10,000 cows in crowded, windowless warehouse spaces, have distorted the terms of the Department of Agriculture’s Organic label.

For instance, whereas organic regulations require adequate grazing pasture to be made available, cows in these facilities were being given access to a tiny grassless strip with some hay spread over it.

In addition, a rule allowing mothers and newborn calves to stay indoors for a period was distorted in practice by forcing them to stay indoors 24 hours a day most of the year.

Elsewhere, in a presentation this past week to British Parliament members, animal welfare activist Tracy Worcester presented findings that more than a million tons of pig meat are being brought into the United Kingdom annually that have been raised using outlawed methods such as the unnecessary severing of pigs’ tails.

In sum, many livestock practices violate animal welfare laws while causing untold suffering to animals and eventually to humans who raise and consume them. The H1N1 swine flu virus is one such tragic byproduct of foul, disease-breeding confinement conditions, and is at the root of the tens of thousands of fatalities officially estimated.

Although experts note that actual fatalities and cases are far too high to count, in Europe, the countries of Austria, Lithuania, France and Slovakia continue to note increased swine flu incidence, while continuously added deaths have brought reported tolls to 253 in Egypt and 1,210 in India.

Meanwhile, China reported 21 new fatalities among 1,074 cases tallied in a recent one-week period. Our sympathies for all families afflicted by the animal-borne swine flu pandemic. May this grievous effect be soon eliminated as people realize the manifold benefits of foregoing all animal-raising practices in favor of the humane organic vegan diet.

http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/Documents
/100125_Influenza_A%28H1N1%29_Weekly_Executive_Update.pdf
http://www.farmersguardian.com/news/livestock/illegal-pig-farming-caught-on-film/30032.article
http://food.theatlantic.com/sustainability/watering-down-organic-milk.php
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/health/2010-01/29/c_13155510.htm
http://netindian.in/news/2010/01/28/0005071/four-more-swine-flu-deaths-india-toll-goes-1210