A two-and-a-half year assessment of the impacts of factory farms in the United States has led the highly respected Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production to declare that these operations pose unacceptable health risks, as seen in the threat presented by the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.

Supreme Master Television interviewed Robert P. Martin, Executive Director of the former Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production.

(Telephone interview in English)
Bob Martin – Executive director of Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production (M): We were particularly concerned about the scenario that seems to have developed or unfolded with this current flu outbreak.

VOICE: A typical industrial swine farm confines thousands pigs who are waiting for slaughter. In poor health due to the constant stress of overcrowding, darkness, stifling heat and perpetual contact with their own waste, farmed pigs are unwittingly involved in the creation of new and potentially lethal viruses.

Moreover, multiple pig herds, in Canada, Australia, and Northern Ireland in the UK, have been found to be infected with the same swine flu virus currently circulating in humans.

Bob Martin (M): It escalates the evolution process, where it might take years for it to develop out naturally.
This happens very quickly because the pigs are so close together they can pass the virus back and forth and it mutates, can strengthen or change, and then it can be passed to the people working there; where it again mutates and changes and then can be passed back to the pigs for this continued recycling of the virus. So it shortens the time span.

VOICE: It is difficult to monitor every occurrence of swine flu in the human population, though some experts predict that up to one-third of the world’s people would eventually be afflicted.

The number of global swine flu deaths on record has just leapt by  59 over just several days to a total of 4,100 fatalities.

Formosa’s (Taiwan) death toll grew to 17 after a pregnant woman passed away. India saw  262 fatalities, 22 of which were in the past few days. After 824 students were found to have swine flu in Hong Kong, the Department of Health called for eight primary schools and three secondary schools to close down for a week to halt the spread.

Yemen’s Health Ministry announced  17 new cases, bringing the total to  183, and Estonia reported 68 cases, 11 of which are requiring hospitalizations.

Executive Director Martin and the Pew Commission, our thanks for this conclusive assessment of the serious long-term threat of farming operations on public health.

We join in sorrow for the losses of life worldwide as we pray that everyone turns away from the root source of new viruses in animal farms, choosing instead the kind, plant-based diet.

Reference
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/22/content_12093319.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/21/content_12092234.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/21/content_12090769.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/21/content_12087898.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news194074.htm
http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/baltic_news/?doc=3877
http://www.samaylive.com/news/17-swine-flu-deaths-take-indias-toll-to-257/658075.html