janet c

FACTORY FARMING - THE CONTAGION OF FREE TRADE

New diseases in animals are emerging and more virulent forms of old
diseases are increasing. Epidemics are an intrinsic part of factory farming
and industrial agriculture.

In the UK, more than two million cattle were found to be infected with
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) - mad cow disease. By August
2002, 133 people had died from the Variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease
(VCJD) - the human equivalent of BSE.

In 2001, an epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK led to the
slaughter of more than five million animals, costing the government two
billion pounds in direct payment to farmers alone.

The swine fever in Asia led to the killing of millions of pigs. A newly-
emerged nipah strain killed 100 pig farm workers, infected 150 with non-
fatal encephalitis and led to the slaughter of a million pigs to control
the disease. ...

Industrial farming is a highly inefficient form of production when viewed
from the perspective of animals and humans.

It is efficient only from the perspective of trade and industry which
externalises all environmental and health costs and leaves the planet and
people with the burden of pollution and disease.

According to data from the US itself, it takes 16 kg of grain to produce a
kg of beef. The UK poultry industry states that it takes 1.6 kg of feed to
produce one kg of animal meat of which only 33.7 per cent is edible.

In terms of the feed/food ratio, industrial farming is a negative economy
which consumes more than is produced.

Full story:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

john gaughan

If I had a kg of meat I would not trade it for all the grain in the
world. In terms of feed/food ratio compared to the utility I attach to
various types of food, meat is a positive economy.

--
John Gaughan
http://www.johngaughan.net/
john@johngaughan.net