Kentucky Fried Flu

[Guest guest]

From

 

http://billtotten.blogspot.com/2005/12/avian-flu-ecology-of-epidemic.html

 

Kentucky Fried Flu

 

There is good reason to believe, however that it is not the virus, but

the inhumane conditions in which the birds are reared that is most

deadly. Rearing animals in crowded conditions, feeding them unnatural

diets, and exposing them to unimaginable stress during their short

lifetimes creates a breeding ground for illness, infection and

eventually epidemics.

 

Such appalling conditions arise from our general apathy and inaction as

regards the importance of animal welfare, but also from our evolving

belief that cheap food in general and cheap chicken in particular is

some kind of human birthright.

 

The average chicken you buy in the supermarket may be 'British' (a loose

definition that can include a chicken that was grown and packaged in

this country or one that was shipped in from somewhere else and packaged

here), but the vast majority of chicken 'products' - nuggets, goujons,

kievs, pizzas, pies, sandwiches, ready meals and airline, school,

hospital and pub meals - are generally made from chicken imported from

abroad. Likewise, the proliferation of fast food restaurants on British

high streets rely on a steady supply of cheap imported chicken to

sustain them.

 

Consumers, of course, rarely know where their chicken has come from.

Before the outbreak, few knew that the Asian region affected by the

spread of avian flu is home to around seven billion chickens,

approximately forty percent of all the world's poultry. After the US,

Brazil, and the EU, Thailand is the fourth largest exporter of poultry

in the world.

 

The amount of chicken imported from Thailand into the UK has grown

considerably over the last few years. In 2000, more than 23,420 tonnes

of prepared chicken was imported into the UK from Thailand. By 2003 and

2004, when avian influenza was in full swing, this figure had risen to

45,073 and 44,316 tonnes respectively. So even at the height of the

outbreak it's a fair bet that you have eaten Asian chicken in some form

over the last year or two. To meet our increasing demand for cheap

chicken Asian farmers (indeed poultry farmers everywhere), are

encouraged to produce lots of birds quickly and cheaply. Inevitably

corners - in hygiene and animal welfare - get cut.

 

While news reports have focused on heartbreaking stories of family

farmers whose small flocks have been devastated by avian flu, this does

not give a true picture of the Asian poultry business, which is home to

many vast battery farms (indeed Tesco is the majority share owner in one

of Thailand's largest battery farms). One of these farms is rumoured to

house as many as five million birds. Under these conditions a farmer is

nothing more than an impotent guardian, unable to spot disease when it

first emerges and unable to stop its spread once it takes hold.