Why Bird Flu Matters to You

Factory Farms Incubate Bird Flu

This is one of those things that can slip quietly by while we all rush on in our busy lives.  I know it would have passed me by years ago, long before I was learning to farm.  It is just one more control that the government has quietly taken over and we the people have let it happen.  If you like to eat – this applies to you!

I’ve researched this quite a bit and read many articles and some books on the topic of raising meat chickens and laying hens.  Recently, an article about the Bird Flu virus came out that really shocked me – enough that I felt I must write about it.  I’ll share parts of the article below and respond to several sections.  You can read the entire article here if you wish:  http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0NQ1VZ20150505?irpc=932

First let me start by sharing this:  The author of the book Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching calls factory farms breeding grounds for diseases: vast numbers of animals with immune systems weakened by unyielding stress, their lungs burning from ammonia emitted by decomposing excrement, and a lack of fresh air or sunlight. Put all these factors together and what you have is a perfect-storm environment for the emergence and spread of new “superstrains” of influenza. 

One of our 100+ chickens, almost ready to go
out on pasture.

This author is accurate.

Having said that, here are highlights from the article and some thoughts surrounding each one of them:

 “The U.S. government approved the use of an additional $330 million in emergency funds to help contain the worst avian influenza outbreak in U.S. history, as infected bird cases soared and hundreds of Minnesota poultry workers learned they would lose their jobs.”

“Initially, USDA had set aside $84.5 million to compensate farmers and for other outbreak-related costs. The agency can use additional funds to pay for the expected increase in indemnity claims filed by poultry farmers.”

My response:

• Over $400 MILLION DOLLARS of our tax money is going to bail out these factory farms who are suffering from their own poor practices.  Does this not bother anyone but me? 
• In other articles these same companies claim that, without their factory farms where thousands of birds are crammed into cages or large buildings, we would suffer food shortages and not be able to “feed the world”.  There are so many problems with this theory:
• First, how many people could we feed with the $400 Million dollars that we tax payers just spent to bail out these factory farms?
• Second, it is important to understand that we do not have a food shortage problem.  American’s throw away tons of food each year in waste – in our restaurants, in grocery stores, and in our homes.  And as for feeding other countries, we have transportation issues, not food shortage issues. Take Africa for example, where I have friends who are missionaries.  Africa has such corrupt leadership that anything sent there is quickly confiscated and stolen.  Even items that seem without much value typically never make it to the intended receiver. 

This is what a CAFO looks like - or worse. 
Notice they are called "cage free"
according to the labels. 

 “The funds are also approved for such uses as sanitation of equipment and the culling of infected flocks.”

My response:

This line makes it clear that we tax payers are paying for these companies to sanitize their equipment, and “fix” their problem, which they should have been doing all along.  We are taking care of all their losses for them, while they continue in their infection-breeding factory work.  They will go right back to their same practices when all this has left the media.

“Virulent H5 avian influenza strains have spread to 14 states in five months and affected about 24 million birds so far, mostly egg-laying hens and turkeys, according to USDA.

“That tally is expected to grow, as U.S. authorities confirm pending cases. The outbreak, which is also affecting two Canadian provinces, shows little sign of slowing.”

“In Minnesota, the largest producer of U.S. turkeys, state officials said almost 5.5 million turkeys and egg-laying chickens have either died from the flu virus or are set to be killed in an effort to contain the outbreak.”

“In Iowa, the top U.S. egg producer, state agriculture officials said an estimated 20 million chickens and turkeys have been affected there.”

 “While scientists believe wild birds are spreading the disease, researchers do not know exactly how the highly pathogenic H5 viruses have penetrated inside barns.”

• This last line really gets my feathers in a ruffle.  This is the USDAs way of placing blame somewhere other than where it belongs – which is right in the lap of these factory farms and their terribly unsanitary practices!  Remember, all these factories have USDA approved inspectors on site.  So naturally they don’t want to take the blame for such an outbreak and therefore need to find some other direction to point their finger.  Sadly, most Americans seem to just take what they say at face value. 

• There is overwhelming evidence that highly infectious bird flu actually originates in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), and is more than likely spread by the globalized poultry trade.  The media continues to paint a different picture, implicating wild birds or small backyard poultry operations as being the source of the highly pathogenic bird flu virus.  However, blaming backyard poultry or migratory birds simply doesn’t make sense, as small outdoor flocks of birds have a better chance of keeping viral loads down.  If highly infections bird flu virus were to infect and kill all the birds in a small flock, the virus likely wouldn’t spread and infect other birds.

• On the other hand, in a CAFO with a high density of birds, the virus can spread and multiply very quickly (as we are now seeing first hand).  Transporting the birds, eggs and other by products form these facilities can further increase the risk of spreading the disease.

• Let’s look at this from a common sense point of view:  if wild birds carry this disease, then how is it that the only flocks that are infected are the large factory INDOOR “farms” where wild birds do not have access?  This is just an insult to the public’s intelligence.
  
• As we pasture our chickens outdoors we have no concern over bird flu, even though wild ducks and geese fly over our heads regularly.  And if we kill a chicken for meat, the feathers stay right here on our farm, rather than being spread across the country while traveling on a partially open truck.

• The articles I have read continue to point figures instead of looking at the real root of the problem which is really pretty easy to see:
• Factory farms have unsanitary, unnatural practices which leaves large quantities of bird droppings, strong odors and unhealthy birds packed together. 

• To combat the unsanitary living conditions, they drug the birds with large quantities of antibiotics. Over time these antibiotics become useless against certain viruses.  These birds’ immune systems are destroyed, making them unable to fight off any virus on their own.
• Feed is many times unacceptable, containing bird droppings, chemicals, GMOs or worse. 

(Remember, this is all brought to you by the same folks who brought you Mad Cow disease.  They had decided it was a great idea to feed dead cows and chicken manure to cows as a way to “dispose” of all the waste these factories create.  That is until they found that it resulted in Mad Cow Disease.  They swept that under the rug and went on.  And that is why we now see lots of “vegetarian fed” on the labels – which is showing that they realize now the huge mistake they made.)

"We are confident that support for producers will continue to be adequately funded as needed," according to a statement from USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

• This is a comfort to the chicken producers, I’m sure.  But it should be no comfort to us as tax payers or consumers.

Let’s take this current bird flu outbreak as an opportunity to stop and think whether we really want to continue allowing the poultry industry to operate in this way, exploiting immune-compromised and genetically-weakened animals and creating breeding grounds for disease that pose huge threats to humans and birds alike.

So what can you do?  Here are a couple of ideas to start with:

• If you are able, have a backyard flock of your own!  You might be surprised how little space you need for a small flock.
• Stop supporting these factory farms as much as you are able.  Look for alternatives in your area.  Local producers can be found at farmer’s markets or at the Weston A. Price website.  Many in the St. Louis area even deliver to the city from their farms.  Purchase chicken and eggs from those farmers who you can visit yourself.  A USDA seal of approval will never be as good as seeing for yourself and knowing your farmer.  Most farmers love to have visitors and if they don’t, there might be a reason.
• If you are unable to locate a local farmer, look for organic and "pastured" labels.  Although these don’t really mean the chickens are on pasture each day, they at least ensure that antibiotics are not given on a routine basis (they may still be given when prescribed by a vet.) 



And this is what our birds look like.  Disease has a hard
time taking hold when fresh pasture, sun and rain are provided.
And contrary to what the CAFOs would like us to think,
it really doesn't take much land to do it.

Ultimately, we know that the battle is not against flesh and blood, but against Satan who not only tries to attack us spiritually, but physically as well – including through our food supply.  We can take back the lost ground if we stay informed and look for ways to take control over what our families eat.

  

 

 

A righteous man regards the life of his animal:

but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. 

- Proverbs 12:10