Comments on: Bird Flu: What do you think?

By: Will you still buy turkey? from RealEpicurean.com

Will you still buy turkey? from RealEpicurean.com — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 23:09:12 +0000

[...] Last weeks poll (about whether you thought Bernard Matthews were partially to blaim for the recent Bird Flu outbreak) generated a lot of interest and some excellent comments, and so I’ve decided to make Polls a weekly thing, of which this is the second. I’ll start them off on a Sunday and review the results on a Friday ongoing… [...]

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By: Mary Alice, Cornwall's Voice for Animals.UK

Mary Alice, Cornwall's Voice for Animals.UK — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 18:30:01 +0000

It is difficult to know who really is at fault for this outbreak - we can of course take it way back to the origional source, Asia. We are allowed confine animals in massive factory farms, keep them in the most unnatural and dirty conditions, and deprive them of all the natural foods they would get from pecking about naturally outside. They are forced to eat a diet which makes them grow fast so they can be sent off to slaughter - and hey, Next ! ! ! Along comes the next few thousands animals to rear in the same horrible conditions - THEN WE ASK WHY THEY GET ILL ?! Farming was never meant to be like this - these animals suffer in these conditions because we the human race want cheap foods and the supermarkets make you play right into this scheme. The animals suffer, YOUR HEALTH WILL EVENTUALLY SUFFER - and someone at the top is making a lot of money out of their suffering !

I for one am glad I don’t contribute to this greedy and cruel business !

Now for bird flu - I am sending you to a site where you can read all about bird flu - the how’s and the why’s and what we should and can do to protect ourselves, and the animals from it.

It will save my having to write a short novel here trying to explain it all !

Please visit Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching can be found at
http://www.BirdFluBook.org, there you will also find a video clip - please take a moment to watch it and then explore the site which will give you I am sure answers to all the questions you or your friends may have about it.

The author of this book called Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching and the host of this site is Michael Greger, M.D., Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States. He is visiting the UK from June 25 to June 30 (or maybe from the 18th to
the 30th if there is enough interest). If you have any questions or if you are in the position to set up an interested group where he may speak, please feel free to contact him via his site.

Cheers
Mary Alice,
Cornwall’s Voice for Animals ( cvfa/oipa.uk )
Representing The International Organization for Animal Protection
NGO affiliated to the UN Department of Public Information

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By: scott

scott — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 12:55:14 +0000

Lil: Never apologise for posting comments - that's why comments are enabled - to encourage feedback. It's great to see so many people getting involved with this one.

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By: Lil

Lil — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 12:13:42 +0000

veganforyears : only my first part of response refers to your comment, and the rest was meant to be in general, so i apologise if i seemed to have gone off the tangent… i guess i was perhaps a little irked with name callings that non-vegans are cruel and murderers and the likes of it (a little bit like my god is the real one so the one you worship is evil - not going to go into this as it’s a major can of worm!)… it’s easy to cast generalisation without reflecting the other side of the story, hence why i went into a big long nearly-a-blog-entry comment after that… as i mention previously, i eat a lot more veg than meat that even some people i know thought i am vegan… the odd meat purchase that i did do would be local and organic, an attempt to balance my diet, and supporting local and ethical producers… i think my conscience is pretty clear… thanks for the link and i would have a look at some point but right now, i’m up to my eyes with work it’s nearly not funny anymore, eek!

ok, gosh, scott, sorry i’m half taking over this comment page! we shall definitely try to do our best in trying to figure a way to balance everything out… afterall, as they say, moderation is the key… good post, to bounce off opinions about current issues and raising awareness!

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By: scott

scott — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 17:49:56 +0000

Lil: You’re right - it’s a viscous cycle. Problem is that the cycle is spiraling, and we’re beginning to destroy everything we once had
veganforyears: It’s a matter of choice, isn’t it? I can certainly see your point of view, though. I considered it myself when I was younger. The notmilk website is really interesting, by the way.

richard dale: I’m now trying to find out who the suspect is, because I’m daft and can’t guess. Is it the cows? :p

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By: (Almost) Devilled Kidneys on Toast from RealEpicurean.com

(Almost) Devilled Kidneys on Toast from RealEpicurean.com — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 17:12:36 +0000

[...] my last article we spoke all about the treatment of animals (in particular, turkeys and the “Bird Flu” [...]

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By: richard dale

richard dale — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 17:10:44 +0000

It is very strange that bird flu should be found at the largest establishment of its type in the UK, with no previous outbrekas of this strain, it is sos suspicious that I suspect “foul play”, almost certainly it was introduced deliberately
I see this as the first move to destroy poultry farming in the UK, well I’ll let you guess the likely suspect, there is only one

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By: veganforyears

veganforyears — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 15:46:33 +0000

Lil: Just a quick follow up and my last !
I exist on a pretty low income yet only ever eat organic food. Keeping a simple existnce is the key and having clear principles and goals about your own lifestyle. I can comment about animal cruelty especially in farming because I have taken the step to have nothing whatsoever to do with it and eat nothing atall from animals, and only ever comment about things I have seen evidence of in reputable documentation and from highly qualified people (Take a look at NotMilk.com). Any health gains, and I know they are many, reaped from following this lifestyle are actually for me a welcome ’spin-off’ and were not at the top my list of reasons for going vegan in the first place.
You sound like a nice, friendly and very intelligent person.give it a try.! Not only would you achieve optimun health but your conscience would be clear (or as clear as it can be in this messed up world). Honest injun, you dont need meat to be healthy. Once the penny drops its easy. thats how it happened for me. Good luck with all your work.

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By: Lil

Lil — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 21:09:27 +0000

veganforyears : don’t get me wrong, i’m not saying being vegan is not a good thing. i for one, love my greens and couldn’t get enough of them. i eat meat, but it’s on rare occasion that i do that. i just wanted to point out that being a vegan doesn’t necessarily means it’s healthier than being a non-vegan, and while i am not completely au fait with all the ins and outs of nutrients, i have come across various publications in very reputable science journals which indicate benefits from meat consumption. as scott rightly pointed out, there’s a lot to say about balancing the diet. i just don’t think eating meat means we’re wrong to do so (and therefore disgusting), nor do i think being vegan means it’s better than being an omnivore.

i definitely agree that intensive farming with little regards for animal welfare is wrong. i have been spending the past year trying to study genes that confers immunity in livestock (particularly cattle) so believe me when i say i care. in fact, an emeritus professor from my lab was the one who came up with the test that enable tracing of meat origin, in an effort to raise consciousness of where your meat is coming from and how they were certified. we want to make a different. we do not endorse meat of unknown origin where malpractice could have taken place in order to produce in mass and cheaply.

despite tight budget of a graduate student, i always try to buy local (even if it means paying more) and eat produce that are in season instead of searching for those sent from all over the world. of course, i am far from being infallible and sometimes i do indulge, but most of the time, i buy from the local farmer’s market.

unfortunately, with the uneven spread of wealth in this world, not many people can afford to be ethical, even with the choice given to them. particularly when the low price tags are constantly being dangled in front of them. when they also have other obligations such as rent/mortgage, childcare, bills, it’s difficult to cut the costs involved with these expenses but with food, one feels like he/she could try by reaching for the cheaper product on the shelf as they see it.

and in poor/asian countries where fingers are pointing to be the source of diseases and blames being put on, these are the places where social welfare assistance is nearly non-existence. the majority truly cannot afford to be philosophical and are just trying their best to survive. they are the last people who would want their livestock to be hit by diseases. but disease happen, because it’s always an arm race between the living organisms. our immune system is constantly in battle against foreign organisms. just in this instance, the virus is winning, until we find a way to combat it.

perhaps big developing countries/conglomerates should cut out all the subsidies that they’re giving so that for a change, there can be competitive trade on a global level? poor developing countries often find their prices undercut because of the various subsidies available to agribusinesses from rich countries. overproduction is yet another problem, contributing to the misuse of land.

even i don’t know at which point can we interfere and make a difference at the moment. what a vicious cycle, isn’t it?

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By: scott

scott — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:50:54 +0000

veganforyears: I think most people acknowledge that fruit and veg can bring some benefits that meat cannot - noone ever speaks of eating meat to prevent cancer, for example. The most important thing is a balanced diet which covers all your nutritional needs, whether or not meat is a part of it.

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