In response to my earlier swine flu post, I was asked if my solution to the problem of livestock-bred influenza is for everyone to become vegetarians. Yes, in a perfect world; but in the world we have, the best solution may be cultured meat (also known as in vitro meat). (Just ignoring the problem and renaming the swine flu to newspeak of numbers and letters won’t change the fundamental problem here.)
In vitro meat is certainly the wave of the future and solves a host of problems (environmental and health-wise), since our current system is simply unsustainable for our planet (along with our arteries and waistlines). The group working towards bringing cultured meat to fruition is a nonprofit called New Harvest, and I wish them all the best with their work.
The Swine Flu, I don’t think this has to do with eating meats anymore. It’s not in the meat of the pigs. It’s an H1N1. The worst part about this, is that it’s contagious from humans to humans now. Forget about “becoming a vegetarian”. If it’s killing young children and older adults, because they have a much more weak immune system, why not find something to strengthen the immune system? I found something that’s called Mova Vie, it’s a drink that is supposedly to make you loose weight, but it strengthens your immune system. Why not try it?
Coryn
April 30th, 2009
Just look up “cytokine storm”; most of the people who die from these types of flus are the young and healthy who actually die from their healthy immune systems attacking their own lungs after they are infected with the virus.
The virus is not in pigs and is a combination of pig, bird and human flus, but it is caused by close human to pig contact which is only done due to humans raising pigs as livestock.
libertariangirl
May 1st, 2009
I disagree libertariangirl.
It is NOT due to people raising pigs as livestock, but is due to the WAY that livestock is raised and treated.
If all of the big industrial, multi-national, multi-million/billion dollar, agri-corporations factory farms are all outlawed & abolished and society returned to the humane, organic farming practices of yester-year, there would NOT be most (or any) of the health problems, environmental destruction, and other issues from raising livestock for food.
Despite what many claim, the problem is NOT meat-eating.
For THOUSANDS of years, all through history, from the Cavemen, to the Native Americans & Colonists, to the Pioneers and beyond, meat has been a part of most people’s diets – with NO problems!
The problem has been & continues to be caused by INDUSTRIALIZATION, ZONING REGULATIONS & MASS PRODUCTION!
We need to end or sharply curtail INDUSTRIALIZATION, and remove ALL zoning restrictions, so that anyone who is able to, can grow & raise their own food, in a clean, natural environment!
Instead of trying to raise as much livestock as cheap as possible for as high of profit as possible, these “factory farms” should be shut down, and have society go back to eating the way that the pioneers & the other forefathers did.
NOT by buying our food from corporate giants like Wal-Mart, but instead either growing & raising our own food or by buying organically & humanely grown food from the local small farmer down the road.
Amy
May 12th, 2009