Enough Already!
I am so sick (no pun intended) of hearing about this swine flu. For crying out loud, only one person - a child - has died in the United States. Very few are hospitalized here. Compare that to how many people here get sick and/or die from the regular flu every year - which is, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC):
"Every year in the United States, on average 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu; more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and; about 36,000 people die from flu-related causes."
Not only that, but the swine flu "pandemic" was first supposed to hit back in 1976. So, this is not new, folks. (Nor is it a democratic conspiracy.)
And, back in 1976, in a panicked response to this seemingly imminent plague, President Ford issued country-wide vaccinations. That oughtta do it, right? Keep those big, bag germies away... Unfortunately:
"Within weeks, reports surfaced of people developing Guillain-Barré syndrome, a paralyzing nerve disease that can be caused by the vaccine. By April, more than 30 people had died of the condition. Facing protests, federal officials abruptly canceled the program on Dec. 16. The epidemic failed to materialize."
So chillax people (especially members of the press who just loooove to beat every last drop of life out of even the most ridiculous of subjects). Don't panic or you'll only make things worse. Just wash your hands and keep them off the Tamiflu before I blow a gasket.
On a quite-possibly more productive note... I have many vegan/veggie friends and though I am not one, I am a country girl, born and raised, and familiar with farms - both big and small. While I am not ready to give up meat, I am ready to make better efforts to support small farms so we can hopefully get away from factory farming - where animals are kept and raised in inhumane and unsanitary conditions, which not only is just plain sad, but also breeds disease! Which, yes, can spread to humans. And, as they say: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
So, after a little research I've found some organizations dedicated to helping the consumer find "humane" animal products not created in factory farming conditions:
AnimalWelfareApproved.org
CertifiedHumane.org
I hope that helps.
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