Yes, it’s me. And, yes, the article involves politics, economics, and even an international issue. Really? Pigs and chickens? Trust me. This is an important issue to you. And, no, it’s not about your diet.
Somehow, I ran across an article justifying raising chickens and pigs together. It was a response to a claim that the pigs would eat the chickens. The article stated that it was not the case. Stay with me.
It claimed that both chickens and pigs improved the soil. Perhaps that’s true but both sides of that argument miss the most important consideration.
Flu
I am not an epidemiologist. And I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Nor do I play one on television. However, it’s my understanding that all outbreaks of the flu originate with birds. It need not be chickens. It could be ducks or geese or other of their cousins.
It was always the case, until a few years ago, that the flu could not be passed directly from birds to humans. It could, however, be passed from birds to pigs. Pigs are able to pass the flu to humans. This situation changed with the advent of the so-called bird flu, known as avian influenza. for obvious reasons. The scientific world referred to is as H5N1. Whether that bird/human barrier is now commonly breached or it is still a rarity, I don’t know for certain. I think it continues to be quite uncommon.
Do you now see why all of the outbreaks of flu seem to begin in Asia? More specifically, China? The Chinese, as other Asians, love chicken — witness the success of KFC in China. Pork is also a favorite over there.
With a population of over a billion and a sizable portion of that number being farmers and a significant number of those raising pigs along with chicken or ducks, the cause and sources of the flu are no mystery.
The mystery is the lack of action on the part of the Chinese government. That government well deserves the appellation of authoritarian. It would not be out of character for that government to issue and enforce an edict that farmers could raise one or the other but not the two together. Why have they not one so? The relationship of the two species is not a recent discovery.
The flu has been responsible for millions of deaths over the years. We have reduced the numbers, particularly since the Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919. It killed 20 to 30 million people, including one of my great grandmothers. It killed more than World War I.
Beyond death, it causes a great deal of misery. It causes monumental losses of productivity. Why has China failed to act? Why has the WHO of the United Nations not made any strong representations to the Chinese government? Why have the U.S., the European Union and others been quiet? Why must cruise ship companies bear such a burden?
Addendum
What I wrote above is true but more information has come out since then.
What I was speaking to was the common flu that we have become all to familiar with over the years. Covig-19 is not the same and the origin is also different.
Covig-19 may or may not be more deadly than the common flu. We have insufficient data at this point. However, it is obviously far more contagious.
What is different about this virus? It came to us courtesy of a bat. Bats are mammals, not birds. This makes passing to and between humans much easier. That accounts for it spreading so rapidly.
In parts of Asia, particularly South Asia, bats are considered a delicacy. This outbreak seems to have originated in Singapore where bats are one of what are known as street foods. I have enjoyed street food in Korea quite frequently. Some of my best gastronomic memories include street food there. But, this is the first time I became aware of bats being considered as food. In my youth I was a devoted spelunker. I have had many encounters with bats. I didn’t bother them and they didn’t bother me.
Bats play a significant ecological role. Of the more than 1,200 species, many help keep down the insect population. Others pollinate flowers and spread seeds. Many tropical flowers depend on them. Among the larger bats, such as the fox bat, a small percentage feed on mice. Knowing that they have the capacity to spread rabies, I never paid attention to their employment as human food. Certainly, the FDA and USDA don’t have a place for them on our plates.
Since it is so easy to acquire Covig-19 otherwise, I will not recommend catching it more directly by including it in your diet.
If you found this educational, edifying, interesting or otherwise worth your time, this geezer would appreciate a little supplement to those Social Security checks, They forgot to factor in the cost of publishing a blog.
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