Avian Flu and the Dangers of Factory Farms

The avian flu outbreak in the chicken farming industry in British Columbia has been ongoing for some weeks now. Enough time has passed in the crisis to begin drawing some initial conclusions. What is becoming blatantly clear, but is being woefully under-reported, is the fact that factory farming methods are largely responsible for the extent of the devastation.

Blame for the spread of the virus has been heaped on wild birds coming in contact with chickens, although transmission has more likely been facilitated by the virus being carried on the clothes and vehicles of workers in poultry factory farms. What isn't being acknowledged often enough is the impact of the conditions factory farmed chickens live in. The following article from the Toronto Star describes the conditions and why they have such a negative effect:

Almost all the chickens bred for meat in North America are the same breed. They are bred specifically to crave food and to grow at an accelerated rate. They are fed a carefully constructed diet, complete with antibiotics for disease control and are kept in sheds with near-continuous artificial light.

They spend their entire short lives eating, sleeping and defecating in the same, confined space and are sent to slaughter at between 34 and 42 days old.

Research (not to mention common sense) tells us that these conditions are unhealthy and stressful for the birds. Metabolic disorders, lameness and skin diseases are common among broiler chickens, and stress from their artificial environment can impair their immune systems.

Free-range and organic chicken farms in B.C. have been remarkably little affected by the actual disease, despite the conditions they raise their chickens in making it far more likely for their chickens to be in contact with wild birds carrying the flu. From a merely commonsensical point of view it would seem the methods used to raise organic chicken are far safer, not only for the chickens, but also for the human population. There would be far less chance of disease spreading. There would be far less chance of the disease mutating into a virulent human form. As food, organic chickens would be safer to eat, because they would be healthier.

Factory farms developed as an effort to "mechanize" or "industrialize" what is essentially a biological system. The idea was to create efficiencies of scale by placing enourmous numbers of specially bred livestock in what essentially amounts to a production line. But biological systems are far more complex than mechanically engineered systems. Living creatures are not simply gears, or circuit boards. Their interaction with the environment they are placed in is far more complex than that of simply engineered products.

Given that this problem is one largely engineered by those who have taken up the factory farming trend in an effort to maximize cost savings and ultimately maximize profit, it would make sense that they should pay for the results of their mistakes.

I for one am totally against bailing out agribusiness that engages farming methods that end up devastating their own industry. They should suffer the consequences of their actions. They have been repeatedly warned that the conditions they raise their livestock in are unhealthy. In fact, they can see it with their own eyes should they care to look.

Diseases like avian flu and Mad Cow are nature's way of telling us that factory farming is dangerous, and ultimately will harm not only the environment, but humans as well. Who knows what shape and form the next livestock disease will take, or how many people, let a lone livestock, it will kill. But one thing is certain, if we continue to allow the proliferation of factory farming, we are sure to find out, and we are sure to suffer the consequences.