It is shocking that within the US hardly any attention has been given to a possible connection between the corporate swine-raising practices of the Smithfield Ham and the (initial??) outbreak of the disease in their backyard, La Gloria, in southeastern Mexico. However Smithfield Ham itself has yesterday acknowledged the concern, even as it denied responsibility:
Early today the US owner of an industrial pig production facility around 12 miles from La Gloria said it had found no clinical signs or symptoms of swine flu in its herd or Mexican employees. The world's biggest pig meat producer, Virginia-based Smithfield, said it is co-operating with the Mexican authorities' attempts to locate the possible source of the outbreak and will submit samples from its herds at its Granjas Carroll subsidiary to the University of Mexico for tests."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/...
Aside from a few blogs, such as the site of former Federal Communication Commissioner, Nicholas Johnson, (http://fromdc2iowa.blogspot.com/2009/04/smithfield-ham-and-flu.html)and just two posters (last time I checked) on the open thread section here, the issue does not exist in the NYTimes or Washington Post.
The issue is examined in more detail in yesterday's Guardian article which reports that 60% of the inhabitants of the area around the plant have contacted the disease. It furthermore catalogues the current and past practices of this corporate food producer that raise serious questions.
Please respond to this posting so that the issue gets investigated with as much attention and depth as possible. The safety of our food supply and the risky consequences of corporate mega-scale food production are issues that demand political attention. The implications of this issue for political consciousness-raising are significant.
I am outraged that the issue has been ignored by all the established media.