PETA Asia-Pacific's Biohazard Team to the Rescue

Written by PETA

Posted 05-22-2009

38 Comments

The swine flu epidemic has hit Asia—and so has PETA Asia-Pacific's intrepid team of biohazard-suited protesters. They gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila to point out the fact that factory farms are breeding grounds for deadly diseases such as swine flu and avian flu.

Thanks for the guard detail, boys! We'll take it from here.

[Heavy breathing] "Luke, I am your father. Stop eating meat, Luke."

Want to help prevent another swine flu outbreak? Click here to send a message to your Congressional representatives. Oh, and don't forget to go vegetarian.

Written by Lianne Turner

Tags:

vegetarian, demo, swine flu, The Exorcist, Duh, pancakes, cashews, pistachios, MLA, waffles, French toast, Jack Norris, guppies, avian flu, U.S. Embassy

Recent Comments

Mel commented:

5-29-2009 1:17 PM

I'm not going to bother with the virus issue anymore. No matter how it comes to be and yes I may need a remedial frankly I wouldn't be the only one knowing the education in America it still makes people sick and the H1N1 has been less fatal than the normal flu. The statistics there prove that case. But my point has been and will be it does not nor ever will matter where an animal is located viruses and bacteria can and do pass from animal to human in ANY condition. There is just as likely a chance a free range animal can get a virus that's passed to a human one reason they do not slaughter a diseased animal. That doesn't mean however a case such as bloat or decomposition causes the animal to expode and spray that infection into the air. Plus your argument of putting all animals out to pasture would actually increase the risk of a similar situation that is in the farm factory. And I will maintain that you must keep a balance in nature. You simply cannot keep all animals meaning "no kill" nor can you slaughter all animals extinction. Both cases will lead to a situation as we saw with the H1N1 virus a third entity will come in the way to balance nature out and will affect both animal and human. Case with the rabbits in Australia it's not illegal to catch them for food they have no predators and need a human third source to cull them or they'd kill off all native wildlife. And some people also cannot go vegan. I tried and nearly became anorexic and I was definitely ill. In my case I must eat some meat. I know you guys don't like that and you love to bash people for it but that's fine. I'm also a healthy weight for my height and build and that's because I exercise. Not doing that is why people experience the "toxic" effects of meat. Your cause is noble sure but I think at times you are narrow minded as I am at times yes at least I can concede it. Unless you have lived in a cow town and dealt with those conditions you don't have as strong of a case. I can vouch that just because animals are in factory farms and are in bad conditions does not mean they automatically create a virus that makes people sick. Can they be improved upon? sure but even there it's not automatic that a virus wouldn't be spread. With this I'm leaving this thread alone. People are going to say how wrong and cruel I am for standing up for being an omnivore and that because of that I support what the meat group does. No I don't but I'm not naive enough to think that wailing about it or protesting will make it where everyone eats tofu and veggies and the animals prance around in fields of grain. It simply will not happen.
Tamra commented:

5-28-2009 3:57 PM

Sorry I got so caught up in the illogical arguments that I used Mel's virus and antibiotics scenario. The concept I was trying to convey above relates to antibioticsbacteriamutations
Tamra commented:

5-28-2009 3:50 PM

Ted I agree. I think that PETA using the phrase "Avoid the flu go vegetarian" may be pushing the envelope as we know that vegetarians can get this flu AND no doubt we have seen them make some big leaps before. I don't think the rest of their post though is inaccurate. On the other hand I also think that the pork industry is trying to downplay this one as well. They don't want people to start asking questions about factory farming. Yes I agree again. It's all about money. That is why I said originally "ask questions demand answers". I am hoping people use this time to start scrutinizing factory farming and no matter how minor some may think this is because H1N1 is not "killing people daily" the end result is that I'm glad people are starting to take notice. I think that the fear factor works with so many people because they do not get all the info. But in the end if people stop eating pork because they THINK they can get H1N1 I'm sure PETA and a lot of other veggie peeps for that matter wouldn't mind one bit.
Tamra commented:

5-28-2009 3:31 PM

I'm in shock. You honestly think mutations have nothing to do with evolution? I bring up evolution in regards to mutations and you say that has to do only with Darwin and fossils?! Mutations cause variation in genetic code. If it is favorable they are passed on to the gene pool of the population. Over time evolution the population can have the traitcode that was favorable. This can lead to an organism adapting to new environments. Virusesantibiotics. Yes I know the general concept. But again your wording is incorrect. You are suggesting that organisms have control over their mutations because they need something. The viruses that have the betteradapted mutations can end up outliving the viruses that did not have them. They make copies of themselves and eventually you end up with a virus expressed in large numbers that is resistant to an antibiotic this is just one example. But they did not undergo mutations IN ORDER TO SURVIVE they can't do that. This is a process it happens over time. They EVOLVE. I am right you are wrong. I am begging you on behalf of biologists everywhere to stop telling people that you know basic biology and that mutations are survival instincts and that their "done as a survival trait".
Erin commented:

5-28-2009 2:13 PM

Mel antibiotics are for bacterial infections NOT viruses.
erin commented:

5-28-2009 2:04 PM

Mel Some bio 101 for you since you back up all of your arguements with incorrect info and label it "basic biology" "Viruses are very different from other microbial groups. They are so small that most can only be seen with an electron microscope and they are ACELLULAR NOT cellular. Structurally very simple a virus particle contains a core made of ONLY one type of nucleic acid either DNA or RNA. This core is surrounded by a protein coat. All living cells have DNA and RNA can carry out chemical reactions and can reproduce as selfsufficient units. Viruses can reproduce only by using the cellular machinery of other organisms...Therefore viruses are not considered to be living because outside of living hosts they are inert." "The influenza genome is composed of 8 separate segments. The segmented genome allows viruses from different species to mix and create a new influenza A virus if viruses from two different species infect the same person or animal. This type of major change in the influenza A viruses is known as antigenic shift." Source Tortora G.J. Funke B.R. Case C.L. 2006. An introduction to microbiology. San Francisco Pearson Education. So no viruses do not have the same genetics that we do in cells and viruses are able to combine and reassort to produce new viruses within the host. The filthy overcrowded and stressful factory farm environment allows for pigs to become infected with human swine and avian flu thus creating a new virus with surface proteins not previously seen in influenza viruses that infect humans.
Ted commented:

5-28-2009 1:45 PM

Ok this is silly. To my understanding on how his discussion is going "if you can call it a discussion" you guys are trying to make the point that farm areas are more of a breeding ground for virus vs more open ranged farms. True due to farms being crowded with animals virus tend to spread faster. There is one fact that remains tho its call "money". You guys are fighting a uphill battle some places can not or will not spend the money to buy more land just to make some animals happy "now don't get me wrong open ranged animals do make better healther meat" but this is all about money. Now i agree with Mel on some points like the people at that protest were taking this way to far. They are basicly lying to everyone tell them that "Meat in general" is toxic "please keep in mind that i am basing this on their sign they are holding" Now i am not going to stop eatting just because of a virus. If i cook my meat right i think it is the temp of boiling water i may be wrong then i should be fine. Now i am all about showing my respect to animals and i do love animals but i don't fully serve them. I only serve them to my responsibility as a owner of the animal. I will not become a victim of the Fear tatics the some Peta supports are trying to imply on peoples lives. Thanks and have a great day.
Carla commented:

5-28-2009 1:07 PM

Tamra now YOU make sense!!
Mel commented:

5-28-2009 10:25 AM

Tamra I take issue with your comments definitively stating that the environment does not play a part with the recent H1N1. I have not said that I have said that it can happen in factory farming or if I haven't I do now I know it's possible. I have said that it is not JUST factory farming that a virus mutation can happen in any situation free range factory farming wherever. Viruses and other diseases adapt to survive through mutation in any situation.
mel commented:

5-28-2009 10:21 AM

For starters I want to thank the writer of this blog who apparently loves people attacking a reasonable argument and will not put up my stance as far as what I stand for as far as vegetarianism. It shows how hypocritical this site is. Tamra I maintain that I am right I have lived in cow towns for many years places that you would see as "farm factories." I have never gotten sick there has NEVER been a mutation of an animal virus to where people get sick. "MUTATIONS ARE NOT SURVIVAL INSTINCTS IN ALL LIVING THINGS. Mutations are "random" events in which DNA is altered." Yes they are. A basic example Have you not noticed that viruses get stronger and more resistant to antibiotics? They get this way because after a time the DNA of the virus realizes it will not survive the antibiotic so it must change its structure to be able to continue. It's also one reason they say to finish all your antibiotic if you don't the germs that survive that the antibiotic in their system mutate accordingly to adapt to it and then that antibody's effectiveness is weakened. This is in the news all the time. It is still a mutation. "ALL YOU NEED MEL IS A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF BIOLOGY. When there are not enough resources to sustain a population it will die off by itself. For that reason hunting and slaughter by humans is NEVER justified." No I don't YOU do. Mutation is done as a SURVIVAL trait YOUR argument is fallacied by your own statements. Genes mutate so a group can survive and be stronger and this includes a virus. Evolution would be something like Darwin's theory or looking at skeletons of horses from the prehistoric age to present day at a museum. Please learn the difference I DO know it. Trying to discredit me this way will not work. And when a population dies off there is a lot of rotting carcasses and such. Those are also harbringers of disease and unless they hire a lot of sanitation workers you can't simply remove all those animals in one day. Therefore I still stand by my statement that you must cull some animals to keep a balance. The little retort here "If you slaughter them all you have extinction if you let them all live you have even more crowded conditions that allow viruses such as H1N1 to thrive and mutate and reproduce?" WAIT I thought you said that factory farming or "crowded" conditions have NOTHING to do with H1N1......" They do I'm not totally naive. What I did say was that you can get the same scenario in open range animal raising. What I am saying is that it is catch22 if you let every animal survive you will end up causing the same problem as if you have farm factories. You and fellow PETA activists seem to think that we have all the space in the world to house animals we don't. This is one reason PETA has also euthanized animals they've taken in yes this group has killed healthy animals because of all things they were homeless and there wasn't space even they know this simply cannot work. Therefore it IS logical to reduce the population sometimes by slaughter in order to try to avoid these issues. There must be a balance period. And 9 deaths out of 6000 for swine flu is far LESS than the about 36000 that die from the regular flu annually. Plus more than 200000 people are hospitalized from flurelated complications. source CDC Let's do the math 18 for regular flu die from regular flu complications 1.5 percent this swine flu. Um... sorry even if it were 15 the swine flu has had less fatalities. You act as though it's been more fatal. I'm also not downplaying the deaths however PETA is using these deaths to say "Meat is toxic go vegan." How do they know that these people died because they ate meat? they don't too many other factors come into play. "I agree with you on that statement. Could the rates be minimized with more people going vegetarian and improving factory farming conditions?" No some people such as myself cannot go strictly vegan. I actually lost too much weight and became sick because of it. And your telling me meat is toxic that there is no sense in killing any animals for food For that reason hunting and slaughter by humans is NEVER justified but mention improving factory farming conditions? That doesn't make sense. Tamra I know you want to twist my comments into what you want to believe but I'm actually quite knowledgeable in this subject. You do not want to believe my statements and I respect that however I find that PETA is becoming more and more laughable and inknowledgeable on subjects like this and people fall for it.

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