The flu epidemic has invaded 48 states, overwhelming medical facilities, exhausting vaccine supplies, and killing 29 children and thousands of seniors. Both the problem and solution to this disaster hinge on how we relate to animals raised for food.
Indeed, 61 percent of the 1,415 pathogens known to infect humans originate with animals. The more recent, contagious, and deadly viruses among these include Asian, dengue fever, Ebola, H5N1 (bird), HIV, SARS, West Nile, and yellow fever. The pandemic “Spanish” flu of 1918, killed 20-50 million people worldwide, and the World Health Organization predicts more pandemics in the future.
Today’s factory farms are virtual flu factories. Sick, crowded, highly stressed animals in contact with contaminated feces and urine provide ideal incubation media for viruses. As these microbes reach humans, they mutate to defeat the new host’s immune system, then propagate by contact.
Each of us can help end animal farming and build up our own immune system against the flu by replacing animal products in our diet with vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. These foods don’t carry flu viruses, or government warning labels, are touted by every major health advocacy organization, and were the recommended fare in the Garden of Eden.
Brad Benedict
Brainerd
Comments (21)
Add commenti would rather die
i would rather die that become a vegan . the end. god made us to eat meat.
Brad
You would be better off telling us the health benefits of a fruit, vegetable, and whole grain diet then trying the scare tatic of the flu.
Animal Farming
Unless you are talking about mosquito, monkey, and bird farms, you don't make a valid argument. These are the "animals" that serve as the common vectors for the diseases that you mention. You eat your grass. Flu will still be here long after you're gone.
Purposed
I'm a betting he is good buds with that neil lesmeister & fish. Some people's children ehh??
Yes I know Nan you say that about me too. LOL
Purposed-I'm picturing Brad
Your description sounds like a governor I know. Sorry about the greenies. My puter was down until 11am so I'm just getting around to posting my greenies. You make a good point. There does seem to be periodic spikes in reds. Hmmm. What say, Denny.
Purposed
Just wait till F&B logs on. Then we will be safe. He had the record the other day & then they went & yanked it!! Bummer
BTW If he does log on he should be in a really foul mood. I heard he had to spend the day in St Paul. To me the only good thing about Scribbs area is seeing it in my rearview mirror when leaving!!!
meat good!
I would rather take my chances with a good medium rare steak or pile of pork chops vs Monsanto's GMO's!
Support
I support the beef and pork industry. Big bacon cheeseburger! Of course I have vegetable and fruit too. Lettuce and tomato!!
By the way OFB and Purposed... I haven't given you guys a thumbs down today! I ain't all bad ya know.
Thumbs up Nan for not giving
Thumbs up Nan for not giving a thumbs down.
Or not.
Apparently the World Health Organization is the source for this animal/flu farming information.
Sorry
"Each of us can help end animal farming and build up our own immune system against the flu by replacing animal products in our diet with vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. These foods don’t carry flu viruses, or government warning labels, are touted by every major health advocacy organization, and were the recommended fare in the Garden of Eden."
Sorry Brad but I've been living off fresh meat and veggies and farm milk for many many years. I have not had the flu for roughly 20 years. Wherever we have lived we have raised our own pork, eggs and chickens. Sure a garden on the side makes for a balanced diet, right? Never had salmonella or other food tragedies, but too much fruit,vegetables and whole grain can make you a "salad shooter."
No thanks.
(remember what happened in the Garden of Eden?)
OK Nan,
leave the pork out on here! :-)
You'll be healthier with your vegan diet
As long as you don't have peanut allergies. Or get e-coli from the spinach. Or get cancer from the chemicals they spray on the crops. Or be eternally damned as a sinner for eating the wrong apple in the fare in the Garden of Eden.
Me--- I'll just go on eating my low fat venison (totally organic don't ya know) that I shot with my assault bow and arrow (semi-automatic). And if rye whiskey counts as whole grain food, I'm right there with you.
I may die, but I'll die happy.
Chain letter...Again
Seems like Mr. Salazar in CT has a similar thought
http://www.norwichbulletin.com/Opinion/x1631908121/Letter-Healthier-diet...
I found a few more but you get the idea.
Hunt1
Just think about how much more lethal you would be if your bow had a pistol grip.
Vegan diet is the right diet, here's why.
Our bodies operate best at 7.2 to 7.4 Ph. Eating Vegtables and fruits will help you to reach this level of body Ph. This means our bodies will be slightly alkaline. Do you know what can't live in a slightly alkaline human body? Viruses for one. What is the flu bug? A virus. Some side effects of a vegan diet include: nearly unlimited energy I switched to a vegan diet years ago and went from sleeping all the time to only needing 4 hours of sleep a day and I have more energy than I've had in years. If you don't want to try it, then don't, but have the common sense realize that not everyone is a lying liberal.
I only eat
bottled water. Its the main meal I eat. And bottled water is free of all contaminants. I am working on being able to eat the bottle too, but so far, tests have only resulted in a plugged colon. I went to a macrobiotic healer and they recommended 40 quarts of prune juice. So I imported some high grade, high octane prune juice.
I wont lie. It hurt making the plastic demons leave my body. And now I am only back on drinking the bottled water. I no longer eat the bottle. But someday soon, I will once again be able to eat the bottle, after the tests show that the phosphorus eating bacteria I produce in my newly grown third lower intestine can consume the recyclables. We are working on planting the caps of the bottles and hop that soon they too will sprout forth new, fresh, macrobiotic bottle caps.
Please understand that I am weak and tired from this diet and the fishscales I have recently grown on my appendages make it hard to type. I strongly encourage others to try this diet for 90 days, and if you still aren't convinced, please try it another 180 days. A macrobiotic diet of only bottled water and the bottles they came in can, and WILL change your lives. Possibly for the worst, but, it WILL change your life!
It just can't be
So this was an email yes, it was. Say it ain't so, I didn't think anyone had email chains except those evilllllll Republicons.
As far as the diet, to each his own. To me, this comes under or close to the "preaching" category.
If the writer wants to copy an email to print in the paper, then fine. I hope the next time good ole "what's his name" does it
we have the same reaction.
Fat chance of that right Art?
I'm
Still trying to find a vegan who isn't a raging liberal socialist. If anyone knows of one please let me know!
What he is referring to is
What he is referring to is factory farms, and he is right. Factory farms perverse nature by feeding ruminant animals corn something they are not suppose to eat and by keeping large amount of animals in one place. This leads to disease, and is extremely taxing on our environment. To counter disease we pump these poor animals full of antibiotics further perpetuating the problem by lessening the effect of antibiotics and aiding pathogens in building resistance against the antibiotics. He is correct about a the vegan diet. However, it is not the only way. You could raise your own animals. This way you have control over what your animals ear. You could hunt for meat (this is somewhat unsustainable because if everyone who ate meat hunted I am not sure the deer population would sustain itself). You could eat meat from sustainable farms. My motto is local is better then organic. Vegans are among the healthiest people I know. I think Purposed probably doesn't personally know that many. Mav you could be the first, and the individual who stated he would rather die might have his chance to prove himself. Sorry to attack your meat. If you would actually like to educate yourself on the matter Michael Polan has a great book The Omnivores Dilemma.