Factory Farm Connection to Swine Flu?

Speaking of a righteous porkchop, I've been waiting for some mainstream coverage to confirm whether there is a link between the current swine flu outbreak and factory farms.

I've been seeing a blog posts and Daily Kos has a couple diaries citing Mexican press coverage on the subject.

But in the U.S. papers, it's tougher to find the info. Buried deep in this New York Times piece is this note:

Mexican officials said they had traced the origins of the outbreak to a rural area known as La Gloria in the southeastern state of Veracruz, the site of several major pig farms.

We still don't know how serious this outbreak is. Though the death toll is climbing in Mexico and the numbers of confirmed cases in the U.S. doubled from 20 to 40 in the last 24 hours.

The most informative piece I've seen though is on a Humane Society blog, Factory Farming Campaign. In the post from Saturday, Dr. Michael Greger, director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at the Humane Society, writes in "Swine Flu and Factory Farms: Fast Track to Disaster" about the history of swine/avian flues and their increasing prevalence on high density farms.

He also notes the dangers posed by the current practices of moving animals cross country, from breading areas, to confined feeding locations to slaughter...all the way increasing the chance of disease spread.

None of the mainstream media reports I've seen have made the connection between large pork producer Smithfield. The Mexican press has apparently made the link and there's a Smithfield release rebutting the claim. The Virginian-Pilot reports on the rebuttal, but little else on the subject.

Maverick Farms owner Tom Philpott discusses the Smithfield link in a post on Grist.

I'll be eager to see how this all plays out. I'm hopeful that as more is learned about the virus and its cause that we will know more about how to treat and prevent.

Add 'Righteous Porkchop' to My B-Day Wish List

I have a new item for my birthday wish list. I'd probably put it after the Aqua Globe set, but before the "revolutionary" Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter.

Here's what I want: Nicolette Hahn Niman's book published in February, "Righteous Porkchop Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms."

I'd only read about Niman, an environmental lawyer, in relationship to her husband, Bill Niman, a pioneer of grass-fed beef and now goats.

Here's why I want to read the book...from the Harper Collins promo:

In telling her story, Niman details not only why to choose meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, and fish from traditionally farmed sources (and avoid products tainted by chemicals and antibiotic-resistant bacteria), but also how to do so. She reveals what to look for on labels, why to skip animal products from outside the United States, and what questions to ask when eating out.

USDA Finally to Take Closer Look at Organic Practices

Good news. The U.S. is about to do its first detailed survey of organic agriculture. Really...it's first.

We keep seeing stats that organic ag is on the rise. If you're like me, you're seeing more "organic" products on store shelves.

Indeed, according to a 2007 ag census, there were more than 20,000 farms with land in organic production and sales of $1.7 billion. Still just a fraction of farmland in the U.S. But not chump change.

Yet we really don't have much information about organic practices across the country.

Reuters reports that questionnaires will be mailed next month with responses due by mid-June. The USDA will issue a report on the findings sometime net year.

"This is an opportunity for organic producers to share their voices and help ensure the continued growth and sustainability of organic farming in the United States," Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack said in news release today.

Below are some examples of what info the USDA intends to collect:

-- Production practices such as pest management, cover crops, crop rotation, rotational grazing, conservation tillage, water management and buffer zones

-- Production expenses

-- Marketing practices, including wholesale, retail and direct-to-consumer sales

More details can be found on the USDA's FAQ page here.

Photo is Vilsack earlier this month getting his hands dirty with school children planting the Obama's Kitchen Garden, an organic garden on the South Lawn of the White House.

A CSA in Your Backyard? Check Out SF's MyFarm

Sometimes, there's just not enough hours in a day or a week to get to weeding or harvesting a backyard bounty.

That's why it's exciting to see this organization in San Francisco (and apparently something similar in Portland): MyFarm.

MyFarm describes itself as a "decentralized urban farm" in which organic veggies vegetables are grown in backyards and unused spaces throughout the city.

The aim of MyFarm founder Trevor Paque, according to this USA Today piece, is to turn "San Francisco's under-used, overgrown backyards into verdant plots of green that will provide organically grown food for the city's residents."

Seriously brilliant idea, truly a CSA in your own backyard.

The best part? They're sharing what they're learning from the experience and creating a manual for other urban areas to use.

BTW, the Portland organization has been around since 2006 and is called Your Backyard Farmer.

Farm Fresh Deliveries Now in Indy and Cincy

Learned about this promising Midwest fresh food delivery service from my favorite tavern owner.

So if you're in Indy or Cincy and want year-round organic eats, check out Farm Fresh Delivery.

I was pleased to learn that there's a Marion native involved in the operation: Co-owner Matt Ewer.

But I'm even more optimistic that this is a solid operation because of the top-notch suppliers, including Capriole (excellent goat cheese), Dillman Farms (the best preserves I've ever had) and Traders Point Creamery (tasty dairy, plus true grass-fed beef, no corn finishing).

I'm loving that Matt and his Farmgirl bride Beth Blessing have combined their talents - organic farming and nutrition - to launch this operation. [Am also loving their personalized version of American Gothic.]

The team photo depicts a smart, fun-loving crew, just the type of people you want guiding you toward a healthier lifestyle.

Mexico, Singapore Ban Poultry Imports from Kentucky

It looks like the recent bird flu outbreak in Kentucky may start to get some American media attention after Mexico and Singapore banned import of all poultry and poultry products from the state.

Forbes picked up this brief AP piece on Singapore's ban, which excluded heat-processed poultry and egg products from the ban.

Bloomberg reported yesterday that Mexico, which is the 3rd-largest importer of U.S. chicken meat, also won't accept uncooked poultry products from both Edmonson and Grayson counties in Kentucky. Similar bans have also been imposed by Russia, Japan, Colombia, Ecuador, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Avian influenza was detected earlier this month at a farm that produces hatching eggs for Perdue Farms Inc.

No transmission to humans has been reported. Similarly, area backyard chicken flocks have been spared contamination.

A Stimulus Plan that Includes a Boost to Farming

Interesting piece in the New York Times today about a farming stimulus plan meant to put young, underpaid, urbanites back into the fields to get them into productive jobs and to literally rejuvenate the farming community.

So where is this happening? Japan, where there remains a reverence for farming and, presumably, where farmers aren't summarily dismissed as hicks and know-nothing rednecks.

The Times reports that Prime Minister Taro Aso included a farming pilot plan in his economic stimulus plan. The idea is to dispatch 2,400 underpaid or underemployed 20s and 30s somethings to work as part of a Rural Labor Squad.

[T]he program stems from growing concern about both the plight of Japan’s younger workers and the dismal state of farms. In a play on words, the squad’s name in Japanese — Inaka-de-hatarakitai — is also its rallying cry: 'We want to work in the countryside!'

I like the idea of subsidizing farm workers, especially for the midsized farms in the U.S. that are getting squeezed out of business.

Another interesting tidbit from the piece is that young urbanites are flocking to farm education programs. An Osaka ag job fair attracted an impressive 1,400 potential farm job applicants.

Wow.

Bird Flu Outbreak Confined to Factory Farm Chickens

Looks so far like the backyard chicken flocks in western Kentucky have been spared a recent outbreak of bird flu in that state.

I first heard about the outbreak from a friend in Kentucky. We had to dig for some coverage and thanks to the iFarmer, I was led to this story by Channel 13, WBKU in Bowling Green.

State animal health workers have tested chickens within a 2-mile radius, though it looks like they'll keep testing a 6-mile radius.

The outbreak was discovered at farms that hatch chickens for Perdue Farms in Brownsburg.

Amazing to me that there isn't widespread coverage of this. Does this happen more often than I think, so that this isn't a big deal?

The reports I've seen identify the strain as a "non-pathogenic or low-pathogenic form of avian influenza" that doesn't carry the same risk of death as strains in other countries.

Still, this flu outbreak isn't something to sneeze at.

According to Brownfield Ag Network, "Perdue plans to depopulate the 20,000 chickens in two houses on the farm."

Depopulate? Now that's a euphemism to rival all others.

Peep Watch: Law Favs

I couldn't be happier with the Peeps in Law gallery at ABAJournal.com.

So far, most of the dioramas I hoped would be submitted have been, including O.J., Madoff and a We the Peeple Constitution scene.

There are also some beautifully photographed and staged scenes that the gallery doesn't do justice.

I haven't settled on a favorite yet, but I love this one:


But it's hard to top this one:

Cool. Motown Could End Up With the Largest Urban Farm in the World

I'm loving news out of Detroit that area farmer John Hantz wants Detroit to let him turn 70 acres of vacant and blighted land into a large vegetable farm with a cider mill and riding trails.

Stories at UPI.com and the Detroit News say this would be the largest urban farm in the world.

What I really like about this proposal is that it kills a few birds with one stone. In addition to beautifying and creating a useful purpose for crime-magnates, an urban farm would feed a population increasingly demanding locally-grown produce.

Hantz wants the land for free to get the ball rolling. His plan is to eventually return the land to the city as a public revenue producing venture.

So...what's the downside? And what does the Motor City have to lose?

Follow the link to the Detroit Free Press, which held a live chat with a senior VP at Hantz Farms about the plan.

Egg Art, Round 1

We did our first round of decorating blown and hard-boiled eggs. The crayons didn't work as well as hot wax for writing. Next round, we'll go with wax if I can remember how to do that.

Looks like we'll be eating a lot of eggs this week.

Update: Bella cried and cried until we promised not to eat the hard-boiled eggs that she carefully decorated with stickers and googly eyes.

Peep Watch: New Favorite

There are some creative dioramas this year on the Trib site, but here's my latest favorite, Dust Bunnies Bite by Julie Jansen:


I also absolutely love this blog: 100 Ways to Kill a Peep

Morbid, but brilliant.