Don't forget bird flu and the 1918 Influenza, both connected to animals!

Posted by: Canaduck | April 27, 2009 03:36 PM

Little victory for pigs? I read this didn't even come from pigs. It is a combination of the avian, swine and human virus. I don't find anything wrong with eating meat as long as we treat them with respect such as not harming them in anyway and help them have a good life. If God didn't want us to eat animals he wouldn't have put them here. He put them here for companionship and also for food. They ate animals when Jesus walked the earth.

Posted by: Denise | April 27, 2009 03:59 PM

There is some evidence that this new flu is a hybrid of swine and avian flu. To simply call it "swine flu" is a misnomer. Yes, it could be prevented if we took the necessary steps to eliminate factory farming but now that it's spreading around the world, we need to just use common-sense prevention: regularly washing our hands and not sharing food and drinks.

The worst thing to happen with this pandemic will be the sheer number of pigs who will be killed under the excuse of "preventive measures." I wouldn't be surprised if the flesh of these sick pigs made it into the US food supply.

Posted by: shannon | April 27, 2009 04:18 PM

This is what I constantly keep telling people! It's factory farming's fault!
It's NOT the pigs fault! They suffer unbeleivably, and people say it's their fault?!?
This epademic is mans fault entirely!!!

Posted by: Marina | April 27, 2009 04:25 PM

Thanks to Alisa for the comment. I heard some of the news today and I was puzzled why nobody mentioned pig's farms. Someone even insisted that no pig has been found with the virus. Is this true?

Posted by: Ana Maria | April 27, 2009 04:35 PM

For the person who is claiming that God put animals here for us to eat, did he put women here to be bred and African Americans to be slaves in our fields? Under the cloak of religion, not Christianity, people become confined and limited. Thank goodness that I am aware that I am here to create and expand with ideas and actions that reach higher and broader than the limited concepts that have been taught in the past.
Quite simply, watch a slaughterhouse video while you eat and see how that makes you feel. If I were to watch a field being harvested while I eat, I would not have any bad feelings whatsoever! Your feelings should guide you!

Diseases jump from animals to humans (and yes, the swine flu was a virus that jumped from pigs to humans in a mutated form) when humans interfere. It has been the case with every single virus that has made that leap! HIV anyone?

Posted by: Michael Essi | April 27, 2009 04:41 PM

I would like to see more marketing materials towards removing pigs from the food chain altogether. If PETA can make the case that swine flu ORIGINALLY CAME From Pigs, regardless of which strain this is, more power to them!
(And GOD did not put anything on this earth for the sole use of mankind. The same argument could be made that God put Man on this earth so sharks would have something to eat - Did God put dogs on this earth to eat, also?)

Posted by: Brenda | April 27, 2009 04:52 PM

This is all I could think about when I heard the media hysteria. And yet very few will connect how much meat really does kill...

Posted by: Monika | April 27, 2009 04:52 PM

Outbreak may be tracable to pig farm in southern Oaxaca, Mexico. The farm is owned by a company called Granjas Carroll de Mexico, which is 50% owned by the Virginia (USA) based company Smithfield Foods.
Source: Associated Press

Posted by: AV | April 27, 2009 04:55 PM

Oops, just re-read the AP article: The farm is in Veracruz.

Posted by: AV | April 27, 2009 05:16 PM

chicken flu, mad cows disease, swine flu'.. when will poeple WAKE UP and see the CORRELATION?????
intensive factory farming.. not only suffering for million/billions of farm animals living in unnatural intense and dense proximity to each other but also hotbed breeding grounds for borned mutant hybrid viruses.. humans only have THEMSELVES to blame !!!

Posted by: lizbeth | April 27, 2009 05:22 PM

@Michael Essi
Slavery would be a perfect comparison if it wasn't for the fact that humans are slightly higher on the evolution chart than animals.

Posted by: Pepsi One is Fun | April 27, 2009 05:35 PM

I am a true lover of pigs and i agree! I don't eat pigs and maybe if everyone else did 2, they wouldn't have to die.

Posted by: Hilary | April 27, 2009 05:50 PM

SARS originated in exotic animal meat (food) markets in China

Posted by: kelly | April 27, 2009 07:28 PM

i actually did come from Pigs, But you cant get it from eating them that is prolly what you heard

Posted by: UWgirl | April 27, 2009 07:47 PM

First, swine flu is contracted from contact with a LIVE onfected animal. Cooked meat is fine to eat. Mad Cow disease is so rare that the chances of contracting that (if it is even possible) are slim to none. Also, E. Coli is a disease usually found on plants, like the outbreak earlier this year. Cooking meat will kill 99.9% of all pathogens, so a conection with cooked meat and those diseases is very rare.

Posted by: Korea | April 27, 2009 07:56 PM

I am a fairly new vegetarian, and I am understanding more and more every day as to why I made this choice. This proves that we have no business confining these animals in close quarters, and deny them veterinary care, because this is what happens.

I'm sure God is looking down on us today and is ashamed at what we do to these poor animals, His creation, and this is our punishment. There is no doubt in my mind that that is why these diseases are present in our world.

Posted by: Amy L. | April 27, 2009 08:23 PM

@Brenda
Don't people in Asia eat dogs which completely makes the argument of god putting dogs on the earth to eat valid?

Posted by: Pepsi One is Fun | April 27, 2009 08:32 PM

God did not put anything on earth just so humans could eat them...that is religious lies. All things on this earth are inter-connected. Each living and non-living thing changes and is changed by the others. Flu viruses are just proof that pigs can and do impact the lives of humans, weather you eat them or not. We should respect all living creatures.

Posted by: Joann | April 27, 2009 08:36 PM

In Eden before the fall of man humans were vegan (Genesis 1:29). Meat is literally destroying the planet as it causes massive environmental toxicity, global warming, air, water and land pollution, deforestation and human starvation.

Posted by: Brien Comerford | April 27, 2009 08:56 PM

Funny. I was just talking to some people at work about this. My Fiancee and I gave up meat entirely last July, and have not looked back once. Since that time have seen this swine flu and the bad meat breakout with Maple Leaf farms. I am so thankful each day that I finally made the switch. I talk to my friends every day about not eating meat (and some have cut down drastically). Maybe some day an actual journalist will cover this story the right way and inform us as to the reasons all of this is happening. The same can be said for other diseases that spread in dense populations all over the world SARS anyone??? Dense population and illness go hand in had, and with animals that are not kept healthy or clean its even worse. Try living in your bathroom for a week, and never flush.

Utopaline

Posted by: Jody Bourgoin | April 27, 2009 09:08 PM

Apparently, this flu is a mixture of swine, avian and human flu viruses. I am not sure if it was due to farming. I have relatives who have farms, and I doubt if they are into the animal cruelty as this post suggests. I always grew up eating meet, but do love animals- I don't want them to be mistreated. However, I happened to go to this site to see commentary on the swine flu. I really am not sure that is anyone's fault for this i.e. farm, etc... it sounds like the flus we have encountered years ago, pandemic, not from farming. Some of the commentary, is just insane, no offense. I mean haven't we all, (in our childhood) consumed some meat? I don't think there is anyone to blame... stuff happens, and I hope we are safe from this issue.

Posted by: Katie | April 27, 2009 10:40 PM

I don't think Swine Flu or Mexico Flu really describes the problem and so I decided earlier tonight to call it "Factory Farm Flu." I hope you'll all join me and spread the word.

Posted by: Michael | April 27, 2009 11:16 PM

Denise,
All I can say is wow. Do you justify everything with religion? Michael pretty much summed up my feelings. BTW, there were a lot of things wrong with the world when Jesus was here, so geez I guess we should just keep it that way forever. Sorry, but you sound like one uneducated and narrow minded individual. How is killing animals "not harming them in any way"? And factory farmed animals live horrific lives, obviously you didn't research factory farming before you spoke.

Posted by: heather | April 27, 2009 11:17 PM

HAHAHAHA TAKE THAT MEAT-EATERS!

Posted by: Gina | April 27, 2009 11:46 PM

be a part and make a difference

Posted by: prem | April 28, 2009 12:15 AM

Thank you Michael Essi for your comment. I totally agree!

Saying animals were put on earth for our "use" is a lame excuse. Each creature is here for its' own purposes. BY RULING OVER OTHER SENTIENT BEINGS WITH TOTAL DISREGARD FOR THEIR NEEDS, THEIR RIGHT TO LIVE PAIN-FREE, THEIR FAMILIES, THEIR SOCIETIES - WE ARE FINALLY REAPING WHAT WE HAVE SOWED! We need to share the world with other species and stop harming and exploiting them for our taste and desires!

Posted by: CAROLYN | April 28, 2009 12:35 AM

It is called swine flu because pigs can carry viruses of several species. This enables the viruses to combine into new forms unrecognized by our immune systems and current medicine.

It is time to stop breeding so many pigs! We are just asking for another epidemic.

Do your part by going veg :)

Posted by: Brad | April 28, 2009 01:08 AM

"...as long as we treat them with respect such as not harming them in anyway..." You think killing them is not harming them?

Posted by: lynda downie | April 28, 2009 01:26 AM

Here we go again. God created animals so that we humans eat them. The final testament from God, the one that came after Bible, aka Koran prohibits the eating of pig meat which is exactly where swine flu came from. Koran also dedicates a whole chapter to animals and advises Humans for respectful co-existence with animals. Factory farming is anything but respectful co-existence. May be the person who posted here and apparently takes her/his guidance from religious books should take a look at Koran, the Final testament, and should learn that factory farming and eating of pig meat is anything but Godly.

Posted by: sara | April 28, 2009 01:35 AM

Canaduck: You're an ignorant moron. Lets go along with your story, if there is God, he also put humans on earth....should we eat eachother? He put us here right? Mmm tasty human burger, think thats gross....same thing as eating animal flesh. You have no clue what you're talking about. Did you actually talk to Jesus, did he personally tell you to eat a Big Mac?, didn't think so, so stop saying things in the name of religon!

Posted by: Reshina | April 28, 2009 01:47 AM

It is another blow to all those non vegetarians out there! Of late animal meat has increased in variety and come festivals, or celebrations , animals are slaughtered mercilessly to satiate the gluttonous appetites. Earlier the chickens took revenge with avian flu reaching pandemic proportions and now the pigs are out to avenge their killing.

Its high time we embrace vegetarianism and more respct environment!

Posted by: helen | April 28, 2009 02:03 AM

How closed minded do you have to be to believe that god put animals on this earth for us to eat. This is a great example of how people use religion as a way to excuse their practices. I am a catholic and i dont believe that god put my beautiful australian shepherd on this earth for me to eat nor the animal in this topic(the pig) who by the ways happens to be extremely smart and thank god!!! yes god!!! some people here in california are starting to adopt them as pets specially the dwarf pigs

Posted by: victor | April 28, 2009 02:09 AM

So I'm assuming God put the animals here for us just to look at and over populate the earth? I agree with the top comment. If they weren't meant to be eaten we wouldn't have been eating any animals for centuries on end. But the way they are treated is very sad, and shouldn't be allowed. A shark and a dog cannot even compare to a human being so that answer was a little on the air headed side. Maybe if these places were kept a little bit cleaner and the animals were taken better care of, we wouldn't have these problems. And I would like to add that in some countries dogs are eaten, sharks are eaten, almost all animals are eaten by every type of species on this earth, if not there would be to many. And I don't know very many people that will sit down and eat a steak while watching a cow get slaughtered. The people doing the slaughtering are evil pieces of crap and shouldn't be allowed to touch an animal if they are going to abuse/torture them. Most people know that when you kill an animal it wouldn't be short of disgusting but not everyone knows the abuse that goes on.

Posted by: Justin | April 28, 2009 02:44 AM

A respectful response to Denise: Denise, although I philosophically disagree with your position on eating meat I do agree about what you said about respect. Respect is important. I have a feeling though that if Christ were here today and he saw how the animals on factory farms are treated he would go vegan. Those animals are disrespected terribly and really that is an abuse of God's creation. So even if you still believe in eating meat perhaps it would be a good idea to go vegetarian just to fight the factory farms.

Posted by: Andrew | April 28, 2009 02:50 AM

Denise, if God din't want us to eat scyscrapers, he wouldn't have put them here. Makes about as much sense as your statement.

If you insist on believing in God, don't then go and make a mockery of him - you're not helping anyone!

Posted by: Daryl | April 28, 2009 06:22 AM

I agree Monika, when i read the news, all i think about is the way the pigs are bred. There is a photo on the Sky news web page showing a man spraying the poor factory pigs. I hope more people will see the cruelity involved in factory farming.

Posted by: Jaquie | April 28, 2009 06:26 AM

Around at my friends house pigs always get packed for the slaughter house.

Posted by: brooklyn | April 28, 2009 07:01 AM

'' Thank you AV,'' for posting. Enough said '' Smithfield.''

Posted by: keith | April 28, 2009 07:21 AM

Denise, you are a f**king idiot. Dogs eat animals does that justify our eating them knowing they suffer immensely? You don't even know they suffer that's how ignorant you are, it's sad. Anyways on a brighter note, Great Sign, PETA. Way to educate & remind.

Posted by: laura | April 28, 2009 09:47 AM

Not only does Meat KILL by means of viruses from the poor animals, Meat KILLS by causing Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Autoimmune Diseases, etc etc etc & the list goes on and on and ON. I strongly suggest book, The China Study for more on educating yourself on this, going veg could save your LIFE. <3

Posted by: Laura | April 28, 2009 09:50 AM

CANADUCK! Who are YOU to say that GOD put animals here for us to eat? NOT everyone believes in the Bible book that was written by MAN. Such ignorance. Use common sense! It is disgusting and immensely egotistical to assume you can eat animals. Are you still an animal who can't survive without brutal killings like an unevloved cave person? Oh, but didn't GOD say Thou shall not Kill? Oh, I forgot, only when it convenient right? WRONG-

Posted by: Raquel | April 28, 2009 09:54 AM

Well Canaduck, that is the point isn't it? Animals are NOT being treated with respect. I believe that there is no excuse for killing an animal, but even if you agree with killing, factory farms and even most "organic" and "free-range" animal operations, raise animal in too high numbers in cramped conditions, and THAT is how disease spreads.
There is another issue. Most epidemiologists will tell you that viruses get stronger over generations (viruses are a natural way to keep populations under control, and they only emerge when a species is overpopulated)
Because animals are raised in such huge numbers, a CONTANT STATE OF OVERPOPULATION is created, which leads to viruses.
The next problem is that animals are killed much younger than their natural lifespan (chickens naturally live 10-20 years killed at 8 weeks, pigs live 20-30 years, killed at 6 months, cows live 30-40 years killed at 3 years)
And since the ENTIRE generation is killed and then an entire other generation is bred. This is absolutely UNNATURAL and speeds up the evolutionary process of the animal viruses. In nature an ENTIRE generation of a species would never ALL die in childhood.
If you imagine that a generation would be (on average) each 20 years, and we are artificially creating (and slaughtering) entire generations (on average) every year, that means that each year is like 20 years, so over the last 40 years of factory farming, viruses have leapt forward 800 years!
There is no way that we can keep up. Which is why we have all these “super-bugs”!

As for your understanding of theology Canaduck, sadly, it is quite flawed.
If you are a believer of the Judeo-Christian faith a very important element that people like yourself ALWAYS forget when defending their RIGHT to the planet and the animals, is that the planet, the animals and even our very lives BELONG to God.
It is his NOT YOURS. Faith and devotion to GOD does not make YOU God. God demands RESPECT. If you cannot respect our natural world and the species who live within it, you should at least respect GOD.
Anyone who sees what we are doing to HIS animals in factory farms, what we are doing to HIS oceans by over fishing and how we are polluting HIS planet, cannot claim that God gave us a right to do this.
Christians need to be reminded that they have no God-given right; they have a God-given RESPONSIBILITY.
And that is the definition of Dominion. God gave us HIS planet and HIS animals to TAKE CARE OF THEM. Not genetically modify them, over breed and selective breed them, enslave them, make them live in unnatural (unGodly ways) for our own selfish greed and pleasures.
God gave us all fruits and vegetables to eat. This was the case in the Garden and what he told Noah. Eating meat was clearly AN EXCEPTION.
Which counted as a (forgivable) sin. But only if there was NO OTHER FOOD!!!
Greed and Gluttony are DEADLY (unforgivable) sins.
And with our grocery stores filled with plenty of vegan foods, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, vegetables, eating meat cannot be justified in any other way than GREED AND GLUTTONY. And god does not condone deadly sins.
And it wasn’t for companionship in the way that you understand it (to use) it was in the way that it was meant to be understood when the Bible was written (to care for)
As for Jesus he preached compassion. They also had wars and murders and rape and various other atrocities in Jesus’ day, just because those horrors happened when Jesus walked the Earth does not mean that he condoned them. In fact, he clearly spoke out AGAINST animal sacrifices and encouraged his follower to see him as the innocent lamb (the only sacrifice ever needed)
If you follow Jesus’ message of compassion and pacifism and still kill every day, then sadly you are missing something very important in your faith and within your heart.

Posted by: Antoine | April 28, 2009 10:09 AM

You PETA people are the most naive people I have ever seen. You think you can never get sick by following vegetarian and vegan diets. Well, I've got some news for you. You CAN get sick, and you CAN get cancer. A good example is Christina Applegate, a well-known vegetarian actress. She got breast cancer, despite eating no meat. She has recovered from it, which is good news. This proves that cancer is caused by other factors. Plus, those studies that say vegetarians live longer lives never take into account that many of them aren't smokers and exercise regularly. By the way, salmonella on the tomatoes didn't come from factory farming. It came from manure being spread for fertilizer, which comes from animals. In addition to that, vegetable farming can be toxic to the environment as well. Fertilizer is used to make vegetables grow, and rain can make it runoff into streams, poisoning them. Last but not least, the incidents of abused farm animals are very isolated, but you make it sound like it happens all the time, which it doesn't. When it does occur, it's because the person is ignorant, inexperienced, or just doesn't care. Abuse does nothing but ruin the end product. Most farmers bend their backs over to care for their animals. They care deeply for them and make sure they don't get sick. The animals are given antibiotics ONLY if they are sick. I've seen pictures of pigs on so-called factory farms, and they seemed content in their environment, which consisted of loose housing. The only time they were put into farrowing crates was to have their piglets, and even that lasted only a few weeks. Call me an animal killer for the comments I've made. I don't care. That's all I have to say.

Posted by: Little One | April 28, 2009 10:14 AM

I think those quoting their religion are missing the point: factory farms are a *modern* invention. Do you really think Jesus did or would eat at McDonald's? Of course not. Factory farms are just another one of modern devices to increase the suffering of the creatures we share this earth with .. just so we can grab a fattening, unhealthy lunch or dinner.

We're torturing and killing them and we're killing ourselves by eating their flesh.

I hate to say it.. but you reap what you sow. Hey, isn't that one of your god's favorite things to say in the bible?

Posted by: Amanda | April 28, 2009 10:15 AM

It's called KARMA....when will the human race ever learn that what goes around comes around....

Posted by: Nadine | April 28, 2009 10:33 AM

Canaduk,
Its true that God created animals but in the start he didnt create them for food!! Read Genesis for more info! Man & Animals lived in harmoney. they survived on plants! But when sin entered animals too began to pray on any living thing. and man began to kill. It is Man that began killing/hurting animals. God would never approve of Animals been tortured like today! If u care abt Animals and love them enough to do somthing to save them at least in some small way then do it. its no use posting comments on PETA when u think eating meat is ok. it sounds like u dont care at all.

Posted by: Cyndi | April 28, 2009 10:38 AM

Its pretty simple, we were not entended to eat meat! That goes back to the bible days too everyone. God intended us to eat fruit, nuts and veggies, not meat, our bodies were not made to eat meat! Meat or Cancer anyone?

Posted by: darla | April 28, 2009 10:38 AM

Thank you Ana Maria... my words exactly. Chalk up one more reason..people use religion as a crutch so they feel ok about eating meat...same with conservationists who are not vegetarian. I can't believe people are surprised when this type of thing happens. Can you also say GM....

Posted by: Sarah Simmonds | April 28, 2009 10:57 AM

You're missing the bigger picture Little One, as most people do. It all ties together...takes a little common sense here.

Posted by: Sarah | April 28, 2009 11:14 AM

Korea,

If I lived in the States I wouldn't be too complacent about Mad Cow (BSE, nvCJD). Cooking will not kill the prions involved in this disease.

Strangely enough, to date the USDA has detected only 3 cases of Mad Cow. Canada has uncovered 15 cases, and in Japan, where they test every single cow, 34 cases have been discovered. Hmm...

The first admitted case of BSE in the States also made it into the human food chain (Google Dave Louthan, the guy that killed the diseased cow). The USDA is controlled by agribusiness and so naturally they prioritize profits over people's health.

There is also evidence that increasing "Alzheimer's" rates are not attributable to AD at all, but rather slow-incubating CJD.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | April 28, 2009 11:23 AM

I think that humans are not really supposed to be omnivorus because for starters our jaws aren't strong enough to tear through raw flesh, which is part of the reason why we cook meat, and also we don't have the needed enzymes to kill off bacteria like samonella, which is another reason we have to cook meat. I think the reason why we ended up eating meat is because during the ice-age there wasnt much else so we adapted to our environment. Also, our primate relatives dont eat meat unless food is scarce.

Posted by: Lily Denyer | April 28, 2009 11:28 AM

I just want to point out to Reshina and Raquel that they may have attacked the wrong person on here. The first comment that I'm viewing on here is from Canaduck, whom makes no comment about God whatsoever. I think you both may have intended to direct your comments to the person who left the second comment, named Denise. I just think that if you are going to target someone on here, then make sure you are addressing the correct person and perhaps in this case an apology is due to Canaduck.

Posted by: cardinal | April 28, 2009 11:36 AM

Yes, it is true that this particular strain of swine flu has not been found in hogs yet. Smithfield farms, which I am sure you are all aware of, has stated that none of their employees or the pigs they raise in Mexico have yet to been found with this strain. Same for their operations in the United States. It is interesting to note that influenza was actually passed from humans to pigs originally. Again, this is a combination of avian, human, and swine flu with Euroasian properties that are foreign to North America.

Posted by: Pedro | April 28, 2009 11:42 AM

lol, I've read some pretty FUN topics here... how animals are placed here to be eaten and everything! That's FUNNY AS HELL! Since of course we EAT all animals! Including dogs, cats, horses, parrots, etc etc...

I believe this topic is not to discuss if you should or shouldn't eat meat. But the causes of this influenza virus.
If it came from pigs, cows, your neighboor... it pretty much doesn't matter at this point, since it no longer needs an animal vector (other than human) to be transmited (chiken flu still needs an animal vector as far as I believe). Now, no matter if you had contact with the PIG or not! If your aunt has it and you went to her house yestertay to eat vegetables, you will probably get it too!

And as any other Influenza Virus, it is not by EATING it that you will get it! It is by the direct contact to body fluids! So the guy that takes care of the pig farm did not eat the meat to be the first of this pandemic crisis... He was near a infected pig!

And for mad cow disease, who told the "racional" beeings that feeding COWS with rests of dead animals would be good? OF COURSE, because after all, we eat meat... so should the cow right? DUMBNUTS! Everything can be avoided. If you think of it.
Now to avoid getting the flu... just eat vegetables and you should be fine! This is disrespect to those that have nothing to do with anything and still are dying.
Don't make their suffer to be a EAT VEGGIE slogan.

Do it because you think it is right! And say why it is right...
Appeal to the Bible, man that's low, even because you can interpretate it in so FREAKING many ways! Use better arguments, like... Heart diseases or whatever...

See you all, and just take care and avoid crowds...

Posted by: Bruno Nobrega | April 28, 2009 11:56 AM

Canaduck...not everyone is religious! I trust whats in my heart and mind...I have compassion for living breathing creatures...I do not believe in killing animals for my selfish greedy tastebuds or because a book told me too...I don't care what bible you read, your religious rants will not change people's compassion and love for animals!

Posted by: Melissa Switalski | April 28, 2009 11:59 AM

I bet because of this swine flu hundreds of pigs were killed due to scare. I have decided to go vegetarian, these animals don't deserve to be treated the way they are currently being treated.

Posted by: Elizabeth T. | April 28, 2009 12:33 PM

Justin, we wouldn't have to worry about overpopulation. The reason there are so many animals is because HUMANS breed them. You say it is okay to eat meat, and then turn around and say that people who kill them are horrible people. If people didn't kill them, would you be willing to do the dirty deed yourself? Have you seen the suffering that takes place at farms, during transport, and at the slaughterhouse?

Posted by: Lana | April 28, 2009 12:37 PM

canaduck, right on!

you can get salmonila from vegtables that aren't cooked at 160 degrees, and if I ate meat from a cow that had Mad Cow Disese and cooked it at 160 degrees I would be fine.

Posted by: P.E.T.A. is confused | April 28, 2009 12:39 PM

To Michael Essi ~ phenominal comment. Cheers ^^

Posted by: Andrea | April 28, 2009 12:40 PM

To Bruno Nobrega ~ phenominal comment too!! Cheers

Posted by: Andrea | April 28, 2009 12:43 PM

Figures, only people from PETA or just because you are vegetarian would make negative comments towards people who would eat meat. A SKYSCRAPER? C'mon that is just down right dumb to compare to any type of meat, something to cannot chew, or pick up, to something that can be digested. So what about all the manure that comes from animals? Should we boycott the local farmers market for selling vegetables that are fertilized with cow poop? I can see why some think that all of you are nuts, because you think that we should be one with our fellow animals. What are they here for? I would like to hear opinions on that one. Did God just put them here for no reason? There has to be a reason for them to be here, and I would like to hear that. What about all the wood and natural materials that are taken from other animals and used for our homes, etc? Should we live in dugouts made of mud? This is stupid and maybe the fact of slaughtering an animals shouldn't be the only topic that is talked about when it comes to treatment of animals. Maybe going vegetarian isn't the best solution, more people should demand that these animals are treated with respect and have good lives before they are taken to slaughter. I agree with the top post and some others. I won't post anything negative about their religion. Way back when, Jesus broke bread and fish to feed thousands. He even condoned slaughter of animals for sacrafice before he died on the cross. There is also much mentioning of people being told to go slaughter the fatest calf and prepare a feast. And at first Christ had said for there to be no eating of split hoofed animals because they were dirty, and the ones who eat the cud, etc. Now we cannot eat anything with blood in it. I want to hear all the narrow minded comments to this post.

Posted by: Jessica | April 28, 2009 12:44 PM

I hope lots of people will go more veg now :D
Ofc some one try to tell us that factory farms is bad....

Posted by: Oliver Engstrøm | April 28, 2009 12:56 PM

I've seen that this illnes doesn't even come from eating pig's meat. It could also happen if we didn't eat meat. Eating or not eating pigs is not a fact of this. And there is a food chain, we can't do anything against this

Posted by: John | April 28, 2009 01:04 PM

Mad Cow was from eating brains of cows, which is nasty anyways. The filthy conditions of these factory farms that these poor defenseless animals suffer in is the reason why so many types of meat are contaminated and many get sick. So the people who look over these farms and the people who take care of the animals are to blame for so many falling ill. Maybe when it comes to the fact of wether or not people should eat animals biblically we should look to scripture.

We read of God’s change in the food laws in the book of Acts. In Acts 10:10-16 God tells the apostle Peter that he was no longer under the restrictive food laws of the Old Law and that once again all animals were clean to eat. The analogy was meant to show that as all animals would now be considered clean to eat, all people were now accepted into God’s family, as had been the Jews. When the apostle Peter protested God’s instructions to “Rise, Peter, kill and eat”, God said that what He has declared clean to eat, do not call unclean. Are you going to tell God it’s morally wrong to hunt, kill and eat a deer, or that it’s wrong to raise fish, chicken, or beef for our dinner table? I for one will not.

Likewise, the apostle Paul explained that no food is unclean unless it personally offends your conscience to eat it, or causes a brother to stumble, Romans 14:13-15, 21-23. Paul says “Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.” I can second that statement as my family and I partake of the many culinary delights of wild game. Paul also explains in the same chapter in verses 1-3 that our vegetarian brothers are weak, and we should show the proper Christian spirit toward them. Also please see I Corinthians 10:24-33.

There is some of it so I hope that this puts an end to comments made by those for religion. The old way was to be vegetarian. But either way the welfare of these animals should always be considered and it doesn't seem to be the case when our standards are set so damn low and we don't care about how the animals are treated. That should be the focus here, not who is vegetarian and who eats meat.

Posted by: Tina | April 28, 2009 01:08 PM

Wow, everyone's really beating up on Canaduck, but I'm pretty sure that's not the person you should be yelling at, Denise was the one who wrote the religious talk, not Canaduck. Check the postings before you start lashing out. By the way, Little One, I don't even know what to say to you. I really don't think that you have seen a REAL factory farm. We're not talking about your average "farmer" here, it's mass production not your freakin happy farm where all the animals are running around free and happy. I think you should probably research some more.

Posted by: MS | April 28, 2009 01:22 PM

YOU DON'T GET THE SWINE FLU BY EATING PORK!

Posted by: NLerma | April 28, 2009 01:43 PM

"If I ate meat from a cow that had Mad Cow Disese and cooked it at 160 degrees I would be fine."
-P.E.T.A. is confused.

Not according to the USDA:

Will cooking (including microwave cooking) kill the BSE agent?
Current scientific research indicates that cooking will not kill the BSE agent.

Will irradiation kill the BSE agent?
Current scientific research indicates that irradiation will not kill the BSE agent.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/Bovine_Spongiform_Encephalopathy_Mad_Cow_Disease/index.asp

Even autoclaving instruments used in the autopsy of a human who died from CJD won't kill the prions responsible for the disease.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | April 28, 2009 01:45 PM

What worries me most is what's going to happen to the sick pigs? I remember seeing them toss live chickens into a fire pit during the bird flu epidemic. I sure hope that the pigs don't have that same fate. It is the fault of the humans who run these factory farms, not the animals who are innocent and have suffered enough!

And if one were to read the Bible...the was NO flesh eating before sin, so it was NOT God's intention (according to the writings) to have any flesh eating...Sin is what created that...

Posted by: Heather FL | April 28, 2009 01:52 PM

I dont care what god did or didnt put on this earth. I dont care what his intentions were. All I know is that meat tastes good, it is nutritious and animals are not aware of their quality of life as long as they are fed and have shelter.
Dont blame the Swine Flu on factory farming it has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with it. Do some research.

Posted by: chicagoswagger | April 28, 2009 01:54 PM

I am so sick of y'all that like to use the Bible and God as an excuse to treat animals badly and eat them. What is wrong with you people?? As someone said earlier did God put women on earth just to breed and blacks to be slaves...I don't think so. So get out of your sheep mode and start thinking for yourselves!!!

Posted by: Yvonne C. | April 28, 2009 02:09 PM

Little One,

Of course, vegetarians can get cancer, and meat is not the only cause.

But check out Ruth Heidrich who under the care of Dr. John McDougall put her metastatic breast cancer into remission solely through a vegan diet (without chemo or radiation), and became a champion athlete in the process.

"I’ve got over 800 first-place trophies from all the races I’ve done—all since the diagnosis of cancer and all since changing to my vegan, low-fat diet!" - Ruth Heidrich.

Also, many studies that indicate vegetarians live longer certainly do factor in smoking and exercise habits.

Being vegetarian is no guarantee of a healthy diet. You can eat a lot of junk under the banner of vegetarianism. Lacto-ovo vegetarians could, by definition, consume detrimental amounts of animal-based foods (eggs, cheese, milk, etc.).

The best diet is a vegan or near-vegan one comprised of whole, unprocessed, plant-based foods.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | April 28, 2009 02:17 PM

To "P.E.T.A. is confused"
If you can eat INFECTED meat just because it's been cooked to 160 degrees then you are a crazy SOB cause let me tell you that nothing that is infected is getting into my mouth, I don't care if it's been cooked to 1,000 degrees!! You need to get your your head checked, I think the infected meat is eating away at your brains!

Posted by: MS | April 28, 2009 02:46 PM

I forgot to mention I applaud all meat-eaters for finding their way to this website. It's funny where a guilty conscience will lead you!

Posted by: religious.people.are.blind. | April 28, 2009 02:49 PM

Who told you tha God put animals in the world for us to eat????Don't blame God for the options tha you have!Today we have the oportunity to choose what we eat and thats a lot of proves that a vegetarian diet its much better and helthier.Animals are like us,they have feelings like us...and if you wanna respect then...just don't kill.

Posted by: Ma* | April 28, 2009 03:07 PM

WWJD? Jesus would not advocate factory farming. Farming in this manor is so that farmers can cutback costs and pocket money. Greed is what rules this practice & Jesus did not practice greed.

Posted by: Sarah Eva | April 28, 2009 03:15 PM

To Canaduck: God created humans as herbivores not carnivores (that is, plant not animal eaters). Look at your flat grinding teeth and read the Bible - only when Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden did they start eating animals. We were created vegetarian and originally were at peace with all wild animals. Again, its all in the Bible.

Posted by: Dee Fairbanks | April 28, 2009 03:24 PM

This comment is in regards to what Canaduck said on April 27. First of all, if you eat meat that is your business. Personally I'm a vegetarian but I don't push my lifestyle on anyone. With that being said, I find your comment somewhat contradictory. You say and I quote "I don't find anything wrong with eating meat as long as we treat them with respect such as not harming them in anyway and help them have a good life". Yet how are we treating anything with respect if we kill it. How is killing the animal not harming it? Last of all how are they getting a good life if the animals are shot up with hormones that make them so fat they cannot even move, stuffed in tiny cages where they lay in their own feces, and never have the chance to move around outside the cage and be a normal animal? Just wondering how you can come to such conclusions with facts such as these?

Posted by: Keri | April 28, 2009 03:45 PM

For gawd sakes, people! Canaduck is innocent. The poster's name goes at the BOTTOM of his/her post.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | April 28, 2009 03:57 PM

I fully believe that the way animals are raised on factory farms causes so much distruction... and the swine flu is just another example on how it needs to be stopped!! I remember when a case of mad cow broke out and on the news it showed a clip featuring a diseased cow at a slaughter house, it was so sad. The poor cow was so crippled looking, in such pain....I can't fathom how people can see that and still not question how screwed up the meat industry is!! Makes me sick and irrate to think about...

Posted by: katie | April 28, 2009 04:28 PM

I <3 Antoine.... this was the most informed, well thought out response. Thank you.

Posted by: krista | April 28, 2009 05:14 PM

This "Swine Flu" has caused many in america and all over the world to cut pork out of there diets some countrys have even banned pork products.... I can't help but feel overjoyed for all the pigs who wont die today. Next step is dumping thos effing factory farms all together!

Posted by: Dannah Lamb | April 28, 2009 05:57 PM

In regards to Jodi's comment, I am sure your relatives are not involved in any farming animal cruelty. The sad fact is that there are only a handfull of companies that own the massive factory farms that are to blame. Please educate yourself on Peta's site and watch a few of the videos on factory farms. They are horribly cruel towards animals as well as huge environmental polluters. Just because we have all eaten meat at some time in our lives does not justify continuing to eat animals. Go veterarian!

Posted by: Cathy | April 28, 2009 06:19 PM

Suddendly we are all arguing what's God's intention for the humam beeings. If whether we should or shouldn't eat meat, trees, rocks, paper...
Well, I guess God's intention was for us to coexist. Lead by example.
Now back to the subject at hand, Animals Farming causes distruction as for any other farming. The thing is where should we draw the line? No matter what kind of farming, you are always pushing the untouched nature's limits, when a human go into the wild, as an outsider like me that live in the city, he will be facing alot of unknown diseases. Those that Monkeys, Birds, Fishes, Butterflies, Mosquitos etc etc naturaly have, but on a body like mine, that has never seen anything like it... well I will probably die from such things.
From this Influenza Virus we should not take as a pig farming effect, but as our actions effects. We are coming too hard on everything! We are destroying our world by over populating this, it is only expected that this "pandemics" continue to happen. And they won't tell the diference whether you're black, white, asian, brazilian, english, vegan, the eating meat thing, famous, THE POPE! You will suffer one way or the other!
Hogs or no hogs, people are still suffering.

Another thing, about beeing healthy, a HEALTHY body won't get diseases. That's just a fact. When you get any other type of Influenza and develops the "flu" it is because you're health system is weak in some way. No matter the recepy you choose for your stew, whenever you are sick and go to a Dr. he probably won't say: EAT TONS OF READ MEAT! But fruits and vegetables (some well cooked... don't eat rawl potatoes, it can kill you. And rawl beans... it will just break your teeth, but still).
It is not by beeing Vegan or eating everything that a disease will strike you. Do what you think it is right.
If you think eating meat is right for you, well, eat it I cannot stop you, it is your choice.
Don't force people into taking actions they don't want to take. They will just turn around and bite you. It should never be forced, but a decision one should take on his own.
No one forced me into eating meat, I chose it... until the day that I CHOSE not to eat it. It is a choice, one that I will continue to make. Don't want to convince anyone, if you want my health, than ask me how I have it... Simple as that.

Again, take care and try avoinding some crowds. Better be safe then sorry right?

Posted by: Bruno Nobrega | April 28, 2009 06:27 PM

For the ignorant moron who said animals were put on this earth by God for humans to eat? You WERE joking, right? That is not why animals were put on earth ... What makes the Human Race so GD superior anyway????????????????????

Posted by: carla | April 28, 2009 07:01 PM

omg i cant believe everybody was so stupid and let this happen. its almost like the animals are paying everyone

Posted by: bethany | April 28, 2009 08:29 PM

This post is ridiculous and offensive, the title suggests that it is good that people in Mexico have died because they eat meat?... but the truth is that mutations in viruses occur all the time and will continue to occur regardless of human activity. On the other hand vegetables are also often sources of bacteria and almost inevitable of pesticides too, among which many are considered carcinogenic.

Posted by: Rocco | April 28, 2009 08:57 PM

i'm glad i don't eat pork or even touch them nasty animals ewww because in our religion we as(muslims)believe that the pig is the most dirtiest animal in the world and the most disgusting in the middle east they are not raised in the middle east and no pig farms are there in the middle east if you want someone to blame blame the farms that have all of them okay thats who you can blame

Posted by: maria | April 28, 2009 09:14 PM

I truly believe that the abuse we humans have reaped upon the world and its inhabitants -- esp. animals and fish, etc. -- will result in the extinction of mankind.

We get what we pay for.

I think it's going to happen sooner than anybody realises ... between the diseases borne of cruelty and filth, pollution and global warming ... and, most imporantly, humankind's arrogance, life is very precarious.

Posted by: Barbara | April 28, 2009 09:36 PM

Im a country girl from the midwest. I eat good American RED MEAT. Pork, Beef, Chicken, Deer, Squirrel, Rabbit., and fish. Im 40 and very healthy. Im also a smoker. We all make choices in our lives, no ones right and no ones wrong. Its all in what we believe in. Some believe in god and some dont. Are they wrong or are we? Everyone has an opinion, just like everyone has an a** whole, some stick and some dont.

Posted by: Redneck Girl | April 28, 2009 10:46 PM

Apparently the first person that got this was a KID!
He is fine as I've been informed by our news here.

This, again, cannot be 100% accurate, I'm just sharing information as I heard them.

And well, Bethany, it is not like the animals are paying back, since after all, they are sick too... AND if anything happens, they are the first to be gone... I mean sacrifized.

Also, someone said something about poor pigs, well, if they are farming pigs, then this should be a relief!
My logic:
The pigs are beeing pointed as the cause, ok, despite you won't get a flu by eating something, the general public won't want to take the risk! It is logical. SO, less market... less farming.

Anyway, despite this disease is horrible, since well, no one should suffer... It might just open some eyes after all, even if there's just 1 eye beeing open... it might be worth it...
(let's say that the one eye opened has alot of influence)

Let's just sit tight... and wait for the better outcome!

Again, avoid crows!

(Sorry for my bad english... I'm from Brazil btw)

Posted by: Bruno Nobrega | April 28, 2009 11:44 PM

Everybody has a point. What I am most concerned about is the animals. They can easily be blamed for the suffering that we humans experience and then be punished "suitably" for the supposed "crime". I believe that all living creatures are inter-connected and deserve deep respect and the opportunity to live a good life. My actions affect those who live around me. If we all did something to minimize the impact of our own actions, we could really change the world. I hate the way animals are treated when raised for consumption. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed. If we consume the flesh of creatures who are miserable, what kind of energy are we putting into our bodies? We have the ability to be humane, compassionate, caring, and the voice to speak out for those who cannot communicate in words. All creatures, human and animal, can feel pain. Why cause unecessary pain? The comment that spoke of the generational killings in an unatural space of time really hits home. We are taking over the natural course of life spans. No wonder viruses and bacteria are breeding so fast, and becoming more resistant. This is not about money. Money can't and won't fix the planet when we push it over the point of no return. You can't ignore the effect you have on it and on the living creatures it houses. Animal lives aren't about money. What happened to balance? Greed and gluttony have shaped our society into some literal monster gobbling up more and more every day. Please just try to do one small step every day to leave a positive and humane footprint instead of pollution and cruelty.

Posted by: Kayleigh | April 29, 2009 12:50 AM

Swine Flu does NOT come from meat people! It was on the news for Christ's sake!

Posted by: Tay | April 29, 2009 01:31 AM

It's just due to irresponsible farming practices, not due to "karma" or some BS like that!! There's a reason why we don't have mad cow, bird flu or pig flu in U.S. It's due to our high standards that allow us to stop it in it's tracks. So keep farming animals, but do it the way we do it! Swine flu is way overhyped anyway, by july we'll be asking ourselves, "what swine flu?"

Posted by: ryan | April 29, 2009 04:21 AM

If there's a silver lining to be had with this still-unfolding worldwide medical crisis it's exposing the public to the unspoken, unreported truth about factory farms. As someone pointed out there's a degree of ignorance on the topic within the mainstream media. Is Peta actively working to partner with open-minded elements within the media? As of yet I haven't seen a Peta rep on any of the political news talk shows. Dr. Gupta reported on CNN he is going to attempt an investigation into the Veracruz, Mexico pig farm. This is a golden opportunity far as I'm concerned.

Thanks for your work Peta, since being exposed to one of your pamphlets several years ago I've markedly cut down on my red meat intake. The Swine Flu panic has brought me a step further.

Finally, to anyone who believe it's "God's will" to

over engourge ourselves to obesity through a steady diet of factory farm-raised meat,

who believes God approves of the pain and suffering that animal experienced before reaching the dinner plate,

and who offhandly dismisses the body of evidence pointing out the microbiological growth pools these farms threaten all of mankind with;

once shown the truth there is no excuse for embracing such collectively warped ideologies as espounded by the Church of Greed, Inc. God doesn't sanction cruelty, much less sloth, greed, gluttony, and all those other sins. Guess who does. Figure that one out and get back to me.

Regards,
Bruce

Posted by: bruce | April 29, 2009 06:02 AM

Many thanks to Alisa Mullins for that useful article.

I find the comments of Canaduck hilarious. It's like telling the Al Qaeda...It's alright if you kill us but do it gently and without causing pain....

Also I don't know where on earth people kill their companion(s). From where I come, we treat our companions with love and affection be they humans or animals. We don't have a sick mind to kill and eat them.

Posted by: Gihan Perera | April 29, 2009 07:26 AM

"Another thing, about beeing healthy, a HEALTHY body won't get diseases. That's just a fact."

Oh its a fact is it?

So I can go visit my sister's (who was a strict vegan and in great shape) grave and she will...what?...not have died from valley fever after all and be sitting there waiting to tell me how silly i was for thinking a vegan could die of disease?...Great to know!

Thanks for sharing your FACTS!

Posted by: Ryan | April 29, 2009 08:34 AM

Canaduck, I appreciate your bravery in suggesting to PETA that eating meat is okay (actually I'm rather surprised they posted your post)

It's like, do you realize where you are though? It's not smart to post an opinon, that surely will get you flamed.

Just thought I'd give you the heads up.

Posted by: Jackie | April 29, 2009 09:17 AM

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." -Ghandi

Posted by: danielle | April 29, 2009 09:32 AM

Ok....just so all of you know. Being vegan or vegetarian will not keep you safe from any type of flu. Influenza is an airborne disease. It can be contracted by either breathing in contaminated air or being in direct contact with a sick human or animal. The meat from these animals is not contaminated because the animal has a respiratory illness, not a illness passed through the blood or meat.

I'm also wondering how anyone has used the Bible to put down those of us who are not vegetarian or vegan. What people choose to eat is not a sin. If you are vegan or vegetarian I have great respect for you, although that is not a view I share.

Posted by: Marie | April 29, 2009 09:52 AM

Though everyone in the world being vegan would be the best for all, it will never happen. I will settle for no factory farms and cruelty free meat production. If animals are to be eaten that they should have a good life until then and a pain free passing. I have been a vegetarian on and off for years and I eat very little meat and buying cruelty free products in all aspects of my life. It is hard and costs more but should not. I have food severe food allergies allow me only to eat meat and vegetables so I consume only what I have to. Peta, keep up the great work to make the world a better place!

Posted by: Jenifer | April 29, 2009 10:39 AM

To Bruce,
Really loved your first paragraph, really. But to appeal to the bible, well, I don't go to any churches, does that mean I'll go to hell? As far as I'm concerned, the thing that Eva gave to her man (Adam? Is that the english translation?) was a FRUIT! So those that eat apples are in sin? DON'T EAT APPLES PEOPLE! THE BIBLE SAID IT IS THE SIN FRUIT! LMAO!

FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Don't eat meat because it is the right thing to do, not because you read in a 5000 year old book, that HAS 5000 interpretations... one for each year! What God wants is our growth as humans, and if he gave racionality to us it is for us to be racional! So appeal to your reason!

If using the Bible you can convince just some of the religious people, try using a good argument, you might convince everyone!

Posted by: Bruno Nobrega | April 29, 2009 11:21 AM

Swine flu cannot be obtained from eating meat. The majority of US farmers treat their animals with the best of care, after all raising livestock is their business. Food from US farms is safe. I believe there is more abuse to children in our country then there is to animals and that is a real crime, wouldn't it be more worth while to go after those people and save innocent children from injuries and death.

Posted by: s | April 29, 2009 11:24 AM

Wow, thanx for that reference to Genesis 1:29! Yet another reason to keep on being vegetarian and also trying to convince my friends that a vegetarian lifestyle is the way to go ( They like the religious argument).

Also for all of you claiming that eating meat is all right as long as the animals don't suffer. Well I've been there, trying to justify my meat-eating ways. But one day I stopped pretending and took a long hard look at my eating habits and then I realised it: How can I call myself an animal lover if I eat them? How can I call myself compassionate if I contribute to animal suffering, because yes they do suffer, be it organic or factory farmed meat-having your throat sliced is probably painful.

Face it, eating meat is murder. Are animals lives less important just because we happen to be more powerful than them? No, because if we didn't have our killing machines we would most definitely not be more powerful than say a lion, or a bear. Because we are smarter? No, because if we look at the facts we are the ones responsible for global warming, wars, pollution, not the animals...so who are the stupid ones here?

God put us on this earth to rule over them...does a king/president torture, kill and then feast on his people-I think not. We should treat animals with respect and compassion because they were created by the same God, they share the same planet as us and they have souls (Gen. 1:30) just like us.

P.S Canaduck really is innocent, check were my name is posted-at the bottom...

Signed Hippie vegetarian

Posted by: Hippie vegetarian | April 29, 2009 11:29 AM

Love this! Great article!

Posted by: Stacy | April 29, 2009 11:32 AM

i don't eat pork in any form, nor anything that comes from a cow including dairy, i'm considering giving up fish and chicken.
but to say that it was only factory farming that helped develop this swine flu maybe a little far fetched i've been to 3rd world countries and many families over there keep chickens, ducks and pigs in close proximity to humans in squalid conditions, who's to say it did start on one of these farms and spread to the city by those people going to the markets to sell their animals while they themselves where sick.
all it takes to spread an infectious virus is one person coughing in a teeming crowd and to have some of that crowd being tourists who then hop on a plane and go back to their western countries where they cough inside the plane infecting hundreds who go back to their families and so on.
and it has spread so quickly because people travel from one end of the world to the other in less than two days.
but to have some sympathy for the first hapless pig farmer who may have been patient zero
in his 3rd world life if he doesn't raise pigs and chickens for food and sale than his family doesn't eat it's that simple.
some people aren't as blessed as i am were if i choose to i can have nothing to do with farming and slaughter of animals either for profit or for food. i can go to the supermarket and know that the staple vegetable based protein, fruits, vegetables and soy milk will be there and not only that because i'm lucky enough to have a steady income i know i can afford it.not everyone in this world can afford to live as they would choose to, but simply have to do anything and everything just to survive.

Posted by: ilona | April 29, 2009 12:49 PM

Here is a new concept that i haven't yet read here. As long as we are all quoting the bible, how about "Thou shalt not kill." It doesn't say though shalt not kill a human. It says thou shalt not kill and that's it. Interpret it anyway you want. I am only taking it a what it says.....

Posted by: Michelle | April 29, 2009 12:58 PM

I've said it before and I'll say it again: personal attacks have no place on the blog. The people who okay the postings need to realize that the posters represent PETA, whether they mean to or not, and those who are visiting the site for the first time may be turned off by the name calling and the swearing. Not all PETA members personally attack other members on the blog, it's just a small number painting the rest of us with the same brush.

Posted by: Rev. Meg Schramm | April 29, 2009 01:12 PM

I am confused. Not just by this but vegetarianism in the first place. If you don't eat meat because you don't like it. Ok, I don't care. But if you don't because it is inhumane, or you don't belive it treats animals right I have a few things to say. One we are omnivores we have teeth to eat both meat and plants, if we were not supposed to eat meat we would get sick from it like herbivores do. Two we have the right to eat animals. In nature an animal that could and was hungry would eat us. We can and do eat them. Its nature, the superior hunter wins. We caught them and as the name of the places we keep them "farms" indicates we grow and eat them. Would you rather we go into the wild and kill and eat the wild animals who are continuing the cycle or would you have us raise and kill our own, animals who from birth would be (in most cases) unable to survive outside of the "farms"?
No offense was meant by this just my opinion.
And my opinion on the swine flu. It isn't some pig based divine retribution, its just a naturally occuring disease that just as animals managed to strengthen itself. And we will beat it just as with animal we rose above bacteria and viruses when we developed anti biotics and learned that washing killed them.

Survival of the fittest. I wouldn't complain in the least if something more advanced than me chowed down. They won I lost. To the victor goes the spoils.

Posted by: Ph34r | April 29, 2009 02:03 PM

Egypt ordered that all of their pigs be slaughtered as a precaution against swine flu...
Thats roughly 300,000 of them, even though no case of it has been identified in Egypt.

Possibly a sign of what could happen in the near future if everyone keeps panicking about this "swine" flu before they even learn what it really is.

Posted by: nick | April 29, 2009 02:39 PM

Superior hunter? We caught them?

You are confused.

Posted by: Armin | April 29, 2009 02:56 PM

this is not corect

Posted by: caleb | April 29, 2009 03:09 PM

Jackie,

Why would you assume PETA would censor dissenting opinions? Unless it's an obvious flamebait or obscenity-filled post, PETA is very fair in presenting different points of view.

If a person's beliefs have any validity they should be able to withstand attack. Actually people with opposing opinions to mine have made me do my homework, and this has had the effect of strengthening my beliefs.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | April 29, 2009 03:25 PM

I love animals and believe in a humane treatment for them (ie. no force-feeding, etc) but I'm amazed that according to some contributors here Humans apparently aren't "special" enough to consume other species for nourishment and religious arguments are seen as ridiculous but yet... EVERY other carnivore species in nature(ie. those who NEED to eats meat by design)has the right to eat other animals? that's just silly.

I don't care what biased non-sense I see on the web... in the end, biologically we NEED to consume meat, we're NOT built like cows/chickens/etc so let's just deal with that FACT and start being responsible consumers by demanding proper farming standards (including for vegetables to prevent e.coli epidemics)

Posted by: Roan | April 29, 2009 04:29 PM

How come the bible always comes up no matter what the discussion is?

Posted by: Nancee | April 29, 2009 04:53 PM

I was reading where it said the swine flu is a mixture of bird and human virus thats why they are having a hard time controlling it cos they havent got the right antibotic to heal it

Posted by: Savannah | April 29, 2009 04:58 PM

I can not believe how ignorant people can be, all this bull of meat kills is making Egypt kill over 300,000 pigs!! IF YOU EAT PIG MEAT YOU WON'T GET SWINE FLUE!! PETA should help stop this masacre instead of making people more frightened than they already are!!!

Posted by: Sam | April 29, 2009 05:01 PM

And stop talking about God, the best thing that He could ever give us was free will!

Posted by: Sam | April 29, 2009 05:20 PM

It appears as if many of the posters have been reading only the comments section and not the body of the article. No one is claiming that EATING the flesh of pigs is transmitting this disease. The argument put forth is that the method of raising pigs TO BE EATEN is one that promotes the spread of disease within the pig population and eventually to humans. Somehow this became a discussion about "God" and whether or not eating flesh is "right" or "wrong". That was not the subject of the article and the discussion feels misplaced.

I think it should be abundantly clear that NO ONE will persuade the vegetarian peta activists posting here that killing and eating other animals is in any way permissible. Thump those bibles all you want but you're wasting your time.

It would greatly benefit those posting here talking about their "God" given "right" to eat animals to explore the widely accepted sociological idea that any society that allows the killing of animals for food is a society that permits and promotes violence against those weaker than yourself, a society in which violence against women and children will always exist. I believe those using "God" as a reason for their meat eating should ask themselves not it they can eat meat but if they should given the societal ramifications. Carol J. Adams has a book that is a great place to start learning about these themes if anyone is interested.

Anyway, I know I got sucked into the argument but I hope people will stop yelling at one another and perhaps have a logical discussion of the very serious epidemic facing the world.

Posted by: Erin | April 29, 2009 05:25 PM

I'm a vegan, but I don't like deceptive, one-sided journalism. Sure, certain meats have caused outbreaks of illnesses (and I don't believe that the consumption of pork is causing the outbreak of swine flu, as someone astutely noted is an airbone illness), but let us not forget the recent recalls on peanut butter & pistachios (which were both causing salmonella outbreaks).

If PETA is going to make these reports, then they should adhere to ETHICAL reporting!

Posted by: Sonia | April 29, 2009 05:38 PM

I am in a microbiology class and we spent the morning talking about swine flu which is strain H1N1 of the various types of influenza viruses. As you can see there are various types of influenza viruses and swine flu is one of them and yes swine flu comes from PIGS!! According to CDC, this epidemic started at a pig farm where infected pigs infected humans. Swine flu is passed from pigs to humans and then humans to humans just like the other strains of the flu. It is a respiratory virus that is spread through coughing, sneezing, and not washing hands.
I believe that this swine flu epidemic is completely 100% the factory farms' fault. If we did not have to raise these innocent pigs in such filthy, unsanitary, disgusting boxes just so people could torture them and kill them for their pure enjoyment. And for the person who said god put animals on the earth for us to eat them, then does that mean i should eat my dogs and cats? And technically, humans are made to be herbivores...our organs were never meant to eat meat...thats why meat eaters have so many health problems. So if you want to be all technical, then humans were placed on the earth for the carnivorous animals to eat....humans were made after animals. But really cant we all just get along?

Posted by: Mallory | April 29, 2009 05:46 PM

thank you Roan. I think you may be one of the most sane people on here. I love my animals. I have cats, horses, and dogs. The cats and dogs are from different bad situations that we saved them from. Our horses come from many different places, but my personal horse was saved from slaughter.

I eat meat. The protien is neccesary, and I have no issues with the fact that I may have known some of the animals this meat came from. I am around farms, and have eaten cows that I wawtched grow. Death is part of the cycle of life. If we aren't killing these animals for food something else is. Do you really think that the quick deaths we cause are nearly as bad as suffocation or being eaten alive. That is how other animals would kill them.

Posted by: Marie | April 29, 2009 05:54 PM

Meat eaters.. Any idea what actually goes into getting your meals? Read the book slaughterhouse. Then let's talk rationally.

Posted by: Brittany | April 29, 2009 06:02 PM

Is anyone concerned about the mass slaughering of pigs across the globe? There hasn't been one confirmed pig that has this swine flu. Yet Egypt just slaughtered over 300,000 pigs based on flu fears even though they have not had one human case of H1N1 in egypt. US and Mexico are also slaughtering pigs based purely on fear. This is totally out of control as far as mass panic. I don't think this is a win for the pigs or birds or humans this a case for health care reform not for a go pig cheer. It sadens me the most when animals needlessly die for no purpose. Swine deathtoll 350,000 and raising.

Posted by: Tacoma | April 29, 2009 06:05 PM

I think Egypt is handling this terrible ordeal in the most humane manner.

Posted by: Chopin Bloke | April 29, 2009 06:29 PM

I don´t eat animals for a lot of reasons, i am mexican and i live in Mexico, and here just like in u.s.a. a lot of people is very ignorant, and they use a lot of excuses to keep theirselves that way, this flue (that soon will be history) is just one of the multiple manifestacions of the damage we all are causing to the planet. i think that is urgent that all of us start right now to stop consuming a lot of things, including meat, and stop bringing more people and animals to the world, we are a lot allready, there´s no space for anyone else, we all are allready in a farm factory of humans, and i am sure that any god has nothing to see with this. We all can make the diference every day.

Posted by: ricardo | April 29, 2009 06:31 PM

I am vegan and I believe in G-d. I do not think animals were put on earth for humans to eat. I don't force my beliefs on others. If we get rid of factory farming and a person believes they should still eat meat, they can go hunt for their meal - no guns though because if G-d created animals for us to eat then shouldn't we be able to physically hunt them down ourselves? Regarding the H1N1 virus - my heart goes out to the people who were killed as well as to all the other people who died or are dying from cancer, heart attacks, drunk drivers, murderers, etc. etc.

Posted by: Disappointed | April 29, 2009 06:47 PM

The latest news is saying to call this strain of flu by something else other than the swine flu because it did not come from swine at all. When will PETA and your supporters wake up and see that animal agriculture is safe to consume. What about all the Ecoli and other diseases that have been connected to tomatoes,peanuts,spinach and other vegetables and plants that you say are safer than meat and milk? If you chose not to eat meat or drink milk then that is fine but stop trying to make farmers who raise animals better than most people raise their children or pets to be the bad person. This organization has some wild ideas about animal agriculture and how livestock is treated. Of course, you find the one bad apple in the basket and assume the rest of us do the same thing. Waaaay, too much judgement there.

Posted by: Theresa Howick | April 29, 2009 06:50 PM

Roan,

Biologically we NEED to consume meat?

Not according to the USDA:

"Protein has many important functions in the body and is essential for growth and maintenance. Protein needs can easily be met by eating a variety of plant-based foods." (USDA)

And not according to the American Dietetic Association and the Dietitians of Canada:

"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association (the A.D.A. paper cited more than 250 studies—my comment) and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases....Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life-cycle including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence."
(As published in PubMed)

The American Dietetic Association is a professional society that represents the interests of over 70,000 registered dietitians—if anybody knows about what food is suitable for humans, they should.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | April 29, 2009 07:23 PM

I eat meat, but am slowly discovering that I should eat much less. I think this is something that a lot of people are considering right now. But for me it's not because I don't want to eat pigs, it's because of the way they are commercially raised. I know there are many who try to be responsible animal farmers, but unfortunately there are many who don't. The waste they live in, the hormones and antibiotics they are constantly given. It's pretty scary when you REALLY start to see the WHOLE truth about how most of these animals are treated. I won't debate the bible, or what kind of teeth we have for eating, or even health benefits... I just know that every time I do a little research on how animals are raised to feed us, I am one step closer to no meat. It will be hard because I LOVE a good ribeye, a crisp BLT, or a peice of fresh grilled chicken breast. But honestly I don't know how long my concience will let me do it. Ignorance is definately bliss, but I am glad I am not so ignorant. As for chicagoswagger... I am sad for you, you are truly stupid and life must be miserable for you.

Thank you peta for all you do to educate us! I'm not there yet but I think I'm on the way!

Posted by: Jennifer | April 29, 2009 07:29 PM

The Bible, God, I am a Christian, he created animals for consumption, blah, blah, blah - God never created us to kill one another, abuse the weak, molest and rape children, turn our backs on our neighbors. He never created animals to be abused, raped or tortured. God gave animals a brain, the ability to love, feel compassion and forgiveness. As far as I am concerned animals are gods perfect creation. Stop falling back on God to justify your poor choices. I am sick of and I believe God is too.

Posted by: Cheryl | April 29, 2009 07:36 PM

Swine Flu is a branch of influenza. It isn't spread threw eating meat.
I'm a vegan, and I have just as much of a chance of getting Swine Flu as another person who isn't vegan (yeah, meat eaters can be human too).

Posted by: Alex | April 29, 2009 07:53 PM

Love animals! dont eat them!

Posted by: Breann | April 29, 2009 08:08 PM

We were made to eat meat?? Who told you that? Protein comes in lots of forms not just from mass production and factory farms.
Ever wonder why we are the only mammal on earth that drinks milk into our 30's? All because we think we are "suppose to." We drink cow milk, why? because it seems like we are "suppose to." This "suppose to" thinking is what gets us into trouble.

Posted by: Nicole | April 29, 2009 09:20 PM

That was my first thought, "revenge of the pigs"! It is so sad that innocent children are dying, but maybe this will open peoples eyes to the consequences of inhumane factory farming. I am happy PETA is around to help point out the real cause of this. It's not Mexicans.

Posted by: Courtenay | April 29, 2009 09:22 PM

About the comment of our "flat" teeth. Why do we have carnivorous teeth if we aren't supposed to eat meat? We have grinders in the back of our mouth that tears and shreds meat. So if we were meant to eat only vegetables and fruit we'd have teeth like a horse, our molars would be flat. Figures we have so many over the top people who want to liberate every animal. RIDICULOUS!

Posted by: Tereasa | April 29, 2009 10:03 PM

I have to start off by saying the comment left by "Denise" is one of the most ignorant and uneducated displays of selfish rationalism made by a human being. And to use "God" in this rationalization is even harder to digest. God did not make animals for humans to eat anymore than he made humans for humans to eat(for anyone who has read Genesis, they would quickly learn that a) animals were made before humans in the creation account and b) God specifically told Adam and Eve that they were to be vegetarians)! Anyone who tries to make this statement would do well to actually read the bible instead of quoting some "crap" passed down from each one of our misinformed generations; generations guided by money hungry preachers and priest(for those who have actually read the bible this would be the priests whose sacrificial system had as much to do with making money and satisfying a sinful hunger for animal flesh as it did in pleasing God). They had both their hands in religion, financial gain and politics.

Furthermore, mentioning what was going on at the time of Jesus makes no sense if one is trying to do so to determine what Jesus would or would not condone. For further reflection, one would do well to read the story of Jesus cleaning out the temple found in any of the gospel accounts.

Please, for the love of God (literally) those of you who would like to continue eating meat because you are too self-centered to do anything else, stop using our LOVING GOD to justify your decisions or behavior.

Posted by: Kristie Jeffrey | April 29, 2009 10:14 PM

They ate animals when Jesus walked the Earth? That is your qualifier? There were major religious figures 10000 years before the birth of Christ. He is, after all, a new up and comer. If you subscribe to that as your favorite mythological belief you might want to read Ecclesiastes 3:19. Then you might want to be a better, elevated Humanitarian and not let your consciousness be guided by heavily revised mythological icons. Oh, and did I mention your attitude sounds dangerously close to justification?

Posted by: Claudio Salazar | April 29, 2009 10:16 PM

Someone else remarked about the slaughtering pigs... That is why I have visited this site, although I am not vegan(but support it). Anyway, what does everyone think about that? I do think pigs are really cute, but unfortunately, I am one of the people that have consumed them before-not my favorite meat, but grew up on it, I suppose. However, does anyone know if this is definite? I mean, until there are multiple confirmed cases, would this be necessary? It seems like a waste of a life or food source for the country- I mean it sounded like thousands. I will say even though experts say you can't catch it from pork, I have limited myself from pork products. If someone has me over for dinner and it is offered, I will be polite and eat, but I will not eat them for a while. I just don't care, it is diseased regardless- who wants to eat that right now? Yet, why slaughter the meat just to be tossed in the garbage, when it hasn't been confirmed at this time?

Posted by: Katie | April 29, 2009 10:25 PM

I was vegietarian for 6 months, and then I started to get really unhealthy and had a lot of stomach pain and my doctor said I had to eat meat again ): I't really sucks, but yeah I so agree, people need to start treating our "food" better.

Posted by: Lauren | April 29, 2009 10:28 PM

Peta has got to try and stop Egypt from killing all of the pigs. they don't even eat them!! can't you do something??????

Posted by: vera Principe | April 29, 2009 10:54 PM

hello canaduk (the post below me)

"I don't find anything wrong with eating meat as long as we treat them with respect such as not harming them in anyway and help them have a good life" I think you are either dreaming or you live in Disney world. There is no way cruelty to animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses will stop until we stop seeing them as a food source only. You wouldn't do what is done to farm animals to dogs and cats, what makes it OK to do that to them? if i do to dogs and cats or people what is done to farm animals, I would be jailed and charged with animal cruelty. It is very easy for you to say "there is nothing wrong with eating them" when you are not the one being raised in a small cage, being boiled alive and having your throat cut wide open while still conscious to later have 15-30 minutes of agony. You need to informed yourself better. Please do not turn the blind eye on the cries of horrors of animals in slaughterhouses.

Then you said: "If God didn't want us to eat animals he wouldn't have put them here. He put them here for companionship and also for food. They ate animals when Jesus walked the earth." How come you DARE to mention God and use him to justify your support to cruelty to animals? I guess since we humans are also meat for animals such shark and lions then you must believe God made humans so sharks and lions can eat us? I can not follow your logic and your double standards. God never EVER said to take the freedom from animals and to abuse them and make them suffer and I am sorry but if you don't think cutting a pig's throat isn't cruel then you are defenitely NOT a child of God as you can not hear their call for help and their cries, when they cry it means they have pain, they are suffering , do you understand that?. Please don't call yourself Christian because a true Christian have compassion for other God's creatures and yes! the same compassion and mercy YOU ask God to give to YOU but you are not CAPABLE of giving the same to animals! HOW SELFISH!

God also created the big flood where millions of people drawn so based on your logic, you think is OK to drawn people now?

If you have read the bible, God saved more animals than humans in the big flood and Jesus cried for the death of the sparrow, anywhere in the bible you will find that God gave us animals for food, he said to use them for work, he said PLANTS AND GRAINS are our food and even if you think he did mean that (which, as far as i know Jesus is very compassionate and loving so i doubt he wants to see his creatures suffer) he never said to take their freedom, abuse them and make them suffer and that is how meat gets to your table everyday because animals are raised in FACTORY FARMS and killed in the most cruel ways in slaughterhouses. Ever occurred to you why they refuse to put cameras in the slaughterhouses?

when you go to the dentist, do you ask for anesthesia? and that is for a little work in your teeth right? what makes you feel animals don't care when they are stabbed to death! WHY ARE U SO SELFISH!

don't call yourself child of God please!!, i bet if you were the animal, you would think otherwise. You are just selfish and more like child of Satan than Jesus, Jesus is LOVE and COMPASSION AND MERCY MERCY MERCY towards everyone including animals. The family farms mentioned in the bible are VERY DIFFERENT than factory farms and slaughterhouses of today

Posted by: Gina | April 29, 2009 11:25 PM

PETA has got to be the weirdest organization I've ever seen, ethical treatment of animals, that's cool, but why is it that anytime something happens PETA is always complaining about it and trying to make people feel bad?

People were designed to eat meat, we're omnivores. Plus meat, eggs, milk, and cheese are the only 4 naturally occurring foods that contain all the amino acids that your body doesn't make by itself.

Now to be more on topic, this is just another disease in a long pattern of diseases from both the biblical and mideval times, it'll pass.

I don't know slot about swine flu, but not eating pigs will cause more problems than it solves. Maybe not farming them might help but wild pigs in the states are a HUGE farming problem, they caused something like 4.8 million dollars worth of damage to farms (crops) in Texas alone.

I'll tell you what...I'll help your vegetables out by hunting and eating those pigs. Balance is always the answer.

Posted by: Colby | April 30, 2009 12:03 AM

hey they r not denied vet care nor r they "mistreated" we love them pigs very much, we take great care in thier health, well being, and some of us play games with them as u may know hogs are smart animals n yes i can watch slaughterhouse tapes while eating meat and by the way dead animals help ur precious vegtables grow as well so yes u still "eat meat"

Posted by: farmer fred | April 30, 2009 12:11 AM

Bruno said: Swine flu cannot be obtained from eating meat. The majority of US farmers treat their animals with the best of care, after all raising livestock is their business.

So why is the factory farm industry the most closely guarded secret outside of defense technology? The Smithfield farms people barred CNN from even taking a look at their operations. Must be a good reason; if the general public was fully informed their business model would become threatened by falling profits. Don't swallow the PR garbage they're offering as excuses

Posted by: bruce | April 30, 2009 12:20 AM

MY GOODNESS! Thank you ALL in the response to Denise's stupid comment

Posted by: Ang | April 30, 2009 12:57 AM

The whole thing is ridiculous. And the fact the Egypt ordered the slaughtering of 300,000 pigs is outrageous. On a separate website, it was suggested that this disease was man made.

Posted by: Tiara | April 30, 2009 01:59 AM

revenge of the pigs? i don't think so - it is ALWAYS the animals who pay the highest price in the end. The dude who said that animals are here to be eaten is an idiot! you have obviously never really known an animal cos you're too busy being superior.

Posted by: Shelly | April 30, 2009 02:25 AM

Swine flu is probably from factory farms and stuff, but even if it's not cramming animals in tiny cages is still really mean and they should stop it! But if you think that is bad you should see what they do after cramming them in little cages, it's just plain MEAN!

Posted by: Elle | April 30, 2009 02:28 AM

Eat Organic Free Range Meat!

Restaraunts serve factory meat. Don't eat there.

Regardless of where you get this, I agree, factory farming is the entire problem, raising sick pigs!

Posted by: Nikky | April 30, 2009 03:18 AM

LOL, this is one big joke. all viruses stem from birds. you if your worried about pork, just cook it up nicely. no need to go vego

Posted by: Ashley | April 30, 2009 04:45 AM

it's a different story eating meat now than in back in the day, when life was less perverted than it is now -- when animals were more abundant in population and people weren't as greedy and nasty as they have evolved to be.

as a newbie to the vegetarian world, i battled with the concept of why i should feel strong enough in my love for animals, that it can no longer be okay to eat meat at all. i'd make a point to myself which i see a lot of you making -- "animals eat other animals for survival and hell! they'd even eat us if they really had to -- so why can't we eat them too? we're animals too! and most of them are raised JUST to be ate, so what's the big deal?"

but it's just not the same, and if you really knew the story behind the meat you eat, you wouldn't want to eat it anymore. if you had a humane, loving, compassionate bone in your body -- you would know that there can't be anything alright with eating meat anymore. first of all, factory farms have taken ANYTHING that was ever ethical about meat consumption out of the picture now. animals are horrifically abused, living in squalor and in astonishingly small cages and pens, in way too close proximity to each other. they are brutally killed and often experience even a few conscious minutes of agony and pain before they actually die.

they don't frolick around nice green pastures and there is no nice old farmer petting them and showing them what it feels to be loved -- they live horrible, pathetic lives treated as nothing more than products.

another point as to why modern meat consumption is not okay is the evil factory farms! factory farms are pumping so many many drugs and toxins in these animals that you can't even TRUST that the meat you eat is even safe for you to be eating! and plus, if you knew any shit, you'd know that it's been proven that meat isn't even that good for us after all -- beef rots in your colon! our bodies have a hard time digesting meat! perhaps we weren't meant to eat it after all? hmm...

the world we live in today has became too corrupt, evil, and desensitized that we have allowed ourselves to be believe that these animals are on this earth for no other reason but to serve to our needs.

for any of it to be ethical, we can't overlook the fact that the meat we are eating is an ANIMAL. and the animal DID have feelings once.. had a family once.. had a personality... and most likely suffered a great deal to be on our plates.

we must respect the animals and never treat them like they're not beautiful, intelligent creatures just like us. we can't forget that even though the animal will eventually be ate for survival reasons -- we must love it and give it the best life while it has one. because animals DO deserve to be happy! if they can feel pain, than they can feel happiness. JUST LIKE US.

& giving a farm animal a good life doesn't have to cost a lot of money, and it actually benefits us more because in the end we wouldn't be eating toxins and sick animals -- we'd be eating healthy animal.

but like i said, that is NOT the world we live in today. and sadly, but most likely, NEVER WILL BE at this rate -- so the best thing you can do as a lover of animals, for your health, and for the earth -- is to NOT EAT MEAT.

Posted by: nichole | April 30, 2009 04:57 AM

Well, since my first post didn't make it on the blog (probably because rational statements from a certified wildlife biologist are shunned in an extremist organization), I will re-post. This is exactly why people should hunt for their own food! I don't eat commercially raised meat...I hunt and kill all my own food. Guess what, I live in the midwest, and would laugh myself to utopia if all farming was stopped. You would all starve.....or be forced to hunt, like nature intended. Read a textbook, humans are OMNIVOROUS in nature. Additionally, swine flu has nothing to do with eating meat. It is an H1N1 strain of the flu...the same as influenza A and B...and is treated with the antiviral Tamiflu. But of course, don't take my word for it, I only have a PhD and work at an R1 research university....what do I know? Sooner or later you will realize that living in suburbia hell and having everything provided to you by other humans at a grocery store is not how we evolved. Hopefully one day humans will be forced to act as they were intended to (like an animal). We hunt, we gather, we kill, we eat....just like other omnivorous animals (bears, chimps, etc.). If you don't grow it or kill it yourself, you are a burden on the planet. Stop pointing fingers at hunters, ranchers, and farmers.

Posted by: Sean | April 30, 2009 05:10 AM

Reply to Canaduk where he says "If God didn't want us to eat animals he wouldn't have put them here".
Ok, so just go visit some lions ...if God didn't want them to eat you he wouldn't have made them so strong. Fair enough, isn't it?

Posted by: sergio | April 30, 2009 06:45 AM

Well I was just so distraught
today when I heard that Egypt
was slaughtering Three HUNDRED
THOUSAND pigs because of the
swine flu. Just heartbreaking.
I have had just a heart for pigs since I found out how intelligent and sensitive they
are.
There was a story several
years back in England of how
a couple of pigs, were on the
run and hiding out from being
taken off to slaughter. A lot
of people were affected by it
To think these pigs were so smart and 'aware' of their horrible fate that they had
escaped and were 'hiding out'
When they were finally found
I remember hearing how they
ware put in a petting zoo. Lucky them. What about all the
other poor pigs.. I haven't
eaten any pork product since
I heard that story..
Also Jane Valez Michell had
a segnment on her show of hte
same name tonight. Wednesday
April 29. showing pics of factory farms and those poor pigs being boxed into those
little spaces. Not being able
to even turn around! I have
tears in my eyes now just thinking about it. People
are sooo CRUEL. Maria

Posted by: Maria | April 30, 2009 08:06 AM

To PH34r,,,, Ok that is your opinion and yes i respect it however, i have something to say to you. Animals do eat other animals it is called survival of the species,it is ok for humans to eat meat but humans have turned the animal food chain into a cruel money making industry, the animals are cruely treated, electrically shocked, crammed into steel sheds, forced fed, kicked, beaten, transported accross countries without food or water, beaks cut off, sows caged in a metal frame for 4 weeks, she can't move as in the photo. I can go on but we can get the picture? no living being deserves to be treated like this.

Posted by: Jaquie | April 30, 2009 08:10 AM

The current strain of influenza going about that has been termed "swine flu" has actually yet to appear in swine. The influenza strain H1A1 is a hybrid of human, avian, and swine influenza strains. It is most homologous to swine influenza strain H3N3 which is why it has been termed "swine flu" even though it has not actually appeared in swine. Hog producers are actually worried about it spreading from human to hog. Right now, you just have the poor sanitary conditions of Mexico City to blame on the outbreak of this influenza strain. Next time why don't you get your facts straight before blaming the hog industry for something that isn't even their fault?

Posted by: Jenn | April 30, 2009 09:32 AM

I am disappointed in Peta for spreading such vile lies. I am opposed to factory farms and do not eat meat. But you are not getting your facts straight. The Swine flu is combined from bird and human. Do you realize they are going to slaughter 300,000 pigs in Egypt???? Why? I cannot believe that PETA is agreeing with these lies for publicity sake. Get your facts straight and don't use this to cause more animals to be killed.

Posted by: Kimberly Warner | April 30, 2009 09:38 AM

I think about this if the animal is sick and they kill them and we end up buying meat how is that safe for us? I think this is why we have mad cow, swine and the other problems...I am so glad that I don't buy meat or eat meat products...Neither does my son....Animals are cute to look at not cute to eat!

Posted by: heather busulovich | April 30, 2009 10:52 AM

Unfortunately factory farms have been confirmed to have played at least some part in the swine flu virus coming about. Yes, it is a mix of all 3, but that doesn't mean that factory farms aren't partially to blame. I hate when people use the "god put them here for us to eat!" theory, as it is so victorianesque in it's connotations and implications. Humans aren't animal's superiors, we are simply another species of animal. Once religion is gone maybe people like Canaduck can start taking responsibility for mankind's unjustifiable evils against the earth and their fellow inhabitants.

Posted by: Andy | April 30, 2009 11:09 AM

darel is gettin mad at denise

Posted by: jim | April 30, 2009 11:10 AM

meat is not good for your body it can kill you

Posted by: jim | April 30, 2009 11:11 AM

meat is not good it is bad for your health

Posted by: hell no | April 30, 2009 11:20 AM

They mentioned today on FOX News Channel that while you apparently can't get swine flu from eating pork, it IS linked to pig farms and the pigs living conditions.

Thanks for the blog post, PETA!

Posted by: Tahler | April 30, 2009 12:09 PM

If God put animals on this earth for us to eat they would not carry deadly viruses that kill humans. Also to say that animals are on this earth solely for food is being specisist. Animals have other functions on this planet than being our food.

Posted by: Marta Rozgoni | April 30, 2009 12:26 PM

Piglets in Egypt were put into plastic bags to suffocate to death because of this swine flu where 1 person has died in the U.S. Other pigs were killed...how? I don't know. Every year 36,000 people die from the flu (other than swine flu). Yes, this a concern and it should be addressed and precaution should be taken. However, it is affecting the personal lives of everyone around the world and the health care system. Is it a ploy to stimulate the health care economy and weaken economic links in Mexico? Are we kneeling down before our media because of the fear-mongering?

Posted by: inhuman slaughter | April 30, 2009 12:51 PM

I read an article that stated Egypt is going to slaughter all 300,000 pigs in the country because of the swine flu. I am saddened to hear about this and i do not think that it is the answer. There has not even been a case of swine flu in Egypt.. Has anyone else heard this information ? Is there anything that anyone can do ?

Posted by: Laura | April 30, 2009 01:00 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090429/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_swine_flu

Got your wish, no more pig farms in Egypt. Can't have it both ways folks, either keep the farms, or slaughter the pigs...turning them loose isn't an option. Fairly odd they are killing them all considering it isn't spread by pigs....what a waste of food.

Posted by: Sean | April 30, 2009 01:07 PM

So it doesn't just effect the animals, it effects us too!
ANIMAL FARMING IS WRONG FOR EVERYONE.
>:(

Posted by: Lowri Herbert | April 30, 2009 02:17 PM

Aniamal cruelty is all over the Judeo-Christian bible, like Jesus sending evil spirits into pigs then running the over a cliff.

Jesus never existed: google "16 Crucified Saviors" or "17 Crucified Saviors."

BUDDHISM is a better religion by far. Rent and watch "Little Buddha" starring Keanu Reeves.

Any religion, like the Christian and other Jewish religions, that ignores the well-being of most universal sentient beings is obvious lacking.

Posted by: Frank | April 30, 2009 02:56 PM

STOP TALKING ABOUT RELIGION! Give it a break and let's focus on the real problem here!!! I am sooo annoyed!

Posted by: Jenny | April 30, 2009 03:02 PM

@Denise said "If God didn't want us to eat animals he wouldn't have put them here"

LOL!, if GOD didn't want us to think you are a wonderful example of the perfect hypocrite, he wouldn't have put us here.

Posted by: Lucaz | April 30, 2009 03:46 PM

Wow...We simply need to stop putting them in poor conditions,it doesnt mean we need to stop eating them.

Posted by: anonymous | April 30, 2009 03:47 PM

It's amazing so many people still believe in the myth that you need meat to get protein.

The USDA believes you don't need to eat meat to get protein:

http://www.mypyramid.gov/tips_resources/vegetarian_diets.html

The American Dietetic Association and the Dietitians of Canada believe you don't need to eat meat to get protein:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12826028

The person who coined the term vegan, Donald Watson, lived to the ripe old age of 95 years. Being a vegan for over 60 years didn't seem to hurt him too much.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | April 30, 2009 04:02 PM

Come on people! As a licensed Veterinary Technician, I know that diseases or even bacteria or viruses can jump from animal to human and sometimes the other way around! The first thing I thought of when I read about swine flu, was factory farming.
As a Lutheran Christian, some of you (I'm sorry to say) have no clue. God told the first human that humans had dominion over all the earth and the creatures in it. The closest word in the english language is stewardship. Stewardship is certainly not what we are doing to animals OR the earth. I believe with absolute certainty that my love of animals and outrage at animal cruelty at all levels was put in my heart and soul by God. Omnivores beware: if it's not avian, swine or whatever other flu outbreak comes along, good luck with Diabeties, stroke, heart attack, cancers, etc.
I'll pray for you!

Posted by: Susan | April 30, 2009 04:18 PM

Sean,

Chimps may be omnivorous, but they eat very little meat—this from an expert in her field, Jane Goodall.

Goodall estimated that one chimpanzee eats the equivalent of approximately one-half a prey animal in a one-year period, and during ten years of observation, she observed chimpanzees killing other animals only twice.

Meat is about 2% of their diet in a year according to Goodall.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | April 30, 2009 04:23 PM

Great idea PETA. You know whats thats going to do? Cause the needless slaughter of pigs, thats all. Great job!

Posted by: Teresa | April 30, 2009 04:31 PM

Can we stop talking about the "will of God"?
I say this as a very spiritual person.

Its a lazy, flawed line of illogic that has allowed us to watch human beings kill humans and animals for centuries.

Better treatment of Animals before you kill them?
Its still murder!

If I went to an Ivy league school instead of a community college, and i'm still getting my throat slit, wheres the benefit?

Posted by: emptyhell | April 30, 2009 04:46 PM

Thanks Gina, Christy and others, you made my day. The gates of hell will not prevail against the true knowledge of the LOVE OF GOD.

Tina, sadly you have fallen victim to the LIES FROM HELL.

When reading the Bible you have to understand that it is "MARRED WITH MISTAKES AND HAS GRAVE ERRORS" That is a quote from the foreward of the King James Version; the old version, they don't put that in the newly printed versions.

With respect to Paul, author of Romans and Corithians, you do need to consider the source. If it were today, Paul would be writing those books from a prison cell on death row. Paul was mass murderer, a serial killer of Christians.

Paul was far from perfect. He even said so himself. "Was Paul crucified on your behalf? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?"

That says to me, that Paul was telling the church of Corinth, Hey listen, I am not perfect, I am not the MESSIAH and guess what folks, I get it wrong sometimes.

Paul was clearly confused when/if he wrote those versus. Even if meateating were permitted, eating an animal that was sacrificed to a pagan god would be blasphemous. I suppose after throwing all those Christians to the lions, eating a beast did not affect his conscience. Paul did not have a conscience. God had to get directly in his path on that dusty Dimascus road, on his way to kill more Christians.

Paul was a very flawed individual, chosen by God to write some of the most important passages in the new testament. But if you think Paul didn't make mistakes with all that blood on his hands, your're mistaken.

Why would Paul, go on to write about the Table of Satan, VS the Table of Christ, The Gifts of the Spirit and all that stuff about the Body. I am quite certain that Paul didn't even know the depth of meaning of what he was writing.

It makes no sense, this interjection about eating animals sacrificed to idols. That is just rediculous, like Timothy saying he doesn't allow women to teach.

Posted by: Saucy | April 30, 2009 05:12 PM

This billboard is incredibly misleading. To have a list of several food-borne illnesses and then toss in swine flu in bold is as close as you can get to an outright lie. Swine flu has *nothing* to do with eating meat.

Posted by: Aaron | April 30, 2009 05:26 PM

I'd first like to say that I'm an animal rights activist and an active vegetarian. Peta, please don't publish inaccurate information! There is no proof that the Swine Flu was caused by pig farming. Because of false publications, such as yours, 300,000 pigs are sent to be slaughtered in Egypt. You have disappointed me one too many times with your attempt to produce solid stories to do good for animal rights.

Posted by: Cory | April 30, 2009 05:27 PM

So god put animals here for us superior humans to eat? Where in the bible does it state this? Regardless, religion is ridiculous. Some might say that we should respect other peoples beliefs....blah blah blah. What for? If I was to tell you that " some guy down the street from me died and 3 days later was resurrected.....and oh yeah this guys mom, she was a
Virgin.....and oh yeah this guy, well his dad was this invisible man that lves in the sky....." you'd say I was was nuts right? Yet this is what you people believe? If anything is going to end the human race it's stupidity like this. Oh and for the guy that says humans are higher up on the evolutionary scale; don't talk about evolution when your knowledge of it is so obviously bankrupt. Thanks

Posted by: Jim | April 30, 2009 05:55 PM

It's just funny how you guys don't respect the freedom of choice. People have the right to eat animals no matter how dangerous it is for their health. Vegetarian folks, please let us enjoy our meals. oh it will kill me? everything kills nowadays(Cell phones cause cancer and other bull**it reasons).

Posted by: Meat-eating-pigs-slaughting-man | April 30, 2009 06:16 PM

This is a disappointing story from PETA, they have just lost my support. The fact is that the swine flu is not passed in meat. Period! It is a fact. Also Egypt just slaughtered around 300,000.00 pigs on 4/29/09 because they to did not listen to the experts and believed it was passed this easily. Now PETA has just ruined any chance they have of protecting pigs in places like Egypt as this stories actually says their ignorant actions are justified! Good work PETA

Posted by: Animal Chick | April 30, 2009 06:18 PM

hahah I have been ranting about this for the last few days. We (as humans in general) caused this. We made factory farms. We spread the disease. Now, mother nature fights back.

GO VEG!

Posted by: Theresa | April 30, 2009 06:29 PM

To not eat animals at all and keep decreased numbers on city farms, reserves, or pets for those with land.
If and whilst people feel a need to eat meat, the very least should be for animals to be kept on free range farms and have a good quality life up to a reasonable age and killed humanely.
l think the majority of meat eaters could not spend time at factory farms and slaughter
places and still want to eat meat.
Factory farms for pigs, chickens, any animal, are so discusting, vile, an obscene cruel and barbaric way to treat any animal,to delude oneself they have no feelings and only need food is a cop out, they do suffer, to be confined hardly able to move, losing their young, misery.
We all know that you dont get disease from eating well cooked meat, but from animals being kept in confined and unhealthy conditions, fed on contaminated diets and meds, anti bs, steroids, etc, all going into your system, whilst the virus,s in the air we breathe. l also believe that mexico is one of the most polluted countries in the world, as is the uk, that itself leads to increased toxins we breathe in, perhaps depressing our immune system, making us more vunerable to disease, l personally do not think people are as healthy or as energised as when l grew up in the 50s.
Added to that global warming from our lifestyles, also the vast amounts of methane gas.
l remember well the bse outbreak in the uk, night after night for months, farm after farm contaminated, the sight of millions of cows, sheep, slaughtered,piled up high, buried,burned,horrific.
Although l believe in the teaching of jesus christ,much of the bible is ubelievable,re
adam-eve,noah,impossible,also the brutal sentiments often of sacrifice and slaughter of all en masse. We blatantly dismiss and abuse all of the ten commandments without a second thought,whilst picking certain messages to justify
our behaviour, including the illtreatment and brutalising of animals in many ways.
l think and hope future generations will look on our treatment of animals as savage. Be it bse,their feed, swine flu, their conditions, aids,bush meat,
polluted air damaging us, a warming climate causing freak weather leading to death, we just dont seem to learn, talk about ostrich,s, nero,just carry ontill the next disaster. If you really must eat animals at least demand they are kept in health free range conditions with a good diet, meds free, with a normal growth rate and living well to a reasonable age.
No l dont eat meat,gave up lamb, beef, pork years ago, chicken more recently.
Love veg, cereals,nuts and soya dishes, clean.

Posted by: lynne | April 30, 2009 06:36 PM

H1N1 Influenza A cannot be contracted by eating pork. that is a scientific fact.

Posted by: Nikoli | April 30, 2009 06:51 PM

u people are pathetic thats is all i have to say i would love to take a piss on u fuks, humans are much more important than some stupid animal

Posted by: Mihail Kolevski | April 30, 2009 07:26 PM

Thank you PETA! I was waiting for your response to the "Swine Flu."
Farmed pigs are particularly susceptible to gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea, and are often "preventatively" and perpetually treated with antibiotics, even in countries with strict farming standards and regulations. The antibiotics build resistances, and voila! More super bugs and viruses are born. Treating animals with respect and love - not rape, cruelty, and violence - has a whole new meaning and value. PETA - Keep up the good work and inspiration. Thank you.

Posted by: big steph | April 30, 2009 07:32 PM

OK, enough Bible verse spewing, arguing about "survival of the fittest" and all that.

The bottom line: We, as humans in modern society, have a choice. We can choose to eat meat at every meal, subsidizing an UNSUSTAINABLE industry that has been PROVEN (largely by brave undercover PETA workers) to cruelly treat animals, or we can choose to eat lower on the food chain, bypassing animals together and doing ourselves (in the form of better health), the environment (more sustainable agriculture), and the animals (life on the factory farm SUCKS, not to mention communicable diseases that mutate to infect humans) a favor.

Eating vegetarian doesn't mean just eating carrots, either. It can be as simple as choosing a bean burrito over a carne asada one or eating pineapple pizza instead of pepperoni. TVP burger patties, like Boca Burgers, taste so much like meat that they fool some people if put in a properly prepared burger.

I, personally, would rather see humans who want meat be forced to go out and hunt it. There would be a lot less meat eating, that's for sure. People are used to seeing neatly filleted slabs of meat in bloody shrinkwrapped containers, not a dead carcass that they have to skin, gut and drain blood from. Meat is far too easy to obtain in modern society, and the horrors and squalor involved in its production are carefully shielded from the average person.

Hunting and gathering, the traditionally sustainable diet for humans before our population got out of control, consists of a largely vegetarian diet punctuated by a meat meal when the kill comes in -- not a big hunk of meat at every meal. If the hunters killed an animal for every meal, the natural population would be decimated in months. Hence the need or factory farming, and all the evils that go with it, to maintain the modern American diet.

Thankfully, we can now easily participate in an herbivorous or lacto-ovo diet, no gathering required, and never miss the meat.

If you love meat, fine. Enjoy it once or twice a week. But running down to McD's five days a week and KFC five nights a week, then to Outback on the weekend for a humongous steak, makes you fat, gives you heart disease, and taxes the planet way beyond what the artificially low price of the meat (thanks in large part to government subsidies) leads you to believe.

Posted by: Desert Tripper | April 30, 2009 08:29 PM

Colby, you said:

"Plus meat, eggs, milk, and cheese are the only 4 naturally occurring foods that contain all the amino acids that your body doesn't make by itself."

Take a look at a copy of Bowes & Church's Food Values of Portions Commonly Used in the amino acid section of the book. Now please tell me what fruits and vegetables don't contain all essential amino acids (granted some are in small amounts in fruits and vegetables). They all contain at least some quantity of each essential amino acid.

Now check out plants that provide significant amounts of complete protein like quinoa (which also has more calcium than cow's milk), hemp seed, amaranth or soybeans (the human body is able to digest 92 percent of the protein found in meat and 91 percent of that found in soybeans). Humans need to eat protein, but they certainly don't need to get it from animal products.

http://www.mypyramid.gov/tips_resources/vegetarian_diets.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12826028

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | April 30, 2009 08:42 PM

I keep thinking if Egypt must slaughter an insane amount of pigs, than could they not give them to those people in the world who are starving? I mean, there are millions of people that would appreciate the food, regardless if their was fear of the swine flu. It just does not make sense. I was wondering if PETA is doing anything to stop the slaughters... Usually, you hear a great deal about slaughtering of animals from PETA, but I haven't heard anything. Not sure if they have already started this or not. It is just sad all around. I do eat meat, but, honestly, I am pregnant, and get light headed if I do not eat any meat substance, and have always been this way. I even tried to give up meat a few times, and felt so weak that, I just could't do it. I know that is a different topic, but do hope that the meat could be offered to those countries that would need it the most. It would only be fair, if the animals are just going to be killed without use for food. It is kind of like hunting deer and just hanging their head on the wall, tossing the carcass. At least provide nourishment for someone needing the food source, you know?

Posted by: Katie | April 30, 2009 08:42 PM

people blame pigs just cause swine flu :( i really love animals

Posted by: Kyle | April 30, 2009 09:05 PM

U know what...ppl have written so many comments but wtf r they doing about the SLAUGHTERING of ALL PIGS in EGYPT and another thing it's not the pigs meat!!Its because either a Fkd up bastard decided to do a sick piggy one day and created a new virus which has both, Pig and a human DNA for many ingonarant fools out there, especially the President of EGYPT....makes me want 2 laugh of how stupid he can b and to think he is the president
and yes i am an active PETA Member

Posted by: Ivan | April 30, 2009 09:08 PM

I am concerned by the slaughter of pigs in Egypt. Egypt is supposed to be 99% Muslim and Muslims are not supposed to touch or eat pigs, but why do they even have pigs there? I heard that the government ordered the slaughter of pigs not because of swine flu but to continue their persecution of the Christian minority and that the pig farmers are mostly Christians who earn their living selling pigs to Christians.

Posted by: Veggiehunk | April 30, 2009 10:44 PM

For once, I agree with PETA

Posted by: reality123 | May 1, 2009 12:08 AM

I DO NOT EAT MEAT ALTHOUGH I DO EAT FISH, IT IS A MATTER OF CHOICE AND I FEEL GOOD ABOUT THIS CHOICE.PETA HAS OPENED MY EYES TO THE DISADVANTAGES AND HORRORS OF WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR ANIMAL KINGDOM, GOD GAVE MAN DOMAINE OVER THE ANIMALS THUS FAR WHAT A LOWSEY JOB WE HAVE DONE. I BELIEVE IN KARMA AND I TRULY BELIEVE WE WILL PAY A HEAVY PRICE FOR THE ATROSITIES BESTOWED UPON GOD'S CREATURES.
CHRISTINE MYERS
CANADA

Posted by: christine myers | May 1, 2009 12:46 AM

you know what "little one" {at the top} ur soooo dumb because they never even said anyone wasn't gonna get breast cancer for being vegetarian or not get sick, they're just saying its MUCH less likely that you will get it if you become vegetarian and i bet if you and ur silly friends would actually be vegetarian maybe you could make a difference instead of complaining to the wrong people, the ones MORE ADVANCED IN ALL WAYS than you are.

Posted by: Emilia {the cool one} | May 1, 2009 12:56 AM

WOW ! There are many opinions about this "swine flu". I believe its all in the factories and not the pigs. Pigs should be treated like cows in japan. They are free to do what they want, not under their will. Everyone should just be aware of the possibilities that may come to this.

Posted by: Fria | May 1, 2009 01:06 AM

This influenza is caused by a virus... viruses are alive. And while they are not sentient beings (as far as humanity can tell), they are fully capable of wiping out all of humanity. The "Spanish Flu" of 1918 did not originate in factory farms, but it did kill around 600,000 Americans. The 1998 Avian flu didn't come from factory farms. In September 2001 it was announced that the full genome of the 1918 flu had been decoded and the protein that caused its virulence had been discovered. It was an H1N1 flu. Sounds vaguely familiar! I can't condone the inhumane treatment of any animal for any reason, but I do believe it's our inhumanity toward humanity that is allowing viruses to have the upperhand.

Posted by: Vita Amorosa | May 1, 2009 01:13 AM

Nothing to do with the topic but where on the PETA website do I go to ask simple questions. All I can find are staged questions and answers.

Posted by: Mike | May 1, 2009 01:54 AM

I love all the comments saying that we have the freedom to kill "stupid animals" and enjoy their meat.

Well... duh!, that is nothing new. We have the freedom to kill children and eat them as well, so?.

If you live in a society where this is ethical, fine, I don't really care.
But if you like to impose this ethic where I live, I also have the freedom to stop you ;).

Posted by: Lucaz | May 1, 2009 01:57 AM

Humans are designed to eat meat! Look in the mirror and see those sharp teeth, thats made for tearing animal flesh. Vegetables provide no energy, its just for flavour not energy. We can even eat raw meat easily, I have eaten many animals raw and still fresh from killing. It's our nature. If you don't follow nature, you get sick and looking at vegetarians, its true. I hunt, fish and even killed many animals with bows. It's how we are designed by God.

Posted by: ryan | May 1, 2009 02:18 AM

While I'm not going to deny that factory farming is probably a huge contributer to the spread of these illnesses, I was shocked that this article mentioned nothing about Eygpt ordering 300,000 pigs to be slaughtered? Claiming farming is the source is a double-edged sword here. Yes it's probably due to how the animals are treated, but ignorant people will see pigs themselves as being the problem and do what Eygpt has done. In the end, 300,000 pigs have been slaughtered for nothing. Where is your outrage regarding that PETA?

Posted by: Julie | May 1, 2009 02:31 AM

Mike, I am a biologist. I have eaten dinner with Jane Goodall, read her books,and talked extensively about chimps as omnivores...if you like, I will ask her to send you an autograph (seriously). Chimps are not predators often, true. I was simply giving one of numerous examples of omnivorous organisms. I are more of a carnivore really...I am not a fan of veges. Meat that is raised commercially (beef mainly) is less healthy than wild game...such as venison and bison...which is what I hunt, kill, and eat rather than going shopping. If a person can eat meat, remain healthy, and reduce their impact on the environment, there is no problem. I would wager that my self-sufficient method of "grow your own food, kill your own food" is more condusive to a healthy planet than walking to a grocery store to buy vegetables that were commercially farmed (which often rapes the land and displaces numerous of your beloved cute and cuddlies). I understand where you are coming from, but you cannot tell a biologist that somehow commercial farming of vegetables is better (ecologically) than commercial ranching. Stop promoting both (farming and ranching), then you will be helping.....you will either reduce your carbon footprint and negative impact on wildlife to nothing, or starve. Take your pick, but in my opinion it is the only humane thing to do :).

Posted by: Sean | May 1, 2009 05:04 AM

maybe it says something about the most hostile to peta and its ideals, that they are aggressive, abusive, and threatening, misinformed in believing animals are stupid,
few are, unlike people, we may have bigger brains and allegedly more intelligence, yet perenially do the most stupid and destructive acts,
for all our arrogance, ego, and power, there will be animals still here when we`re long gone.

Posted by: lyne | May 1, 2009 05:32 AM

Um, the "swine" flu has been renamed. It can't even technically be spread to humans unless it's been mutated, right?

Posted by: Rachel | May 1, 2009 08:09 AM

They never found a swine with this desease. It is a mixture of humanflu, birth flu and swine flu. The Mexican flu (the name we give here in holland) is found with a boy in mexico who has nothing to do with factory farming. That is what you can read here in the papers and see on the news. This flu have nothing to do with pigs. It is just a mixture. Birds could cause it too but humans are the spreaders of this desease and not pigs. So I don;t see why it is relevant as a argumant against meat eating (im vegetarien so don't come with crap about meat eater shit) Ans I think that the only key is respect. Respect toward animals, meat eaters, and vegetarians. You can acomplish a lot more. I'm by the way not aganst eating meat for us it is naturaly, same as a golfish and loin. I think it is wrong how we treat animals and ruin the eart with the produce of meat. Animals are seen as product and not as animals anymore, it is not a litle farm with a few cows and chickens who have a good life. Maybe god put animals on earth so we can eat them (im not christian do, i think it is nonsense) but god didn't put animals on earth to torture and god dind't put us on earth to destroy it. I think a lot of christians are not really christian. And the image we have from america is that most of the christians over there did not read the bible correct (i have read it) So I suggest u all use youre brains and work together to save Our beatiful earth.

Posted by: Dédé | May 1, 2009 08:27 AM

What eagypt is doing is just a symbolic thing. And yes It is wrong and stupid to do that.

Posted by: Dédé | May 1, 2009 08:29 AM

for Nikoli:

Mostly I don't react on stupid comments where are no brains used. U said we are more inportant than a stupid animal? For the reccord WE ARE animals too and also stupid. U need this world too survive, to eat, to drink. What we are doing now is destroying it. We are destroying the natural balance. If we ruin a population of animals other animals will die too. The meat industry is destroying forrest in south america. Destroing a whole habitat in this habbitat live also humans who need the forrest to survive. Are u better than those 'stupid' Indians? Than the trees we need for air and the animals who spread the seeds of the trees. If the forest is gone a lot of people die, if u are gone nothing happent..so you aren't that important, the world dosn't need u. U see it was on the news here in holland..about 20-50 year there will be not enough food and water for us earopean en american because americans need 5 more planets more if they wanna live like this we 2. And that is because we are destroying everything. If we die the world will be a better place. it does not need us. When we are keep going to polute the wordl for our own greet we are killing everything our world needs because we wan't meat everyday me me me.. and if the world is ruin we are F***ED. Simple as that, so if u think humans are so importand i suggest u use that brain of yours and u are going to READ and LEARN(if u think u are that good prove it) and u discover u need that stupid animal to survive with youre lazy a**.
We are just a greedy ape

Posted by: Dede | May 1, 2009 08:50 AM

"If God didn't want us to eat animals he wouldn't have put them here."

Whoever wrote this is a moron.

The bible says that plants and seeds will be our food. And that we are to rule the animals. Rule does not mean kill or harm.

That's if you even believe half the crap in the bible.

Posted by: Tracy | May 1, 2009 10:04 AM

Someone said that it was symbolic of the pig slaughters- I am sorry, but that is just not right. They are getting slaughtered for no reason, not food, not any reason, other than to be slaughtered. There are enough people globally that are being treated in an unfair manner to make a point. I don't like it when others condone that kind of treatment- oh well, to create trouble for Christians. What about peace if there is that anymore? I don't condone this any way. People, animal, it isn't right. LIke I keep saying, at least give the food source to the starving people, if they must be slaughtered.

Posted by: Katie | May 1, 2009 10:20 AM

Sean, thanks for your response.

I've heard of other people who, like yourself, get their meat strictly from hunting, and propose this as an alternative to factory farms. But do you really think it's practical for all meat-eaters (all 6,706,993,152 people minus the vegetarians and vegans) to go out and hunt for themselves?

How long would it take before every last bison, deer, rabbit, turkey and squirrel was permanently blasted to oblivion? Considering Americans devour 10 billion animals a year, probably not long.

Never mind over-zealous hunters accidentally shooting their own kind in hunting areas jammed with novice hunters. Over-hunting was the main factor in the extinction of the passenger pigeon, so I don't think most humans are capable of applying checks and balances to themselves. (Ex: We're now greedily over-fishing and polluting the oceans.)

Factory farms are a disaster on so many levels, but they are probably the only delivery system capable of providing society's meat fix.

As I'm sure you're aware, The United Nations' report "Livestock's Long Shadow" revealed that the animals-for-food industry generates more greenhouse gas equivalents than all the cars, trucks and airplanes in the world combined.

You're in a select group if you can obtain your meat strictly through personal hunting, but I don't see that as a viable option for most people—the earth simply has too many people. I'm much happier as a vegan than I would be as a meat-eater relying on the cruel, inhumane and planet-devastating factory farm model.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | May 1, 2009 12:00 PM

I did see a clip on HLN news as they were talking about the Swine flu they showed over and over again clips of factory farms and the heartbreaking confinement and treatment of pigs and cows. They lashed out at farm factories and the mis-treatment of these animals. If only CNN and local news channels would show these hard to watch clips as they spoke about the swine flu perhaps some changes could be made. People don't know what they don't see and most are just ignorant or don't want to believe this is where their dinner plate comes from. I am proud to be a vegetarian but my heart still breaks every time I think about what these animals go through and a lot of people just put it out of their mind to fill their stomachs.

Posted by: Aimee | May 1, 2009 12:23 PM

LOL the ppl everywhere that say animals were put on this earth OBVIOUSLY did NOT read the BIBLE it says ON THE FIRST FREAKIN PAGE that he made PLANTS to feed all mankind and animals of the earth SO F U im catholic and a vegan so religon has nothing to do with this

Posted by: lauren | May 1, 2009 12:41 PM

For the person who commented about God putting animals here for us to eat I am not sure if he is a Christian, but regardless we were vegetarians until the fall in the garden, after that initial sin God gave us the animals to eat---this is in Genesis, but keep in mind that all the sanitation/food laws in Leviticus were given for safety, i.e., in order to protect against disease. If the industry followed a few of those basic guidelines we may not get into messes like this. I do not believe it is wrong or particularly unhealthy to eat animal meat and products IF they are treated well and slaughtered humanely.

Posted by: MZaffino | May 1, 2009 01:09 PM

it is a small victory, but meat sales aren't going down at all surprisingly. =(

it's human to human and it hasn't been proven to be in food sources yet.

Posted by: meggerzz | May 1, 2009 01:33 PM

the picture on the start page, with mom pig and her babies- imprisoned and exploited for human profit- breaks my heart. they are living, breathing beings who will never know freedom. im ashamed of belonging to the human species. what atrocities are we able to justify for the sake of taste!?? plz meat eaters and vegetarians: go vegan today, what are you waiting for? lets stop supporting these concentration camps- these innocent creatures didnt do anything to deserve it.

Posted by: anna | May 1, 2009 02:27 PM

This is in response to Denise's myopic post about God's support for the meat industry.
I won't get into a theological debate over the will and intent of the Abrahamic God regarding the purpose for animals...
but since you make substantial Biblical reference to support your claim that God supports the slaughter of animals, I must ask you, is it also okay that we torture them too? A LOT of people say that meat is okay with them, but few can say they condone TORTURING animals, which is precisely what is happening. Its an inconvenient piece that never quite fits into the psuedo-self-righteous puzzle.

Even in religious terms, it isn't constructive to observe that animals were slaughtered when Jesus walked the earth. COMMERCIAL SLAUGHTERHOUSES DID NOT EXIST AT THAT TIME. In modern times, when meat is treated as a commodity produced for the masses like clothing, we do not have the time or resources to treat them well...So, pull your head out of your ass...

Posted by: Bobby | May 1, 2009 03:26 PM

My apologies. My response was meant to be directed at CANADUCK's myopic post, not Denise's....sorry Denise!

Posted by: Bobby | May 1, 2009 03:29 PM

What about the 350,000 pigs that are going to be slaughtered in Egypt? Is there nothing that can be done to stop this?? I am finding this is very sad. Maybe it would be better if they were slaughtered so they didn't have to live such miserable lives. I am against factory farming in a huge way. So inhumane. I am a firm believer of... If you can kill it yourself, then you are allowed to take its life to eat it. But this mass produced way of providing meat to the world is just wrong. I say if you want meat, take a bow and arrow and go out into the wilderness and see if you have it in you to kill an animal for food!

Posted by: Stacey | May 1, 2009 05:21 PM

hello there i am paige i think animal testing is wrong on all levels everytime i see a animal in need i want to take it home but that is not the casde at many shelters they aer cramed wall to wall with animals and do you know why that is ? becase we do not fix our animals not fixing them creats some of the problems we have to stand today if they are nort going to get taken why even make them for torture

Posted by: Paige | May 1, 2009 10:01 PM

sure fine lets say GOD put animals on this planet so that human kind could eat them and to make this all the better he also gave these creatures the ability to feel pain. now it sounds to me that "GOD" as you see him is really sadistic. i figure if god meant for us to eat animals they would come pre-seasoned and ready to eat you know cut out the pain part. but who am i to say "GOD" is not into killing things that feel pain.

Posted by: MERCHAN , JONATHAN | May 1, 2009 10:50 PM

This has nothing to do with religion. This article just states that certain diseases ARE linked to unethical treatment of animals. You can believer what you want, but you can't argue with the facts.

Posted by: Maxpm | May 2, 2009 12:36 AM

For the idiots out there that believe we should eat meat, wake up & become conscious. God said thou shall not kill-this should explain it. Animals feel pain, and should not be eaten. How would you like to be one knowing you were going to die? You should be ashamed of yourself if you eat meat. Watch earthlings on you tube and stop supporting the torture. Read David Wolfe's book Sunfood Nutrition. He explains why we should not eat meat such as humans can't digest uric acid found in meat (urine-gross). He explains our fingers digits for peeling fruit vegetables flat teeth etc. He has his PHD Masters in nutrition, law degree plus political science & engineering. Go read Collins book The China Study before you speak. He was a researcher for 35years for the National Cancer Institute and states that the meat diet is an unhealthy source of protein, and vegan is the way to go. He grew up on a farm and has research to prove it. He was given grants to test cancer. Heather Mills favorite book as well as mine. Do your research before you speak. Think about Karma. Morally it is wrong to have a face on your plate. We are not cannibals. Get with it.

Posted by: michelle Woods | May 2, 2009 01:06 AM

H1N1 is a mutation containing elements of swine, avian and human flu strains. It is not the pigs' fault. To kill thousands of animals in the name of "protecting" human beings is an ignorant exercise in cruelty. The stupidity and greed of human beings is the root cause of many of these so-called epidemics; close quarters in factory farming spread any existing disease; however, viruses are known for their mutating abilities, which ensure their survival. Unfortunately, pig farmers won't give up on raising pigs for the food supply - they'll figure out a way to show that their meat products are disease free, and the killing will go on.
What is it with the anti-PETA folks who just get so upset with anyone who endorses vegetarianism? Are you all afraid that someone's going to take your burgers or barbecue away? Is it just too scary a thought for you all to think about how millions of animals meet their deaths annually? Are you afraid that you might have to grow a conscience?

Posted by: Weezianna | May 2, 2009 09:36 AM

In regards to the post from DENISE on April 27th at 3:59pm. You're CORRECT that animals WERE eaten when Jesus walked the earth......BUT TODAY we have modern conveniences called GROCERY STORES that have PRODUCE SECTIONS & VEGETARIAN SECTIONS w/SOY PRODUCTS....thus making it NOT NECESSARY TO EAT ANIMALS! those that still do, don't need ANIMAL MEAT to SURVIVE, but do it out of mere SELFISH, NON-COMPASSIONATE CHOICE!

Posted by: Jen Pucci | May 2, 2009 10:11 AM

MIHAIL KOLEVSKI, with your use of language, you sound like an uneducated fool.

Posted by: Jaquie | May 2, 2009 10:19 AM

Why on Earth do Christians feel that they have a higher place on this mighty Earth than the rest of the little critters? And, in the dark forest of that tangled logic, what gives man the 'almighty' right to torture these critters. Never mind the wholesale torture of those animals. By this logic, I should be able to walk into a pet store, purchase a few cuddly puppies, take them home, lock them in a dark and unventilated closet, with the 50 other puppies I bought. I will provide them fetid food, inadequate water, I can then cut off their tails, and noses, slaughter and eat them. After all, those little puppies were put here to eat, correct. Makes no difference how I treat them, right? Same goes for kittens, right? Or, because people stoned jews, or used slaves to build pyramids, we should to the same now?

We have hopefully evolved (opps sorry, I didn't mean 'that' evolution, we all know dinosaurs roamed the Earth 5000 years ago), to the point where we can use the resources of the planet a little more responsibly. And eating meat is low on the spiritual, environmental, health and evolutionary evolutionary scale.

Posted by: George | May 2, 2009 11:07 AM

Well I think its important to realize this originated in mexico. So, the protest should be to the mexican goverment. If you are wanting to save animals blaming it on the pigs won't help much. I believe it would just fuel more slaughtering of the pigs in fear that they are going to make everyone sick. I do eat meat but I definately believe that the animals do need to be treated more humanely. Even with the arguement that animals were put here for us to eat doesn't mean they were put here to be abused. I believe that we are to respect them.

Posted by: Bentley Simpson | May 2, 2009 02:54 PM

uhm i support peta, but i am pretty positive swine flu doesnt even come from pork products. it is an airborne disease.

Posted by: cat | May 2, 2009 03:47 PM

I dont think it is wrong to eat animals even though I am a vegetarian. Its just how they kill the animal is cruel. Like boiling them in water while still concious. NOW THAT IS CRUEL

Posted by: animalluver | May 2, 2009 03:55 PM

i think people should just eat free range! but if no-one ate meat at all, farmers wouldn't keep the animals in the first place so a lot of them would be worse off, they wouldn't get looked after or anything. and if 'god' didn't want us to eat animals why'd he make them out of meat?

Posted by: Fiona | May 2, 2009 04:47 PM

First, Canaduck did not post the comments regarding god putting animals here for humans to eat. That was Denise. Canaduck just gave a list of diseases that started in animals. But he forgot a few, like AIDS, Ebola, Anthrax and the Hanta virus. Swine flu did start in pigs, but mutated and jumped the species barrier. The animals are trying to tell us something.

Posted by: pam | May 2, 2009 07:29 PM

All you people wanting to be hero's on here trying to come up w/the right answers and bickering back and forth about religion and to eat meat or not, isn't it bad enough that people are dieing? Lets stop pointing the finger at each other and get down to the real problem.. Government anyone.... Who allows the factory farms, who are supposed to regulate the treatment of animals and the cleanliness of the farms... all the way down to the tax we pay to get the dam meat to our table.. Just like tainted toys, dog food, etc from China.. we don't have any control over things like this, other than to just stop consuming and rely on our own talents and skills to feed our families my suggestion grow your own food and like Bobby said before go kill your own meat. Oh and be responsible .. If your sick stay the hell home.

Posted by: Lisa | May 3, 2009 09:04 AM

this is in reaction to "canaduck" who said "god put animals on earth for us to eat". How do you know he put them on earth to eat? Did he put steel on earth to turn into guns? did He put uranium on earth to make bombs with it? Of course not, humans are misusing these gifts, like animals, for our own selfish wants.
Very good article thank you for writing it

Posted by: Melissa | May 3, 2009 09:18 AM

Where is Peta in the Egypt situation? The senseless murder of 350,000 animals needs to be stopped. If they are going to kill the poor animals then at least consider giving them to the starving in other countries. Come on People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals!

Posted by: Michelle | May 3, 2009 10:44 AM

we are not in the stone age. we don't need to eat meat and it is wrong to kill wild animals or domestic to satisfy our taste buds with rotting flesh from sentient beings. in life or death situations people have gone as far as eating their dead friends but we eat meat for pleasure and profit when their are so many good vegan alternatives. and i am a vegetarian.all sentient beings feel pain and that includes marine wildlife and fish feel pain .animals life's are just as valuable as ours. debating that is like saying that people who cant talk are less important.

Posted by: oceanworior | May 3, 2009 11:28 AM

To all those meat eaters with the excuse that animals were put here for us to eat!!!
Why don't you watch some of those videos of the abuse & the horrific ways these poor defenseless animals are slaughtered every time you sit ( or stand ) to eat a meat meal. Yes, Vegaterians can get cancer & some of life threatening diseases, because most/many of us are not born vegaterians, so meat was eaten for a long time before we were educated to the evidence & facts of the abuse & inhumane ways of killing these animals. I can't remember anyone ever saying that VEGATERIANS will not be afflicted with certain diseases, but studies have shown that a VEGATERIAN risk is reduced by @ least 40%.
Sick & ifected animals, even ones that are unble to walk are still slaughtered. There are clear & conclusive evidence of this. Meat eaters comsume all the infections, sickness & all the chemicals which are fed to animals to increase their growth rate. This is done all in the name of money/profit. So again, instead of watching the favorite show,movie or sports program @ meal time, I invite you to watch the videos/evidence of the abuse & the horrific/inhumane ways the animals you are about to eat endured all of their lives. That's the FACE on your plate.

Posted by: Angelia Yee | May 3, 2009 11:34 AM

Yet again, PETA has displayed another example of how stupid they are.

It's great how you guys can just blame everything on battery farming, really makes it convenient doesn't it? Instead of actually doing your research, you jump to the conclusion of battery farming.

"derp derp! battery farming makes flu! man is evil! derp derp!!"

So... is the Lion who hunts the Zebra and rips it's throat out, evil? It's all nice that you can say we're the evil ones and that we nothing but monsters, but it's nature. Without meat, we'd have no physical substance, we'd become frail and weak. We've been eating meat for eons, we have canines for god's sake, proof that we're omnivores. We're just another part in the grand circle of life.

A lion won't hesitate to eat you.

Posted by: Allelujah | May 3, 2009 12:05 PM

First of all, not everyone here believes in God, and even if they do, everyone's views are different.
Cruel, it may be, but it's the lifestyle of many today.
I agree in a sense of that it is better to get your own meat, and avoid mass production of meat for everyone else is wrong, but I believe that if you do not waste the animal, it is okay. Once, it's killed, it's killed, and you can't do anything but wish that the animal's spirit is being treated much better. (depending on your beliefs and other factors, your views might be different)

Also, just because people live eating meat, doesn't mean that you should go about saying it's all their faults!
It's their lifestyle, and their choice to change it.

Swine flu is AIRBORNE, not from eating pig.

Posted by: lynn | May 3, 2009 01:01 PM

Now Iraq is killing wild boars because of the swine flu. When is the killing going to stop?

Posted by: Jaquie | May 3, 2009 01:59 PM

Although swine flu did NOT come from pigs, its name has actually been very helpful to them. Pigs meat production has been down. So, in a way pigs are being helped a little but they have nothing to do with the start of the flu. Maybe there will continue to be stupid people who think its caused by pigs and the pigs meat production will be cut even more. I can only hope, I mean seriously who could eat such a cute little animal, not me.:)

Posted by: laurin | May 3, 2009 02:03 PM

the problem is not this swine flue, the problem is not the epidemic or pandemic. the problem is why these disease are emerging? what is our life style, what's our perception for innocent animals? and the problem is how we are living and our lifestyle. its not pig's fault, its human crime blaming on pig. wake up man wake up. its total public health problm

Posted by: anil shrestha | May 4, 2009 12:23 AM

Canaduck - Just to let you know, swine are pigs. How can you do no harm to animals if you are untimately raising them for slaughter? It seems as you believe the cows and pigs we have today have always been the same. The truth is all livestock animals used to be wild. Appriximately 7,000 years ago humans decided to domesticate them. They began using land and resources to house and feed them, while taking contol of their reproduction.

In this modern day of mass consumption the notion of raising livestock humanely becomes kind of a joke when you are talking about mass consumption. The livestock industry uses enormous quanitities of our diminishing natural resources.

Maybe it's best to not control and consume them. Did you know that the longest lived people in the world (the Hunza in Pakistan) eat 100% vegetarian and 99% vegan?

Jesus only walked the Earth 2000 years ago. In terms of human history, thats nothing. Human's have been around for at least 100,000 years and the multitude of different dietary patterns is staggering. Some cultures even practiced cannibalism. That doesn't make it a good idea for us today.

Posted by: Joanne | May 4, 2009 06:06 AM

Jaquie, the killing of all these pigs won't stop until organizations like PETA make a public stand and exlpain that H1N1 has not been found in pigs.

THe media and organizations like this one have caused such panic about having any pigs around that to many countries it would make perfect sense to be rid of all the pigs.

And laurin, all these cute little pigs that are not being eaten are either being experimented on or dissected by science classes. Even with a decline in demand for food, there will be other ways in which the pigs can be used.

Posted by: Marie | May 4, 2009 07:35 AM

Okay. First off. Using religion as your little justification of torturing and killing innocent animals is f***ing stupid so stop trying it. If you haven't noticed you're just pointing out how ignorant you really are. Enough said on that. Secondly, the swine flu(or the virus that is being spread around right now) is of swine origin; however, people aren't being infected by the pigs. Yes, I'm sure there was a few cases where it spread from the pigs to humans but that's when it spiraled out of control and became this outbreak. I'm a vegetarian and proud of it. But it's non-vegetarian's choice of what they eat. It's their own ditruction if they catch a virus of their own manufaction.

Posted by: Brandi | May 4, 2009 08:35 AM

Canaduck- The problem with what you said is that these animals aren't respected, even though they deserve to be. Besides, the first testament bible stated, and I quote, that "Thou shalt not eat cloven hoofed animals."
In my opinion, meat is wrong. Free ranged, thats all fine and good as long as the poor thing is killed humanely, but factory farming is cruel.
MIHAIL KOLEVSKI- I'm fourteen and I'm more intellegent than you. if you plan to insult us, please use correct grammar and spelling. I assume you are an insecure pre-teen trying to get a fight out of educated people, and you know what? Whatever floats your boat sweetheart. Just, don't make a total a** of yourself by attempting to insult us with terrible spelling and grammar, it makes you seem very ignorant.

Posted by: KiD | May 4, 2009 10:03 AM

Another to Denise: When you think of a way to brutally kill an animal while at the same time "not harming them in anyway" maybe what you said would make an ounce of sense. "Help them have a good life," what, so we could then murder them while they're alive? Sounds like an excellent "end" to those so-called "good lives." Really excellent.

Posted by: hol | May 4, 2009 02:03 PM

Anna, I was wondering if any of you understand why pigs are kept in farrowing crates? Pigs are known cannibals. If you leave a mother pig with her piglets loose the piglets have a 50/50 chance of not being eaten by their mother.

Also, sows with piglets are extremely dangerous. If you fall in a pen with one you are risking your life literally. A 5-6 hundred pound angry sow will kill you and eat you. I am not joking when I say this. Pigs will eat everything if they decide to eat meat. Not even bones are left. It is very dangerous to raise pigs when you do not put sows in farrowing crates at least until the piglets are old enough to be taken from her side and out of danger of cannibalism.

Posted by: Marie | May 4, 2009 06:32 PM

Are you stupid or something? Swine flu was NOT caused by pigs. Don't me wrong, I am a vegetarian and I love animals, but that billboard is just stupid and it's going to give you guys even more bad raps. You know what, if you guys spent less time trying to be so extreme and make statements and press, maybe more people would take you seriouslly and see the REAL message, that animals deserve to have a good life too. PETA, you give vegetarians and animal lovers a bad name.

Posted by: Pers | May 4, 2009 08:40 PM

To the person who thinks we should eat meat because we inhabit the planet with animals and they ate meat in Jesus' time,
all i can say is "Say WHat?!?@!!"
They got plants on this planet too, why not try a variety of them before you devour some swine. Also, Jesus did not participate in the traditional slaughter of the lamb ceremony because he was the
"lamb of God". The tradition of offering animal sacrifice was to end with Him. It is often erroneously quoted that he told his disciples when
they went to spread the word that he said to not take note of what you eat. This is because, in general, they took great note of what they ate, but because they were travelling in strange lands with different customs and with intent to convert them to a new religion, food, more than religion, creates to much distraction and contention with ignorant people, so it's best to" while in Rome do as the Romans" not to distract from the basic message of Love God, Love your neighbor, Love Thyself. Once they got that far, the vegetarianism is natural.
Peace!

Posted by: jayne pitchford | May 4, 2009 10:17 PM

it's bad over here

Posted by: jadon garcia | May 5, 2009 02:55 PM

how can this be stopped?
If it's already worldwide,,,........................... isn't it hard to stop it from spreading........?

Posted by: jung | May 6, 2009 01:20 AM

THE PIG AN THE EARTH ARE COMBINDING INTO THE SWINE FLU BEACUSE OF HOW THEY BARRY THE PIG THEY SHOULD EITHER HAVE TO BURN THEM OR DO LIKE HUMANS WHEN THEY DIE CUS OF THE AROUM THAT COULD EVEN MAKE THE SWINE FLU AIR BORN...!

Posted by: ABBY | May 6, 2009 02:01 AM

And where is the concern for the 35,000 people that die from other strains of flu every year in the US? As opposed to the ONE US death from H1N1? Oh, right, there's no easy scapegoat in THOSE situations.

I will give you guys credit for one thing - being excelent manipulators of information and fearmongers.

Posted by: scamps | May 8, 2009 05:44 PM

Interesting in excanging opinoins about latest and proven methods to Prevent and Control Ifections , Influenza and Pandemic events

Posted by: EDUARDO VARON | May 9, 2009 09:41 PM

It appears as if many of the posters have been reading only the comments section and not the body of the article. No one is claiming that EATING the flesh of pigs is transmitting this disease. The argument put forth is that the method of raising pigs TO BE EATEN is one that promotes the spread of disease within the pig population and eventually to humans. Somehow this became a discussion about "God" and whether or not eating flesh is "right" or "wrong". That was not the subject of the article and the discussion feels misplaced.
I think it should be abundantly clear that NO ONE will persuade the vegetarian peta activists posting here that killing and eating other animals is in any way permissible. Thump those bibles all you want but you're wasting your time.
It would greatly benefit those posting here talking about their "God" given "right" to eat animals to explore the widely accepted sociological idea that any society that allows the killing of animals for food is a society that permits and promotes violence against those weaker than yourself, a society in which violence against women and children will always exist. I believe those using "God" as a reason for their meat eating should ask themselves not it they can eat meat but if they should given the societal ramifications. Carol J. Adams has a book that is a great place to start learning about these themes if anyone is interested.
Anyway, I know I got sucked into the argument but I hope people will stop yelling at one another and perhaps have a logical discussion of the very serious epidemic facing the world.

Posted by: Erin | May 10, 2009 06:43 PM

today we threw all our frozen and fresh pork in the trash.thank god we didn't eat any of it .they say it's safe but thats only because they want to sell pork .

Posted by: alan | May 15, 2009 04:53 PM

Ok, canaduck, if god put animals on earth for humans to eat, then why weren't adam and eve feasting upon their animal companions in the garden of eden?

Posted by: hydraduck | May 18, 2009 12:11 AM

To every idiot who came on this website just to hate on it:YOUR A LOSER AND NEED A LIFE
there I made myself clear :)
I love you PETA!!!!!!
F*CK ALL HATERZZ!

Posted by: Kenady | May 19, 2009 08:12 PM

Gee, guys, there was a horrible outbreak of swine flu in 1918, fifty to 100 million people died of it 500 million people got it. There were NO pig factories then. When my grandmother was twelve, her mother died of it.

As to eating meat and God. Go look at your teeth. You have the square front teeth of grazers, but you also have canine teeth which means you were born a meat eater, gee.

Posted by: Beverly Rice | May 22, 2009 10:54 AM

wutz up with all the religion!? like really who cares....y bring god into this? he has nothing to do with this! yes it is true god did animals so we can eat them!! Urrg....Jus let go of god n da bible n jesus like stfu!

Posted by: Mia | May 26, 2009 05:25 PM

all the people who think that god!! put animals here to be eaten you all are ignorant sons of bitches... sure that may be true but i personally don't believe in god!! but one thing i do know is that pigs were not meant to be eaten it said so in the bible he said it the forgiven animal,that's why many people get sick a pig is the dirtiest of all and people who produce it uses the worst body parts of the pig think about what your eating... plus all the shit they do to animals isn't natural anymore so much chemicals. plus the whole packaging process come on!!! being a vegetarian is the most splendid thing to become!!! don't be a slave to the corporate america

Posted by: jesus | May 29, 2009 03:29 AM

Why is everyone making such a big deal about the bloody swine flu?! It's just a flu and the normal flu has just as much a chance of killing you anyways. It's just a flu and if your healthy and not living in a cave then you are safe and won't die from the swine flu.

Posted by: Manda | June 5, 2009 07:09 AM

Oh My God! I dont think that god will actually appreciate all the awful argumental answers with each other. I didnt know that you could turn such a topic of swine flu into such a church session.

I think you all should go back to church and Watch, Listen, & learn a few things, and dont try and be god and answer for him?.

I really wonder what god is thinking right at this moment when he is listening to you all. Shame on all of you.

Maybe you all should think about what you are saying before you speak and get the real facts instead of leading people on to your beliefs. Maybe thats why the human makes this world what it is today, due to situations like these that are all over the world?

Posted by: Scott | June 11, 2009 12:01 PM

all of you are acting very childish

1. everyone (including you) is going to die one day, so why should we care when animals do

2. prehistoric humans were for the most part, carnivores (because we werent always able to grow food you know)and they were in fact healthier than we (could you win a fistfight with a caveman.....didnt think so)

3. animals kill each other everyday, and you dont see peta activists rallying in Africa about lion's cruel treatment of gazelles

4.to the person who made a comment on global warming........all false, it is confirmed that the earth was 20 degrees warmer 2000 years ago (before factory machines were ever thought of)

5. instead of worrying about the mute point of people consuming meat, there is a bigger problem on the rise in most of the western countries, does codex alimentarius ring a bell? no?
research it, trust me, its gonna shock the crap out of you WAAAY more than a few nut-job farm workers roughing up a few chickens

Posted by: T.J. Marian | June 18, 2009 12:06 AM

POOR MEAT EATERS ARE IGNORANT OF HISTORY OF VEGETARIANISM. KILLING LIVING CREATURES MAKES US PAYING THE HEAVY PRICE. JESUS DID PRACTICE VEGETARIANISM BUT THE PROBLEM IS THE CHURCH DELETED THAT BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN NOT LEARN TO BE VEGETARIAN. IT IS WRONG TO TELL THAT MEAT EATING IS OKAY. SAINTS AND MASTERS RECOMMEND VEGETARIAN DIET. PERIOD. ALL RELIGIONS RECOMMEND THE SAME THING.

Posted by: DAVID FRANK | June 18, 2009 08:59 PM

I can not figure out why U.S. pork producers have not filed a law suit against PETA and national news media for continueing to spread false information on the H1N1 flu virus. Billions of dollars of losses to family farmers.

Posted by: Dale Ricker | June 20, 2009 09:43 PM

One can't blame either "factory farming" or the consumption of pork. The "swine flu" virus was first identified in 1939, well before widespread "factory farming." It exists in many countries that do not practice "factory farming." It cannot be transmitted to humans via "infected pork," which (if one follows customary precautions) is cooked thoroughly.

I appreciate (though I do not share) PETA's opposition to the consumption of meat, and I appreciate and share its concern over the inhumane treatment of animals. Unfortunately, scientifically and historically inaccurate assertions detract from its better-reasoned arguments.

Shall we cease consuming grain for fear of ergotism?

Posted by: Peter Koenig | June 25, 2009 03:34 PM

You are all freaken nuts. The topic at hand is "SWINE FLU"
Why the hell, does any type of religion have to come into it? I see most arguments over the topic of religion and not pigs.
If you want to discuss/force your own crazy beliefs upon others that actually will take the time to listen to your OWN religious beliefs, find another site...this has absolutely NOTHING to do with religion.
By the by, did you know that EVERY war started is from people disagreeing with religious ideals and their own made up facts from old, old books?
Who ever wrote, "I wonder what God is thinking now?'.....well,stop,meditate and think and the answer will come to you....you are not going to find that answer from some callous news reporter brainwashing you, because you need to find something to believe in.
Let the religioun go and concentrate at the topic at hand...S W I N E F L U ! And stop arguing your own religious beliefs, after all, none of you know if any of your religions are 100 % true, it's like a freaken fairy tale to make you feel righteous, and the need to tell everyone else they are wrong, because you read a book, that sounded cool to you.Then you judge and argue....something I'm sure was written in the bible...Thy shalt not judge....but you freaken do...hypocrytes!
Our front teeth are in fact strong enough to rip apart raw flesh, and the molars are to grind the food enough to swallow....we are born carnivors. Hey didn't Jesus eat a fish or 2? Do you know the pain level a fish can stand?
Keep at topic at hand....bet ya don't though, all you bible bashers.

Posted by: Leonie | July 16, 2009 10:04 PM

I am so confused as to why people argue about so many silly things! We need to focus on keeping our family and friens healthy since this flu is here to stay! Stop the God and no meat eating. It is peopel like u that make people like me hate the none meat eaters and the religous freaks! God is a God of love at least thats what i was always taught and if u choose not to eat meat then that is ur choice! Stop pushing ur beliefs off on people because it only pushes people like me future away to hear how stupid u sound. Lets just get through this flu season and stop blaming everyone! There are way more important things in life. AND NO MATTER HOW HARDE U TRY THE WORLD WILL ALWAYS EAT MEAT THERE IS NO CHANING THAT SO GET OVER IT!

Posted by: jessica | August 5, 2009 12:05 AM

The depth of scientific ignorance in some of these discussions would be laughable if the potential consequences were not so lethal.

If you posit a God, who is The Divine Creator of the universe, then He created flu and all other illnesses; deal with it.

If you posit there is no God, then flu and all other diseases are natural consequences of existence; deal with it.

It's either providence or atoms, as Marcus Aurelius said. Nobody knows the answer until they die -- and perhaps not even then.

If you don't want to eat meat, don't eat meat. But don't tell me I can't. If you believe in God, believe in God. But don't tell me I must.

This particular H1N1 strain did not originate in pigs. The main stream media continues to encourage that misapprehension because saying "swine flu" is A) easier and B) gets more attention. This strain may or may not contain a gene that will allow it to rapidly mutate, potentially becoming deadlier -- or less.

Or, you could just go with the concept that since we're all gonna die, why not from Hamthrax?

Posted by: mediajackal | August 5, 2009 10:53 AM

People saying we should quit eating any animal just because of the spread of disease need to remember there are more diseases spread by the handling and unclean vegetables than anything else. Thats why when you eat that delicious Salad at your favorite Restaurant you suddenly get that serious stomach ache and fever and Etc.

Posted by: Larry Roberts | August 13, 2009 08:32 AM

God's food laws can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible. If you are interested look it up. Certain animals are put on Earth to be consumed by humans. If you choose not to eat them that is your business.

Posted by: Stephanie Corley | August 19, 2009 04:12 PM

Who ever started the swine flu really needs to stay away from people cause almost the whole US has it. I really don't blame them from not cause i would like to have company when i'm sick to so its ok but the swine flu is killing us and we need to try to stop it from happening!!!

Posted by: Tabi | August 27, 2009 01:11 PM

I've never heard such ridiculous "wives tales" in all my career as a nurse, and I do a lot of reading and research on things such as HlN1, eliminating pigs, beinga vegetarian, all this religous stuff, get over it people, it's like any other disease, you're more like to catch anything if you're immune system is down, or if you don't take care of yourself. It's merely called, "common sense". You people could scare the pants off people writing stuff like this. Quit alarming people, enough lies get told and do your actual research.

Posted by: Beverly Stark | August 28, 2009 10:09 AM

If people keep doing this we will all end up died if the gov. doesnt do somethig about this.Yes they are making a vacence, but it does not matter because if they put pigs in sheds like that and people dont cook they're meat right they will get it and it will spred fast.We need to let the gov. know that people need to be arrseted for this because one they may swine flu and two its animal abuse.And they need to stop lieing to us and do something now.

Posted by: mike | August 29, 2009 04:15 PM

You are all wrong. This Swine Flu was created in a lab by the CIA at the instructions of the Illuminati or the Central Banks. They want to kill of 80 of the world's population to bring down the population number to one that they can control better.

Posted by: cruz | August 30, 2009 07:49 PM

i eat meats but i am stopping because i think you guys are right i dont think animals are here for us to eat they are a living thing and should be respected as such thanks to all who have brains on here i feel so guilty for eating meats all these years god bless you all and thank you again!!

Posted by: scott | September 13, 2009 12:30 AM

In answer to Ana maria's statement (& many others) ..."For the person who is claiming that God put animals here for us to eat, did he put women here to be bred and African Americans to be slaves in our fields? Under the cloak of religion, not Christianity, people become confined and limited. Thank goodness that I am aware that I am here to create and expand with ideas and actions that reach higher and broader than the limited concepts that have been taught in the past.

Yes, God has given us animals(as well as plants) for 'meat' (and other food products ie, cheese, milk...) which isn't submitted here as my 'opinion'. I thought It would be best to just let the scriptures 'say what they say'....

Genesis 9:1 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. [fn]

Gen 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.

Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.

There are over 300 references to 'meat' and the majority are in the context of eating it.

The Bible clearly teaches 'moderation' in all things which would wise when it comes to ALL foods...certain veggies & fruits included!

The problem people are going to have is accepting that God created man in HIS image. There is no other creature of which 'that' can be said. That being the case, we have a different (higher) status than animals.

Man was also commanded to 'care' for his animals! Pro 12:10 (KJV) — A righteous [man] regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked [are] cruel.
They raised flocks for food... but cruelty was never to be in the picture!

Our problem is that we are greedy as a society! We see the consequences of this in the production of vegetable produce as well as the production of meat!

There are just too many verses that I could share. I would just like to encourage people to do some searching of the scriptures, IN CONTEXT, and be open minded about that as well.

As for Ana Maria's comment about women for breeding & African Americans for slavery...We're were told to be fruitful & multiply...in the context of a loving relationship. And, there were slaves LONG before the African Americans and as a matter of FACT slavery (unfortunately) is alive and well this day! I hope you can discover that the Bible (Jesus) came to give true Liberty to ALL!!!

Moderation folks!!

Posted by: Pamela D. | September 14, 2009 01:37 PM

I believe God put man on the earth and gave him freedom of choice. He gave man intelligence far above animals.
Man (in general, mankind/humankind) has made some wise and some un-wise choices over the span of history. The thing that sets us apart from animals is our ability to reason and think and make choices.
As far as the issue at hand goes the "truth" is probably somewhere in the middle.

Posted by: Steve | September 15, 2009 11:20 AM

First, do we feel pain and suffering if someone is hurting us? So are the animals. So, we should not eat them out of our compassion.

Posted by: Victor Huynh | September 16, 2009 04:55 PM

oh my god were all going to die 2012

Posted by: dewey | September 16, 2009 08:34 PM

Guys, its the basic rule of the nature... Survival of the Fitest. Its everywhere... Humans killing animals for Food or animals killing animals for food. The supply chain is the same. Human is a intelligent being who farms the animals to eat the meat.

The incepton of Virus in animals and transfer of them to Humans is one more example of Survival of Fitest. the animal we are seeing in case of virus is through microsocope... who shows it and human being an intelligent being shows it power by having a vaccine

Ita perpetual cycle of nature,
What ever happens in this world is based on simple rules which we all fail to understand

Posted by: Amit | October 6, 2009 05:05 PM

Hi My Name Is fina ,All I Have To Say Is That Every Thing That I Have Read,I See That Nobody Ever spoke In how Satan Used His Powers To Use One Of a Crawaling Creatures Which Is The Serpent.Who Was The Main Cause Of All Of Our Problems In the First Place.Well As For me I think That Every One Has A Right to there Own opinion,But I Think That killing Animals Is Very cruel And There Should Be A Law Against It.Because They Have Pain Just Like Humans.So I Agree That Every one Of us Will Pay What We Owe One Way The Other In GOD's Eyes..

Posted by: Fina Marie | October 11, 2009 01:46 AM

In the Old Testament EYEH HAYAH HAWAH GAVE HIS TORAH TO HIS PEOPLE [AMMI]TO FOLLOW AND I AM GAVE THE DIETARY LAWS FOR HIS PEOPLE TO FOLLOW SO THEY WOULD BE BLESSED AND STAY IN GOOD HEALTH. IF YOU BREAK THE COMMAND TO KEEP THE HALLOWED SABATH DAY HOLY [SATURDAY]OR BREAK EVEN ONE OF THE TEN COMMANDMENT YOU WILL GET SICK AND HAVE DIFFICULTY IN YOUR FAMILY LIFE. IF YOU REBEL AGAINST THE DIETARY LAWS YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN WILL DIE IN YOUR DISEASE OR SICKNESS. THE SWINE AND MANY OTHER ANIMALS WERE CREATED AS SCAVENGERS TO KEEP THE EARTH CLEAN; THEY EAT THE ESCRETMENT OF OTHER ANIMALS; LAND AND SEA ANIMALS THAT ARE SCAVENGERS ARE FORBIDDEN BY OUR CREATOR FOR MAN TO EAT!YAOHUSHOAH MELHUSHKAY THE RABBONI [TEACHER ORDERED THE DEMON TO GO INTO THE SWINE BECAUSE IT WAS ALREADY UNCLEAN. THIS ANIMAL WAS CURSED BY THE MOST HIGH BECAUSE IT WAS USED AS A SACRAFICE TO THE LORD GOT BAAL IN BABYLON. THE LAW HAS BEEN ABANDONED BY CHRISTIANS AND YOUR PASTORS[SPOKESMENT OF SATANEL] ARE ALL TOO EAGER TO LEAD YOU ASTRAY AND DECIEVE YOU. THIS NATION IS UNDER A GOD SPELL OF IDOLATRY AND GOING ITS ON WAY. FOLLOW THE LAW OF YAHH AND YOU WILL NOT SUFFER THIS CALAMITY IN YOUR LIFE. YOU MUST STOP LISTENING TO FALSE PROPHETS OF THE FALSE CHURCH REPENT OF YOUR REBELLION AGAINST THE LAW OF YAHH AND TURN BACK TO THE ONLY ONE WHO IS ABLE TO REDEEM YOU. YAOHUSHOAH CAME TO RENEW THE LAW AND TURN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE BACK TO YAOHU ULHIM; HE DID NOT COME TO CHANGE ONE IODA OF THE LAW WE ARE GIVEN COMMANDS TO KEEP THE TEN LAWS OF YAHH AND THE DIETARY LAWS. THOSE WHO HAVE TAKEN OATHS BEFORE YAHH ARE BOUND TO DO THEM. WE TOO IF YOU ARE TRUELY ONE OF HIS PEOPLE; THE AMMI YOU WILL KEEP THE SANTIFIED HALLOWED 7TH DAY SABBATH SATURDAY AND THE OTHER COMMANDMENTS. THE POPE CHANGED THE SABBATH DAY AND TOLD THE PEOPLE TO WORSHIP ON SUNDAY AND IF YOU WORSHIP ON SUNDAY YOU ARE NOT ONLY A BREAKER OF THE HALLOWED PERFECT SANTIFIED SABBATH DAY SET UP FOR OUR HEALING YOU ARE NOT ONW OF HIS AND YOU ARE WORSHIPING THE GOD RA AMON THE SUN AND YOUR CHURCH IS THE SANTUARY OF SATANEL AND YOUR TEACHERS ARE FALSE PROPHETS.THERE IS NO CHURCH ON THE EARTH WHERE YAHH LIVES. YAHH DOES NOT LIVE IN ANY BUILDING OR CHURCH. YOUR GOD WITH NO NAME IS A FASLE GOD AND YOU ARE A FOLLOWER OF A FALSE PROPHET GEE-ZEUS THE SOURCEROR. REPENT AND TURN FROM YOUR WICKEDNESS AND YOUR REBELLION AND TURN TO THE ONLY ELOAH THAT IS ABLE TO REDEEM YOU! YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES WILL DIE IN YOUR DECEPTION AND IGNORANCE IF YOU DO NOT TURN FROM THE LYING PENS AND VOICES OF PAID PASTORS WHO YAOHUSHOAH WARNED YOU WOULD LEAD YOU ASTRAY. THE TRUE MESSENGERS OF YAHH ARE NOT PAID ANY COMPENSATION AT ALL AND ALL YOU PASTORS AND MININSTERS ARE WORKERS OF INIQUITY TEACHING REBELLION AND YOU ARE LEADING MILLIONS TO DEATH AND THE GRAVE WITHOUT HOPE. IT IS TIME TO FLEA BABYLON. WAKE UP AMERICA BEFORE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE DESTROYED. GEE-ZEUS IN NOT GOD. YAOHUSHOAH WAS A RABBONI[TEACHER NOT BAAL LORD MASTER LIKE MILLIONS BELIEVE THAT HE IS THE CREATOR. YOU WILL DIE BY DISEASE AND STORM. THERE IS LITTLE TIME LEFT. OPEN YOUR EARS AND HEED MY WARNING SAITH YUD HE WAH HE TURN AWAY FROM THE HIGH HOLIDAYS OF THE WORLD THAT ARE AN ABOMINATION TO ME. SEPERATE YOURSELVES AND HIDE IN MY REFUGE FOR IT IS TIME TO RELEASE THE ARMY OF THE HOSTS OF HEAVEN AND JUDGE THE WICKED.

shoshawnYAHH
THE TRUMPET OF TRUTH
FLAME OF YAHH

Posted by: shoshawnYAHH | October 14, 2009 02:20 PM

O M G ,

can we get some Scientific stuff here,

YOU peope are a bunch a bickering bafoones

For you biblical people, God said No Piggy!

Deuteronomy 14:7-8

NOT to eat and PIGS were on of the DO NOT eat!
But some animals chew their cud, while others have completely divided hoofs. You may not eat these [kinds of] animals. They include camels, rabbits, and rock badgers. (Although they chew their cud, they don't have divided hoofs. They are unclean for you.)
And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass.

So in fine print, PIG is just bad
and we will not eat it period !

Posted by: OINK OINK | October 17, 2009 01:35 AM

do pigs not chew their cud and have split hooves?

Posted by: Brenda | October 24, 2009 01:41 PM

Pigs have trichina worms in them. Why? Pigs eat garbage. Pigs are unclean animals. I saw a photograph of the insides of a pig in my science book when I was in junior high. It was alarming for me to see the trichina worm in the pig's flesh! In the Bible God warns us not to eat the pig. God doesn't want us to get sick and die. Even if you bake/roast pig very well, do you still want
to eat baked worms?! My choice is to follow God's good advice.

Posted by: Marty McCauley | October 25, 2009 08:01 PM

I have a question. People are changing thier lives for this flu, like churches are no longer shaking hands, and hospitals are no longer having reading material and toys in the waiting rooms. But I think everyone is missing the most important thing of it all, what about the money we spend. I mean, look at it for a minute, all the money comes from banks, but before the banks get it, it comes from stores, where you have purchased things from. So in short, how many people has touched that 1,5,10,20, or even that 50 dollar bill that is in your wallet, or your pocket. I mean everyone is concerned about someone blowing something up, or hijacking a plane. But has anyone really thought about the money everyone touches?

Posted by: Craig Eastmon | October 27, 2009 07:57 PM

The Bible is a book...written and re written by man. Are we to believe that the creator of the universe is that vengeful, vein, and fickle. I think it is not likely...could be..it is after all the great mystery...but probably not. The quote that I believe makes the most sense, and is repeated in all of the religious teaching throughout time is treat other as you would have them treat you. I personally think others includes animals.

Posted by: erin | October 29, 2009 03:30 AM

The swine flu has nothing to do with pigs. It was created in Baxter labs. The H1N1 flu is milder than most previous epidemics. Yet the government wants everyone to get a shot. Does this make sense? Why do most doctors and nurses around the world overwelmingly say they will not get the flu shot. Obama said he will not have his children get the shot. Why?, because the shot is deadly and loaded with sqailene which destorys the body immune system and thermerisol which is mercury being very toxic. So ask your doctor why he will not get the h1n1 shot nor give it to his children. Then do your own research on the internet for the truth.

Posted by: Freeone | October 31, 2009 12:48 AM