The price of meat: Bird flu

Many questions and one answer

Press Release of the European Vegetarian Union

In an interview with the BBC, Samuel Jutzi, Director of the Animal Production and Health Division of the FAO, was asked about the possibilities of fending off the dangerous bird flu Virus H5N1 that is inching into Europe, frightening meat-eaters and vegetarians alike.

He answered that the availability of financial resolve to eradicate the virus along with the animals would play an important role in keeping Europeans secure. However, there was no plan to cull wild birds: the flu infecting them would `taper off' after a while and remain without impact on humans.

Is it not then a reasonable conclusion that chickens raised for meat are the reason for the threatening pandemic about which everyone is so concerned?

Would the logical answer to that situation not be to avoid chicken meat, even if this may prove difficult for those who opted for chicken because they feared the consequences of BSE, other animal diseases dangerous to human health and fish laden with hormones, PCBs, dioxin and mercury?

Why does the FAO not openly admit that in a situation of increasing transboundary animal diseases, safe meats cannot be guaranteed?

Why does no institution have the guts to admit that the safety of meat is crumbling at dazzling speed?

Why are all measures dealing with symptoms and not with the source of the bird flu problem?

Why does the WHO avoid the promotion of vegetarianism even though every one of their nutritional recommendations underlines the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption in ever-stronger statements?

Why are no official health warnings issued regarding meat?

Why does damage restriction so far mainly consist in the culling of millions of sentient beings and the recommendations to eat the flesh of other animals than those affected, which happens to appear relatively safe at the given time (until further notice)?

Why, in the light of all present and emerging problems, is meat still heavily subsidized in the industrial world, at the expense of each and every taxpayer?

Why do international, European and national bodies ignore the fact that a vegetarian way of life is a healthy one, as scientifically proven time and again?

How bad does the situation need to get before experts will finally acknowledge the need to research the benefits of vegetarianism seriously?

There is one conclusion to all these questions: Since the production and consumption of meat is risky, puts enormous strain on global ecology, adds to the problem of world hunger and endangers the security of future generations, the price of meat has become far too high!


Renato Pichler
President
European Vegetarian Union

Source: European Vegetarian Union
Author: EVU

Link: PETA FINDS VACCINE FOR BIRD FLU: VEGETARIANISM


Other EVANA-articles about this topic:
FAO: Bird flu virus could spill over to Africa and Europe in springtime (en)

International: Bird flu update -73- (en)

Who Pays for Bird Flu? (en)

Concerned About Bird Flu? (en)

Unión Vegetariana Europea (EVU): El precio de la carne: la gripe aviar (es)

Le prix de la viande: la grippe aviaire (fr)

Vogelgriep: de prijs van vlees. (nl)

O preço da Carne: Gripe das Aves (pt)

Influenza aviaria. Quanto ci costa la carne? (it)

Der wahre Preis fuer Fleisch (de)