It has been said many times, perhaps most recently by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, that you should “never waste a good crisis.”  The H1N1 (swine) flu outbreak is certainly a crisis and a tragedy, but I hope the public health community does not waste the opportunity to capitalize on questions and concerns being raised [...]

The World Health Organization just raised the influenza pandemic alert to Phase 5 just after United States officials announced the first swine flu death in the country was a Mexican toddler who was visiting relatives in Texas. According to the WHO’s website out of the 6 Phase scale, “Phase 5 is a strong signal that [...]

Bob Martin, executive director of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, appeared on both the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and ABC’s Nightline programs this week to discuss possible connections between Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and the flu outbreak.

Watch CBS Videos Online

A good PR move by pork producers and Ag representatives for encouraging U.S. leaders to institute a quick name change for the recent swine flu outbreak. According to the Washington Post, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today they’re just going to call it the “2009 H1N1 virus outbreak.” The [...]

According to the New York Times, health officials in Mexico have toured a million-pig hog farm in Perote, in Veracruz State searching for the original source of the swine flue outbreak . The plant is half-owned by Smithfield Foods, an American company and the world’s largest pork producer.
“Last year the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal [...]

The World Health Organization is poised to raise the pandemic threat level as a deadly strain of the swine virus shows no sign of slowing down, according to a latest Reuters report. The New York Times reports that the number of people killed by the virus has climbed to 149 in Mexico and 8 of [...]

It looks like Meatless Monday’s “Inspiring a Movement” video is doing just that, but the meat industry is already grumbling. In particular, industry leaders have a beef with the video’s claim that, “Meat mass production, as currently practiced, is extremely inefficient.” The claim makes sense to me, especially when you consider research that suggests the [...]

Oprah Winfrey celebrated Earth Day by sharing with her viewers tips on how to Go Green and Save Money. During a Skype interview with Michael Pollan, the author of Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, Pollan suggested to Oprah that one great way to cut your carbon footprint is to eat less meat. He [...]

While today reminds us of the environmental challenges we face nationally and globally, it isn’t the only day where we should be concerned about our impact on the Earth (and in turn, how our actions affect the environment and our health).
Earth Day should be about raising awareness of what we are doing every day and [...]

On Globalization, Economics, And The History of Food Crises http://bit.ly/4Hy7B #