In the midst of
the stir and alarm caused by the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus, it appears
that the pandemic’s place of origin has been forgotten: a Mexican
community located near pig farms owned by the Granjas Carroll
corporation.

“For any observer with common sense it is very clear that the
origin of this flu virus, the Swine Flu Virus, was produced in an
industrial feedlot owned by Granjas Carroll of Mexico, property of
Smithfield, the largest multinational pig farming business in the world
and an American firm that relocated after the signing of the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico,” says Carlos
Vicente, from the non-governmental organization GRAIN.

The establishment of industrial-scale animal farms in Mexico has
been facilitated not only by NAFTA but also by the introduction of
genetically modified corn from the United States, says Silvia Ribeiro,
from the ETC Group. She explains that the corn that Mexico imports from
the United States is used primarily to feed animals locked in gigantic
feedlots—cattle, pigs, and poultry—which belong to a small number of
transnational agribusinesses, including Smithfield as well as Tyson,
Cargill, and Pilgrim’s Pride.

Ribeiro advises that “if poultry, pork, or beef production was not
so centralized, feed crops and animal feeds would be, like they were
before, more diverse and based much more on local production (that
could also raise animals without genetic modifications), generating
work and food for many more families, and also avoiding the importation
of genetically modified corn and the risks that this brings …

“Nor would the devastating contamination of the environment and the
generation of epidemics created by these large industries exist—owing
to the confinement and the absurd number of animals (Granjas Carroll
processes around a million pigs each year), creating millions of tons
of excrement that is released without processing into the ground and
water, which also contains hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides
administered to the poor animals in order to survive in terrible
conditions.”

References:

Network for a Latin America Free of Genetically Modified Organisms,
Bulletin #261, “La Gripe Porcina, Una Enfermedad Ligada a Negocios
Transnacionales” (Swine Flu, a Disease Linked to Transnational
Business).

Ribeiro, Silvia, “Mexico: Cerdos, Maiz y Resistencia” (Mexico: Pigs, Corn, and Resistance).

http://www.biodiversidadla.org/content/view/full/53256

For more information:

http://carmeloruiz.blogspot.com/search/label/Fiebre%20Porcina

 

Translated for the Americas Program by Erin Jonasson.

Carmelo Ruiz Marrero is an independent environmental journalist and analyst for the Americas Program of the CIP (www.ircamericas.org),
a fellow at the Oakland Institute and senior fellow in the
Environmental Leadership Program, as well as the founder and director
of the Biodiversity Project of Puerto Rico (bioseguridad.blogspot.com). His bilingual webpage (carmeloruiz.blogspot.com) is dedicated to global work on the environment and development.

Translated for the Americas Program by Erin Jonasson.