It’s long been known that factory farming, at the very least, presents animals with unseemly living situations—if not downright cruelty. It’s also widely believed that the practice fosters the spread of disease in animals, and in some cases, humans. Case in point: the US Center for Disease Control has confirmed that the current swine flu (H1N1) has its origins in a strain that grew out of a factory farm in North Carolina years ago.
From HSUS:
A preliminary analysis of the H1N1 swine flu virus isolated from human cases in California and Texas reveals that six of the eight viral gene segments arose from North American swine flu strains circulating since 1998, when a new strain was first identified on a factory farm in North Carolina.
So in effect, Oprah is publicizing a company that not only condones cruelty to animals, but relies upon an institution that’s partly responsible for the development of serious diseases like swine and avian flu.
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