Having watched the drop in trade in pork (a perfectly reasonable meat when prepared properly) and the slaughter of many innocent pigs, the WHO has changed the name of this version of influenza to the slightly less inflammatory Influenza A (H1N1). Probably a case of closing the barn door after inviting the butcher in, however. My condolences to the pigs who really have nothing at all to do with anything. No pigs have been ill from the erstwhile "swine flu" and forcing the slaughter of them is a serious hardship for the zebaleen of Mokattam who are one of the best recycling services in the world.
copyright 2009 Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
Friday, May 01, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Issuing The Pigs Their Wings
It was announced on international news that the Egyptian government would force farmers to slaughter all their pigs to prevent swine flu. This is almost as intelligent as Paris Hilton telling people that she wasn't worried about it because she doesn't eat pork. The pigs are irrelevant at this stage. The flu is transmitted from human contact and according to some WHO officials isn't nearly the threat that the bird flu is. I suspect the combination of the word "swine", the cultural taboo on pork, and the almost universal ignorance among bureuacrats of how disease is spread is almost irresistible. There are quite a number of modern, properly run pig farms in Egypt...just as we have quite a few properly run examples of almost anything here...except maybe government officials.
copyright 2009 Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
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