More on Swine Flu and Animal Farms

Ann Friedman does a nice job reiterating some of the points I made yesterday about pig farming and swine flu.

And it's worth noting that the last this "H1N1" virus popped up, in 1998, it was found in a North Carolina industrial pig farm. (I'm from Iowa, which isn't as hog-heavy as North Carolina, but I've certainly smelled a poop lagoon. Pig products are no longer part of my diet.)

So no, you don't have to give up your bacon because of the immediate swine flu threat. But if you want to actually diminish the risk of getting this or other potential animal-waste-borne illnesses, giving up factory-farmed meat might be a good idea.

Definitely. Of course that might also mean slightly higher priced pork and I'm not sure that's a tradeoff Americans are willing to make.