Apparently Mexican newspapers (my internet sat connection has been in and out sporadically due to big storms, haven't been able to doublecheck), are reporting that the first cases of the swine flu in Mexico took place in an area which neighbors a huge US-owned pig processing business. The people of the area had already been complaining for years of a variety of illnesses related to uncontrolled effluents coming from that "farm" and pressuring both the Mexican government and the US to do something about it. The BBC has the story, but our media aren't covering this aspect of the story, apparently. Ho hum.
When my internet connection is more reliable, I'll get on down there and read some of the Mexican reports and update this. Let me know if you've heard/seen the story.
Aha! Clear sky, probably temporary, to the west! Google shows a number of recent reports on the Smithfield outfit in Veracruz, said to be the source. Huff Post has had the story for a while.
Mexican newspapers have been reporting for weeks that residents living near Granjas Carroll's massive hog facility at La Gloria are falling ill with severe upper respiratory diseases. One five-year-old girl in the village just tested positive for swine flu - the bodies of two more children who died recently are being exhumed.
According to an April 5 article in La Jornada newspaper, "Clouds of flies emanate from the lagoons where Granjas Carroll discharges the fecal waste from its hog barns - as well as air pollution that has already caused an epidemic of respiratory infections in the town."
Granjas Carroll is owned by Smithfield. The NY Times has a longish report on the outbreak and even mentions granjas in Veracruz but not their connection to a US business. I don't take that as a sinister omission, but it is a bad habit that tends to weaken the press' creds.
