Planet in Peril (PinP) where science gets respect!

        by Larry Powell  The Premier of Manitoba, Brian Pallister. A Gov't. photo. The lengths to which the Pallister government is going to enable the unfettered exploitation of Manitoba's resources and massive expansion of its hog industry, should now be clear for all to see. For the past few years, it’s been rolling out, at significant taxpayer expense, the truly draconian measures it’s now taking, to make this happen.  While the writing has been on the wall, only now are the worst fears being realized. They expose this government’ naked contempt for the democratic rights of rural Manitobans who have the audacity to point out that these goals are misguided - that the emperor has no clothes. Late last year, the Municipality of Rosser, near Winnipeg, rejected a bid for a gravel mine (euphemistically called a limestone aggregate quarry). The politically well-connected owner of the construction company proposing the mine (who made a substantial contribution to the Conservative P

The following letter appeared in the Saturday, Oct. 10th edition of the Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo added by PinP.) Sows like this spend much of their lives in tiny steel cages. Re: Changes needed to protect farms, animals (Opinion, Oct. 5)  As a former executive director at the Winnipeg Humane Society, I feel compelled to respond to Bill Campbell’s op-ed on the need to protect farms and animals. After starting at the Humane Society in 1994, I quickly came to learn that some of the most egregious suffering imposed on animals by humans occurs in the industrial barns of today’s animal agriculture. I am not speaking of the few remaining family farms, but rather the large industrial-style buildings that house thousands of animals in small confined spaces with no access to the outdoors. These operations treat the animals more like cars on an assembly line, as they do not allow the animals to fulfill natural instincts and limit their movement severely. In short, t

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

The Guardian Industrial farms are spreading across Europe. Greenpeace campaigners went to talk to the people who live close by.Warning: readers may find some of the images upsetting. Story here. Dead hogs in a dumpster at a Manitoba factory barn, awaiting removal to an unknown location. A PinP photo. Please also read - "In Hogs We Trust."   A critique of Manitoba’s runaway hog industry. Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse. Part 11 - The price we pay for corporate pig$. Part 111 - From Malaysia to Manitoba - the global magnitude of livestock diseases. Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry. Part V - What’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand?  

There is a ‘clear risk’ the swiftly spreading disease could come here, says leading swine health vet By Alexis Kienlen FOLLOW Reporter Alberta farmer -  February 11, 2019 These red spots are typical of African swine fever.   A Wikimedia photo. There is a real risk that the African swine fever virus could enter Canada — and if it did, it would be catastrophic, says one of the country’s leading swine health experts.

Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy A confined animal feeding operation in the U.S. Photo by the E.P.A. How big meat and dairy are heating up the planet. Story here. RELATED: "In Hogs We Trust -  Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry in Manitoba, Canada."

The Guardian The Guardian and Bureau of Investigative Journalism establish that intensive farms in the UK received nearly £70m in two years. Details here. Dead pigs in a dumpster outside a Manitoba factory farm await  removal to an unknown destination.  A PinP photo. Please read related:  "In Hogs We Trust - Part 11  -   The price Manitobans pay for corporate pig$."  

The Guardian Damian Carrington   I won’t be eating turkey this year because of meat’s environmental impact. More here. A turkey farm in Missouri. Photo by  Billy Hathorn .

The Guardian. Chickens slowly freezing to death, being boiled alive, drowned or suffocating under piles of other birds are among hundreds of shocking welfare incidents recorded at US slaughterhouses, according to previously unpublished reports. Story here. An American broiler (meat) chicken house. USDA photo by Joe Valbuena.

TheGuardian Move is aimed at halting the spread of ‘superbugs’ resistant to medical treatment. Details here. RELATED: Starting this December, Canadian farmers will need a prescription to obtain veterinary antibiotics for their livestock. According to a retired University of Guelph professor, John Prescott, the federal regulatory changes mean the agriculture industry will be required to play its part in reducing the use of antibiotics here and around the world. More here.

The citizens' group HogWatch Manitoba made an official presentation to the RM council two week ago, It claimed the barn owner, Wim Verbruggen had built a bigger barn housing more animals than the rules allowed. A Hogwatch official, Ruth Pryzner, suggested it be shut down because it had deprived any concerned resident the right to be heard. She also feared he may have to spread the waste on fields in winter, which is illegal. That's because he apparently has not expanded his storage capacity to take care of the waste from the barn. But, following a council meeting today, Mayor Don Yanick told PinP, Verbruggen still maintains he is not keeping more animals than he should (He claims it is 297, not the 300 or more he is alleged to be). The Mayor says the RM will ask some independent person to look into the situation to confirm who is right before deciding on any further action. Despite the controversy, the Mayor says he would not be opposed to one or two more barns in the re

The Guardian Animal husbandry is contaminating China's water and has been linked to bright-green lakes, a phenomenon know as eutrophication.  More here.   Lest we North Americans feel smug, this image shows one of countless "eutrophied" sloughs in Manitoba, on the Canadian prairies . A PinP   photo. Related: In Hogs We Trust -  Part 1V - The health and environmental price we Manitobans will pay for an expanded hog industry.

by Larry Powell The Manager of the "Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network"  warns, now that African Swine Fever (ASF) has been confirmed in China, the risk of it spreading to North America, has increased.  Dr. Jette Christensen, veterinary epidemeologist. Dr. Jette Christensen (above) describes ASF as "a serious and trade-limiting viral infection." Speaking on the industry-sponsored radio program, "Farmscape," she assured listeners, if  the Canadian industry follows import regulations, "they should be safe." But she also warns that the virus can survive for months outside the host in pork products. The swelling around the kidneys and the muscle hemorrhages shown here are  typical of pigs with  African swine fever.  Karen Apicelli USDA Dr. Christensen warns Canadian producers, that workers they hire, could bring the disease home with them after vacationing in China or Eastern Europe. And they should even be car

THE CONVERSATION A Manitoba animal factory. Photo credit - Mercy for Animals, Canada. As U.S. livestock farming becomes more industrial, it is changing rural life.  More here. RELATED: "In Hogs We Trust."   A critique of Manitoba’s runaway hog industry. Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse. Part 11 - The price we pay for corporate pig$.   Part 111 - The magnitude of animal diseases, worldwide. Part 1V - The health and environmental costs of an expanded hog industry. Part V - Who’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? Find the answers here!

International Livestock Research Institute A piglet, one of countless who died of Porcine Epidemic  Diarrhea in Manitoba over the past 18 months. (A Manitoba Pork photo.)  Diseases deadly to hogs, some of which can also spread to humans, are legion. Long feared, it's now finally happened. African Swine Fever (ASF), an infectious and highly-lethal viral disease of pigs has, for the first time, reared its head in China.  Story here. RELATED; "In Hogs We Trust - Part 111"

FarmJournal’s PORK A Smithfield operation in Missouri. A Wikimedia photo.   A third lawsuit against Smithfield Foods had found the company guilty for “unreasonable nuisances they suffered from odors, flies and rumbling trucks.” A federal jury placed the fine at $473.5 million to six neighbors of pig farms. STORY HERE. Related:                                                                              "In Hogs We Trust"                                              A critique of hog industry expansion in Manitoba. Part 1 - Antibiotic Overuse. Part 11 - Government subsidies.   Part 111 - The consequences of animal diseases, worldwide. Part 1V - The environmental costs of an expanded hog industry in Manitoba. Part V - Who’s behind Manitoba’s drive to expand? Click here and find out! Is Manitoba's factory hog industry becoming its own worst enemy?

Back in 2001, Michele Merkel worked for the EPA. One of her first cases was with farmers who were suing mega-hog factory farms for polluting the community's air and water.  When the EPA sided with the giant corporations, she quit. Now Michele works at Food & Water Watch, fighting for laws and legislation that force our government and the EPA to protect your water, air and food from factory farms — as they are mandated to do. Check out Michele's TEDx Talk to hear her story and how you can fight with Michele against factory farms.

PIG PROGRESS A research team has concluded that the viral disease - often considered the most deadly of all hog infections - spreads west at a speed of around 200 km per year. More here. The ear of an infected hog. ASF causes a condition called petechia - red or purple splotches due to bleeding into the skin. Photo credit - USDA RELATED: "In Hogs We Trust" - Part 3 - The consequences of animal diseases, worldwide.

The Guardian Antibiotic use on farms is a major cause of human drug resistance. Yet slick social media campaigns – funded by the multi-billion-dollar industry – are confusing and complicating the issue. Story here. A Canstock Photo image.