Egyptian Pig Farmers Suffer From Swine Flu

The confusion over the severity, and possible spread, of Swine Flu continues. Depending on what papers or articles you read, which television coverage you watch or what you have seen through the internet, a multitude of conclusions can be drawn. But they all seem to share a common theme, and that is of confusion and doubt. Last week we wrote about the possible effect this predicted pandemic could have on the British pork industry, both good and bad could be drawn.

Good being that with the levels of regulation in this country, and the respect that the British farmers enjoy, people looking for a quality reared meat might opt for insisting on British produce, regardless of cost. A situation that British farmers may be welcome of, regardless of how it came about.

The possible negative could be panic over the consumption of pork, and a knee jerk reaction by some of the population to remove it from their diet, completely. Fears like this have been quelled by both The World Health Organisation, and our own Environment Secretary, Hillary Benn. Reiterating that it is not possible to pass this flu by the consumption of properly cooked pork, and that there are no cases of this disease being present in the EU, and ongoing continual testing ensues that if it does appear, the affected stocks will be removed from the food chain.

There were some warnings issued about cheap illegal imports, and the health of such animals, but this was probably just a good opportunity to hammer home that advice.

But, rather more predictably, in foreign climes the reaction to Swine Flu has not been so consistent and clear. In Egypt the government ordered the slaughter of all its countries’ pigs. Despite no reported or confirm cases of Swine Flu in the country, the decision was taken to get rid of all the nation’s pigs. Understandably this decision was met with a lot of anger, and there were clashes in Cairo between police and protesters, concerned about this apparent overreaction by the government to slaughter an estimated 300,000 pigs.

Initially the decision was announced as a precaution to prevent a spread of Swine Flu, a move condemned by many experts, who confirmed this action would be completely inappropriate and pointless. However the Egyptian government later conceded that they had used this reason as motivation, and a smoke screen, to attack bigger issues.

Agriculture minister, Saber Abdel Aziz Galal told Agence France-Presse, that wholesale changes were required for the future of pig breeding in the country, and that current conditions were unacceptable. “At the moment the pigs live with dogs, cats, rats, poultry and humans, all in the same area with rubbish. Within two years the pigs will return, but we need first to build new farms," he said.

The Benefits of Keeping Chickens

As the world creeps closer to its most disastrous food crisis in history, individuals are becoming ever choosier in when they eat, what they eat and why they eat it. With fossil fuels in decline and seemingly an increase in natural disasters it is only right that we start to look for new ways to grow our food, whilst being aware of the sources it has come from. An ideal means to start this change of attitude and something that most can do for small cost in their own backyard, is to keep chickens.

Once a residential standard for the supply of eggs and meat, especially in the United Kingdom during and after World War I and II, people’s lives have become increasingly faster and busier. The simple art of keeping a couple of hens in the garden has died out, and it is only in more recent years, as people look to growing their own and eating healthy, that chicken keeping popularity has started to rise. Whilst many may be put off by recent bird flu scares, by thoughts of vermin, smell and noise, the benefits of owning poultry far outweigh any disadvantages and with the correct care these clucking, chortling, happy little birds can become additional members to your family.

When it comes to chicken keeping the first obvious benefit is that of food, of fresh eggs collected in a basket, of omelettes produced by simply popping down the garden for supplies. The more advanced keeper may even prefer to raise a small number of chickens for the oven and though horrifyingly cheap in the supermarket, fresh, own reared meat can taste like no frozen chicken you’ve had before. What’s even more satisfying is that left over kitchen scraps can simply be gobbled up by your new found friends to make new, fresh food! Life couldn’t get much greener than that.

But there are additional benefits. Chickens love insects, snails, dandelions and other weeds that to the average gardener become the bane of their lives. Let out of their coop on a supervised basis your hens can soon help stamp out those garden pests with ferocity. Gardeners can benefit too from the droppings, making excellent manure with the straw composting down into the perfect mulch for your garden borders.

As with all animals chickens also come with fantastic personalities and having hens in your backyard can soon become an addictive fascination. Friendly, curious and often quite tameable, chickens can quickly become much more than a source of food to the average family. The joys of keeping pets with children is most rewarding so why not teach them about caring for hens and supplying home grown food for your table….you may just find that getting eggs into them is suddenly that much easier!

Coming in a range of shapes, sizes and colours there is a chicken variety for everyone, whether it is the standard Rhode Island Red to the incredibly fluffy and flightless Silkie. With most laying daily you’ll never have to buy eggs again, especially if the not so uncommon occurs and you suddenly find that your happy hens are producing more than one egg a day each. They are cheap to care for, hardy and resilient and very easy to look after. The only thing you’ll have to worry about is your growing addiction causing you to want more and more.