The NAFTA Flu

A scientist calls our current flu epidemic the NAFTA Flu  -  related to globalization, mass farming and improper sanitation conditions in large farms.

Democracy Now

"The “NAFTA Flu”: Critics Say Swine Flu Has Roots in Forcing Poor Countries to Accept Western Agribusiness

As the US reports its first known death from the global swine flu, the World Health Organization has raised its pandemic threat level. Several countries around the world have banned the import of US and Mexican pork products. We speak to professor and author Robert Wallace, who says the swine flu is partly the outcome of neoliberal policies that forced poorer countries to open their markets to poorly regulated Western agribusiness giants."

The Wednesday news brought information about a 23 month old child brought from Brownsville died in a Houston hospital.  The little boy in the picture accompanying the article is not that child.  This boy is a child who has already recovered from the flu.  He lives in Vera Cruz.

CDC Says Swine Flu Death is First in U.S., Houston Chronicle, April 29, 2009