Radical Noesis - Thinking outside the box

So far, the flu is spreading mostly between birds, specifically poultry. The CDC says

Avian influenza viruses circulate among birds worldwide. Certain birds, particularly water birds, act as hosts for influenza viruses by carrying the virus in their intestines and shedding it. Infected birds shed virus in saliva, nasal secretions, and feces. Susceptible birds can become infected with avian influenza virus when they have contact with contaminated nasal, respiratory, or fecal material from infected birds. Fecal-to-oral transmission is the most common mode of spread between birds.

Now that we know that bit of information, consider industrial chicken farming:

Nearly ten billion chickens and half a billion turkeys are hatched in the U.S. annually. These birds are typically crowded by the thousands into huge, factory-like warehouses where they can barely move. Each chicken is given less than half a square foot of space, while turkeys are each given less than three square feet.

Half a square foot per chicken and less than three square feet per turkey. Considering how quickly avian flu could spread in this situation, doesn't it seem like a really bad idea? Of course, it's cruel whether it's unhealthy or not. The chickens and turkeys often have their beaks removed and are pumped full of antibiotics just to keep them alive. They'd die in these situations otherwise, meaning that they are practically undead. They're definitely in pain, and they're so pumped full of medications and the like that it would be surprising if they were even conscious all of the time. However, this particular post isn't about the horrors and unfairness of industrial meat, it's about how dangerous it is.

The Taiwanese chicken industry tried to use the outbreaks of avian flue to its advantage by saying that industrial chicken farms are safe from avian flue, since they're closed systems. However, In Thailand, a farm operator in Ang Thong quoted in the Bangkok Post disagreed with the idea of promoting closed-farm system. "Ms Chatamas had operated a closed-farm for five years and through her experience had found that the number of chickens which had died from avian flu in her closed farm was higher than those in open farms, due to lack of immunity."

If the avian flu were to spread to industrial chicken farms, it would be practically unstoppable. We need to move away from industrial meat production as it's done now, and we need to do so even more quickly now because of the threat of avian flu. If it's so dangerous and the government is so worried about it, why aren't they stopping the businesses that are making a pandemic even more of a possibility?