Unintended consequences - getting rid of pigs in Egypt
Egypt is mostly Muslim.
Muslims think Pigs are unclean.
Egypt just killed all of their pigs.
For what happened, check out this article at the
New York Times:
Belatedly, Egypt Spots Flaws in Wiping Out Pigs
It is unlikely anyone has ever come to this city and commented on how clean the streets are. But this litter-strewn metropolis is now wrestling with a garbage problem so severe it has managed to incite its weary residents and command the attention of the president.
�The problem is clear in the streets,� said Haitham Kamal, a spokesman for the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs. �There is a strict and intensive effort now from the state to address this issue.�
But the crisis should not have come as a surprise.
When the government killed all the pigs in Egypt this spring � in what public health experts said was a misguided attempt to combat swine flu � it was warned the city would be overwhelmed with trash.
The pigs used to eat tons of organic waste. Now the pigs are gone and the rotting food piles up on the streets of middle-class neighborhoods like Heliopolis and in the poor streets of communities like Imbaba.
Ramadan Hediya, 35, who makes deliveries for a supermarket, lives in Madinat el Salam, a low-income community on the outskirts of Cairo.
�The whole area is trash,� Mr. Hediya said. �All the pathways are full of trash. When you open up your window to breathe, you find garbage heaps on the ground.�
What started out as an impulsive response to the swine flu threat has turned into a social, environmental and political problem for the Arab world�s most populous nation.
It has exposed the failings of a government where the power is concentrated at the top, where decisions are often carried out with little consideration for their consequences and where follow-up is often nonexistent, according to social commentators and government officials.
The rest of the article is fascinating as it shows how the garbage collection is done (or was done) and the cultural barriers in place over there...
It is ironic that the initial ban on swine was because of Trichinosis -- back then, you could not tell if a piece of meat was infested but you could tell if it was rotten. So they banned all pig products. Now, it is so culturally ingrained that there is almost a phobia against the animals.
Think of all that tasty pork that went to waste...
Posted by DaveH at September 20, 2009 1:25 PM