If you're not already fearful about bird flu, you have to be now. The virus has now been detected in at the very least 51 dairy herds in nine states, in addition to on countless poultry and egg farms across the U.S. At least two people have been infected within the U.S.
Yet just weeks after the Biden administration announced plans to work with 50 other countries to stop zoonotic (animal-borne) diseases, Alabama and Florida passed laws banning the production of meat from cells grown in labs, slightly than from animals raised on filthy, disease-ridden farms after which slaughtered. Other states are considering similar laws. This is a large step within the mistaken direction.
Factory farming – where most animals used for food are confined – not only causes immense suffering and environmental degradation, but in addition provides a breeding ground for zoonotic diseases. Diseases spread when animals are crowded together in sheds, cages, crates and pens stuffed with feces and slaughtered on slaughter floors covered in blood, vomit and other bodily fluids. Lab-grown meat – also called “slaughter-free meat” – is produced in clean, controlled conditions where diseases cannot thrive.
Even before the recent outbreak of bird flu spread within the United States, Frontiers in Veterinary Science published an insightful report calling for a moratorium on the development or expansion of poultry and pig farms to contain zoonoses.
Scientists estimate that there are 144 strains of bird flu. The aggressively spreading H5N1 variant kills most birds and can be fatal to humans, killing about 60% of those infected. The World Health Organization recently warned that the death rate amongst people infected with bird flu is “extraordinarily high” and noted that we’re already within the midst of a “global zoonotic animal pandemic.”
It is common for bird flu to mutate and spread to other species, including seals, penguins and cows. People who come into contact with infected animals turn out to be sick and might contract the virus just by touching a contaminated surface, comparable to an eggshell, after which touching their eyes, nose or mouth. The virus can be inhaled via droplets or dust.
The Consumers Union suspects that bird flu can have spread to cows because they’re often fed chicken manure – the waste that accumulates on the ground of chicken farms. It normally consists of manure, feathers, feed and bedding materials, in addition to bacteria, viruses, antibiotics, heavy metals, pesticides, dead rodents and more. It is usually mixed with hay or corn to make it more attractive to hungry cows.
But bird flu isn't the one zoonosis we're concerned about. In 2009, before COVID-19 swept the globe, swine flu swept through the United States after a whole lot of sick pigs died on a large farm in Mexico. Swine flu ravages pig farms, where tens of hundreds of animals are crammed into dank pens that stink of urine and feces.
Vegan foods have never caused an animal-borne disease and should even protect people from pandemics. For example, a Brazilian research team found that folks who ate a mostly vegan eating regimen had a 39% lower risk of contracting COVID-19. And while slaughter-free meat is just not yet widely available, delicious vegan meat and other cruelty-free foods are all over the place.
Wouldn't it make sense if everyone stopped eating animals before one other pandemic breaks out? Choosing vegan nuggets over ground bird meat won't just save animal lives—it could save yours, too.
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