Learn About Pandemics
What Are Zoonotic Diseases?
Zoonotic diseases are illnesses caused by the spread of germs from animals to humans.
The deadliest zoonotic diseases are viruses that mutate when the genetic information inside an organism changes. The mutation allows the virus to “jump” from animals to humans.
Examples of these mutated viruses are:
COVID-19 - experts believe the novel coronavirus originated from wild animal meat sold at a wet market in Wuhan, China
Ebola - the Ebola virus naturally exist in chimpanzees, fruit bats, and forest antelope
SARS - thought to have originated in bats, then spread to civet cats
HIV/AIDS - thought to be a mutated version of a virus found in monkeys
Swine Flu - mutated version of a flu virus thought to have originated in pigs
Bird Flu (Avian Influenza) - a mutated version of a flu virus found in birds
MERS - thought to have originated in dromedary camels (a major reservoir host)
Mad Cow Disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) - believed to be caused by eating beef products contaminated with central nervous system tissue, such as brain and spinal cord, from cattle infected with Mad Cow Disease
* The above information is sourced from the UK National Health Services website
Because these types of viruses are new to the human body, we have no defense against them. Our lack of immunity can result in an epidemic, which can surge into a pandemic.
Zoonotic pandemics have occurred throughout history. The 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic is believed to have been caused by infected livestock, including pigs, chickens and ducks. The Asian flue pandemic of 1957 is thought to have originated in wild ducks or poultry. In 1968, the Hong Kong flu pandemic, the first known outbreak of H3N2, was linked to turkey and swine farms.
Swine Flu outbreaks (H1N1) in 2009 are believed to have mutated from the Spanish Flu. A recent SARS outbreak has been traced to horseshoe bats, with civet cats sold in wild animal markets as the probable carrier.
A small percentage of pandemics are from non-zoonotic diseases, however, 75% of new and emerging diseases are zoonotic.
What Does Going Vegan Have To Do With Preventing Zoonotic Illnesses and Pandemics?
Outbreaks of zoonotic diseases are occurring more often because of the way in which humans relate to other species and the environment. Those relationships developed from generational conditioning to think of most animals as commodities. That flawed thought process causes us to be unaware of our role in the current state of our ailing planet.
Animal agriculture is a huge reason for so many zoonotic diseases. Industrial farming brings humans in close contact with zoonotic viruses by way of their operational practices:
overcrowding and breeding of “domesticated” animals together in massive numbers which puts animals under stress and when they’re stressed, they shed viruses at higher rates
destruction of natural habitats of wild animals for both animal agriculture and human settlements which causes the larger predatory mammals to disappear which leaves rats, mice and some bats unchecked and they are the main carriers of zoonotic viruses
loss of biodiversity - raising animals for consumption being the greatest single cause of habitat loss
Everything is connected. Population growth and over-consumption leads to encroachment on and destruction of wild habitats.
In addition to this current pandemic, zoonotic diseases already kill approximately 2.2 million people each year.
Meat, Dairy, Eggs and Pandemics
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, questions have been raised about the virus' origin. Experts believe the novel coronavirus stemmed from wild animal meat sold at a wet market in Wuhan, China.
Throughout history, many pandemics have spread to humans from animals. The Spanish Flu of 1918 is believed to be linked to infected livestock, including pigs, chickens, and ducks. The flu pandemic of 1957, known as the Asian flu, is believed to have origins in wild ducks or poultry. In 1968, another flu pandemic began in Hong Kong. It was the first known outbreak of H3N2, linked to turkey and swine farms.
There has also been the Swine Flu outbreak (H1N1). It is believed to have mutated from the Spanish Flu. The SARS outbreak was linked to horseshoe bats, with civet cats sold in wild animal markets as a probable carrier.
Even produce can be affected by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Several e. Coli outbreaks in lettuce were linked to infected livestock feces used as manure or found in water run-off.
Biodiversity Loss
Population growth leads to encroachment on wild habitat
Over-consumption (in the US, one person consumes 7x as much as someone in India)
Most of the items we use are manufactured in ways that pollute our environment
There are no global environmental protection regulations and many companies have moved their production to countries that have little or no regulations
Pollutants can have a lasting impact on species (such as PCBs which cause infertility in animals)
Climate change (which results in changing food sources and forced migration for food)
Destruction of habitats (we’ve already lost 90% of the wetlands around the world)
The crops that cause the greatest habitat loss are soy, cocoa, coffee, palm oil and beef (beef being the greatest single cause)
The global population of life on earth consists of livestock = 60%, humans = 36%, wild animals = 4%
Enough land has already been cleared to sustain the levels of production that we need to survive, however, wildlands are being cleared because it’s quicker and cheaper than to sustainably manage the land that’s already been cleared.
How Do We Change?
The current pandemic situation will hopefully serve as a wake-up call that we must address a very real growing problem. Once we solve and get through this current pandemic, we must continue to listen: scientists have been saying for years that there are many others waiting on the horizon. We must start respecting nature and animals and understand our biosphere.
Recognize the very real and escalating crisis
Follow the science
Understand our responsibility for the current pandemic
Learn how our choices affect every aspect of life on this planet
Explore a plant-based diet
Consider alternatives to all your current choices
Think and question
Reach to to others for support
In his book, 2006 Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching, physician, Dr. Michael Greger [drgreger.org] suggests that a shift away from animal agriculture and all animal meat towards a plant-based diet could help create a safer and healthier food system and world.
If humans continue to choose an animal-based diet, we will forever be at risk of contracting zoonotic diseases. We will always be at the mercy of the next pandemic.
Studies have shown:
60% of all human diseases and
75% of all emerging infectious diseases are ZOONOTIC.
The majority of these come from western “livestock,” including
chickens, cattle, and pigs.
Our Choices
The current pandemic must serve as a wake-up call for humanity to address this very real and growing problem. We must continue to listen: scientists have been telling us for years that there are many other pandemics on the horizon. We must start respecting nature and animals and understand our biosphere.
When we choose to eat meat, we are responsible for rainforest destruction to grow crops to feed farm animals. This leads to wildlife abandoning their natural habitat, which then leads to humans coming into contact with species we would never, otherwise, be exposed to and that exposure can lead to zoonotic diseases to infect us.
In a vegan world, animals are left alone and we stop manipulating them, stop altering our entire biosphere and landscape, and stop eating animals. As such, there would be a drastically reduced risk of zoonotic pandemics (if any). There would be little-to-no Covid-19 virus risk. In a vegan world, we can also feed the world’s hungry using land more wisely, and we will clean our water and air dramatically. Not in the least, we end the unconscionable suffering of billions of animals per year, which is the basis of veganism.
“Can we create a pandemic-free world? This is the question. There is no such thing as a guarantee, but with meticulous preparation and rapid response, we can prevent most outbreaks from getting out of control, and limit the impact of those that spread internationally.”
— Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Director-General of the World Health Organization) Dubai, February 12, 2018
https://www.livekindly.co/dr-michael-greger-warning-pandemics-decade/
“If you actually want to
create global pandemics,
then build factory farms.”
— Dr. Michael Greger
Livestock pathogens and zoonoses.
Percentage of livestock pathogens that infect multiple host species (115), human pathogens that are currently or originally zoonotic (29,116), and recent emerging pathogens that are zoonotic (1,29).
1. Jones KE, et al. Global trends in emerging infectious diseases. Nature. 2008;451:990–993. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
29. Taylor LH, Latham SM, Woolhouse MEJ. Risk factors for human disease emergence. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B. 2001;356:983–989. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
115. Wiethoelter AK, Beltrán-Alcrudo D, Kock R, Mor SM. Global trends in infectious diseases at the wildlife–livestock interface. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA. 2015;112:9662–9667. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
116. Wolfe ND, Dunavan CP, Diamond J. Origins of major human infectious diseases. Nature. 2007;447:279–283. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Entire article can be found here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7091874/