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At this point, most people know that a plant-based, or largely plant- based diet is beneficial to our health. Some may even realize that eating less or no meat has a direct influence on our growing climate crisis. But after struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic for over a year now, researchers see even more reason for people to stop eating animals and animal products—the link between meat consumption and global health.
Zoonotic diseases are conditions passed from animals to humans. There has been little research in this area, despite a dramatic increase in the number of these diseases in the past 50 years. Animal exploitation, primarily for consumption, has been driving zoonotic diseases ever since we domesticated animals. While the origins of COVID-19 are still being debated, a new United Nations report warns that more diseases that pass from animals to humans are likely to emerge as natural habitats are ravaged by wildlife exploitation, unsustainable farming practices, and climate change.
Christian Drosten, who directs the Institute of Virology at the Charité Hospital in Berlin, was one of those who identified the Sars virus in 2003. Now, as the head of the German public health institute’s reference lab on coronaviruses, he has become the government’s go-to expert on the the current pandemic. He predicts that our current consumption of meat is only encouraging more zoonotic diseases.
“Coronaviruses are prone to switch hosts when there is opportunity, and we create such opportunities through our non-natural use of animals – livestock. Livestock animals are exposed to wildlife, they are kept in large groups that can amplify the virus, and humans have intense contact with them – for example through the consumption of meat – so they certainly represent a possible trajectory of emergence for coronaviruses,” he said.
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While many think a global pandemic is something that happens once every 100 years, it simply isn’t true—especially if our habits do not change. Sadly, the global demand for animal meat has increased 260% in the past half century, exacerbating the problem. While many focus on places like China and Southeast Asia, researchers agree that livestock acts like a bridge for transmission between animal hosts, such as rodents and bats, and humans. In the Midwestern United States, for example, new strains of the flu emerge from livestock operations almost every year. This includes factories where meat is processed, slaughter houses, and factory farms.
It is clear we need to invest more in the research of zoonotic diseases and do more to restore the balance between humans and animals. Although it can often feel overwhelming—and it is—the best we can all do is decrease – or eliminate – our dependence on animals for consumption. C.H.
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