So your not deaf?
Industrial animal farming has caused most new infectious diseases and risks more pandemics, experts warn
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The entirety of the podcast is interesting if you ask me, especially if you haven't heard it before.
Sounds like an excuse to me
It's not really something you can summarize and I don't see why I should go to all that trouble just because someone is too lazy to listen to my podcast.
Saul Goodman
It's all good, man
Yes, my hearing is shot, but regardless, I can't think of anything I'd rather do less than listen to someone drone on for an hour. I would maybe manage half an hour if it was a topic I was really interested in. I couldn't see me lasting 5 minutes otherwise, especially if it's something I'm really not interested in listening to.
editor
hiraethified
Sorry, who are you talking about now? You seem to be constantly arguing against non-existent positions taken by non-existent posters.
That's the phrase used by some scientists. You know, people infinitely more qualified than you and I, who - as far as I can see - have made no mention of their dietary preferences.
Here. Look:
Coronavirus: Pandemics will be worse and more frequent unless we stop exploiting Earth and animals, top scientists warn
Pandemics will become worse and more frequent unless we stop exploiting Earth and animals, top scientists warn
Stop the Wildlife Trade: ‘Rampant deforestation, uncontrolled expansion of agriculture ... and exploitation of wild species have created a perfect storm’, group says
www.independent.co.uk
And again:
IPBES Guest Article: COVID-19 Stimulus Measures Must Save Lives, Protect Livelihoods, and Safeguard Nature to Reduce the Risk of Future Pandemics
IPBES Expert Guest Article by Professors Josef Settele, Sandra Díaz and Eduardo Brondizio
I don't believe I have.
Just to be clear, to support your "surprise" at the term religion being thrown around, you demand to be allowed to present your argument in the form of a sermon rather than short posts which directly address the arguments, claims, or other points made whilst providing links to supporting data just like everyone else?
What exactly would such a dramatic cut back on animal "exploitation" look like? Can you give some examples of this animal "exploitation" you talk about?
editor
hiraethified
This is like arguing with a child. You really are unable to think of any possible ways that the exploitation of animals may be reduced? Not one?
You do agree that animal - ahem - "exploitation" exists, yes?
Saul Goodman
It's all good, man
Of course you're going to think that, but without hearing even a single syllable, I can tell you that I'd be bored shitless after 5 minutes.
The problem with podcasts is that they tend to be done by people who love the sound of their own voice, and it tends to be the case that they're not as interesting as they like to think they are.
Saul Goodman
It's all good, man
I can't seem to find anywhere in that article where a scientist uses that phrase. It seems to be the article's author who decided to use it. Is the author a scientist? I only ask because scientists tend to stick to facts, rather than hyperbole.Sorry, who are you talking about now? You seem to be constantly arguing against non-existent positions taken by non-existent posters.
That's the phrase used by some scientists. You know, people infinitely more qualified than you and I, who - as far as I can see - have made no mention of their dietary preferences.
Here. Look:
Coronavirus: Pandemics will be worse and more frequent unless we stop exploiting Earth and animals, top scientists warn
Pandemics will become worse and more frequent unless we stop exploiting Earth and animals, top scientists warn
Stop the Wildlife Trade: ‘Rampant deforestation, uncontrolled expansion of agriculture ... and exploitation of wild species have created a perfect storm’, group says
OK, I've tried to post the typed up document that I used for the podcast put it's too long to post. I'll try and post in parts and then if that doesn't work I'll give up. But the work in the document clearly shows that the problem is agri-capitalism, which includes factory farming.
Saul Goodman
It's all good, man
"The problem"? Which problem?
What about everyone going vegigan? Is that an example? Well that then answers the question in post 66: "Sorry, who are you talking about now?" with the answer being you.
Of course not, many children end up learning that Disney movies aren't actually documentaries and that animals have no such notions of moral valuations like "exploitation."
JimW
支那暗杀团
Started off mentioning it on one of these threads before but really fascinated by the debate on the mechanisation/industrialisation of farming and its scale that Hinton described during the collective period here and then into reform. Touches on all sorts of issues including even the desirability of a life on the land. Definitely went away from that with the conviction that it's not scale or technology per se is the issue but the social mode it takes place under.
editor
hiraethified
Like I said, it's like arguing with a child. Pathetic.
editor
hiraethified
Perhaps you missed the quote I posted up from the study the article is linked to. Funny that! Here it is again. I made the letters nice and big for you this time
"Rampant deforestation, uncontrolled expansion of agriculture, intensive farming, mining and infrastructure development, as well as the exploitation of wild species have created a ‘perfect storm’ for the spillover of diseases from wildlife to people. "
IPBES Guest Article: COVID-19 Stimulus Measures Must Save Lives, Protect Livelihoods, and Safeguard Nature to Reduce the Risk of Future Pandemics
IPBES Expert Guest Article by Professors Josef Settele, Sandra Díaz and Eduardo Brondizio
OK, heres the first part. Incidentally, I didn't write this, a friend of mine did. I turned it into a podcast.
Food and Health
The Coronavirus has shone a spotlight on the many inadequacies of our food and agricultural system. During the crisis people have focused on the immediate problems of getting food, but we need to understand how these viruses emerge as a result of deadly human-animal interactions and how we use land. Coronaviruses are not the only danger to health. The way food is produced and consumed has a number of other health risks, including the rise of antimicrobial resistant bacteria from the use of antibiotics in livestock farming and the fact that much food we eat is not actually good for us. All these issues arise because agriculture is part of capitalism, which means that the purpose of production is to make profits, not to satisfy the needs of humans for food that helps them to live healthy lives.
Food production: Animals, land use and factory farming
The increase in zoonotic diseases
Many of our health and ecological problems have their roots in how humans relate to other animals and life, through industrial farming and fishing, the domestication of animals, and 21st century cities. Diseases passed from animals to humans are called zoonoses. An estimated 75% of new and emerging diseases originate in nonhuman animals. There are more than three dozen we can catch directly through touch and more than four dozen that result from bites. The cross-species infection can originate on farms or markets, where conditions foster mixing of pathogens, giving them opportunities to swap genes and gear up to infect (and sometimes kill) previously foreign hosts. Or the transfer can occur from such seemingly benign activities as letting a performance monkey on some Indonesian street corner climb on your head 10 Deadly Diseases That Hopped Across Species.
Influenza or flu is caused by these viruses. When humans first domesticated wild animals they would have come into contact with diseases that would have at first killed them but now most of these we have learned to live with either by developing immunities or vaccines. However, increasingly we are coming into contact with new viruses. Pandemics are epidemics that affect a large proportion of the world due to a novel virus. Pandemics are unpredictable, but recurring events that can have health, economic and social consequences worldwide. An influenza pandemic occurs when a novel influenza virus emerges with the ability to cause sustained human-to-human transmission, and the human population has little to no immunity against the virus. With the growth of global travel, a pandemic can spread rapidly globally with little time to prepare a public health response.
Influenza's wild origins in the animals around us
Avian Flu
Avian or bird flu has been a common type. It originates in wild birds and somehow can then infect domestic poultry. Humans who come in close contact with birds with the virus are susceptible. However, normally these strains do not pass from human to human and can be controlled, though it can be disastrous for the animals who get it. However, increasingly there has been mutations so that some viruses emerge that can be transmitted between humans. This is called an anti-genetic shift. The so-called Spanish flu, which did not originate in Spain but most like in the US on a poultry farm, was one such virus, though at the time it was not recognised as such. It spread rapidly after WWI and was very deadly - killing millions. It is still not clear how many were killed but it could be upwards from 50 million.
Since then there have been others forms of avian flu outbreaks, spreading from poultry farms. In the 1990s the world’s poultry population grew 76% in developing countries and 23% in developed countries. Outbreaks have become more frequent because of the intensity of production, with the animals all packed together, and the increase in live transport. The consequences for poultry and the livelihood of those who raise them has been disastrous with millions of birds killed. However, human infections were relatively low, if we don’t count the 1918 pandemic.
The numbers of human deaths tend to be relatively low and are mostly among those who work with poultry. In a 2006 outbreak just over 100 died. One strain, which emerged in 2008, killed more- about 243 but the British government was predicting a pandemic with 75,000 dead Britain faces 75,000 deaths in bird flu pandemic, Lords report predicts.
Even now, with coronavirus the main concern, there is an outbreak of avian flu in poultry in China.
Though there are relatively few human deaths and disaster has been averted on numerous occasions, there is always a concern that there could be a mutation in the virus which would end in a deadly pandemic.
“We don’t know how the story’s going to end,” warned Nancy Cox, who retired from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in late 2014 after leading its influenza operations for more than two decades What happened to bird flu? How a threat to human health faded from view.
Swine flu is another deadly virus, though now the annual flu jab contains a vaccine against it. But in 2009-2010 it was declared a pandemic. It originated in pigs in a small area of Mexico and spread globally. An estimated 151,700 to 575,400 people died globally in the first year.
1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic Was Likely Bird Flu
Food and Health
The Coronavirus has shone a spotlight on the many inadequacies of our food and agricultural system. During the crisis people have focused on the immediate problems of getting food, but we need to understand how these viruses emerge as a result of deadly human-animal interactions and how we use land. Coronaviruses are not the only danger to health. The way food is produced and consumed has a number of other health risks, including the rise of antimicrobial resistant bacteria from the use of antibiotics in livestock farming and the fact that much food we eat is not actually good for us. All these issues arise because agriculture is part of capitalism, which means that the purpose of production is to make profits, not to satisfy the needs of humans for food that helps them to live healthy lives.
Food production: Animals, land use and factory farming
The increase in zoonotic diseases
Many of our health and ecological problems have their roots in how humans relate to other animals and life, through industrial farming and fishing, the domestication of animals, and 21st century cities. Diseases passed from animals to humans are called zoonoses. An estimated 75% of new and emerging diseases originate in nonhuman animals. There are more than three dozen we can catch directly through touch and more than four dozen that result from bites. The cross-species infection can originate on farms or markets, where conditions foster mixing of pathogens, giving them opportunities to swap genes and gear up to infect (and sometimes kill) previously foreign hosts. Or the transfer can occur from such seemingly benign activities as letting a performance monkey on some Indonesian street corner climb on your head 10 Deadly Diseases That Hopped Across Species.
Influenza or flu is caused by these viruses. When humans first domesticated wild animals they would have come into contact with diseases that would have at first killed them but now most of these we have learned to live with either by developing immunities or vaccines. However, increasingly we are coming into contact with new viruses. Pandemics are epidemics that affect a large proportion of the world due to a novel virus. Pandemics are unpredictable, but recurring events that can have health, economic and social consequences worldwide. An influenza pandemic occurs when a novel influenza virus emerges with the ability to cause sustained human-to-human transmission, and the human population has little to no immunity against the virus. With the growth of global travel, a pandemic can spread rapidly globally with little time to prepare a public health response.
Influenza's wild origins in the animals around us
Avian Flu
Avian or bird flu has been a common type. It originates in wild birds and somehow can then infect domestic poultry. Humans who come in close contact with birds with the virus are susceptible. However, normally these strains do not pass from human to human and can be controlled, though it can be disastrous for the animals who get it. However, increasingly there has been mutations so that some viruses emerge that can be transmitted between humans. This is called an anti-genetic shift. The so-called Spanish flu, which did not originate in Spain but most like in the US on a poultry farm, was one such virus, though at the time it was not recognised as such. It spread rapidly after WWI and was very deadly - killing millions. It is still not clear how many were killed but it could be upwards from 50 million.
Since then there have been others forms of avian flu outbreaks, spreading from poultry farms. In the 1990s the world’s poultry population grew 76% in developing countries and 23% in developed countries. Outbreaks have become more frequent because of the intensity of production, with the animals all packed together, and the increase in live transport. The consequences for poultry and the livelihood of those who raise them has been disastrous with millions of birds killed. However, human infections were relatively low, if we don’t count the 1918 pandemic.
The numbers of human deaths tend to be relatively low and are mostly among those who work with poultry. In a 2006 outbreak just over 100 died. One strain, which emerged in 2008, killed more- about 243 but the British government was predicting a pandemic with 75,000 dead Britain faces 75,000 deaths in bird flu pandemic, Lords report predicts.
Even now, with coronavirus the main concern, there is an outbreak of avian flu in poultry in China.
Though there are relatively few human deaths and disaster has been averted on numerous occasions, there is always a concern that there could be a mutation in the virus which would end in a deadly pandemic.
“We don’t know how the story’s going to end,” warned Nancy Cox, who retired from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in late 2014 after leading its influenza operations for more than two decades What happened to bird flu? How a threat to human health faded from view.
Swine flu is another deadly virus, though now the annual flu jab contains a vaccine against it. But in 2009-2010 it was declared a pandemic. It originated in pigs in a small area of Mexico and spread globally. An estimated 151,700 to 575,400 people died globally in the first year.
1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic Was Likely Bird Flu
NoXion
Craicy the Squirrel
That's the phrase used by some scientists. You know, people infinitely more qualified than you and I, who - as far as I can see - have made no mention of their dietary preferences.
Here. Look:
Coronavirus: Pandemics will be worse and more frequent unless we stop exploiting Earth and animals, top scientists warn
Pandemics will become worse and more frequent unless we stop exploiting Earth and animals, top scientists warn
Stop the Wildlife Trade: ‘Rampant deforestation, uncontrolled expansion of agriculture ... and exploitation of wild species have created a perfect storm’, group says
And again:
IPBES Guest Article: COVID-19 Stimulus Measures Must Save Lives, Protect Livelihoods, and Safeguard Nature to Reduce the Risk of Future Pandemics
IPBES Expert Guest Article by Professors Josef Settele, Sandra Díaz and Eduardo Brondizioipbes.net
The "stop exploiting animals" bit was added by a journalist. I see some suggestions in the IPBES article about strengthening environmental regulations, taking a more integrated approach to public health and environmental policy, better funding for healthcare systems, and disappointingly some vague waffle about paradigms (which could mean damn near anything). All reasonably good stuff apart from the wishy-washy bit at the end.
But I can't find in anything there about "stop[ping] animal exploitation", or even reducing it.
If the subject matter bores you then why are you on this thread?
editor
hiraethified
So what do you think was the point being made when the report cites the exploitation of wild species for helping create the ‘perfect storm’ for the spillover of diseases from wildlife to people?
Covid 19 and other recent virus outbreaks
In the past decade there have been several other viruses that came from contact with animals. In 2012 MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), another coronavirus, which comes from camels, began in Saudi Arabia and has remained largely in the Middle East. It can spread from person to person and 3 out of 10 who get it die. Around 850 deaths have been attributed to this About MERS.
Ebola was a major virus which hit parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The 2014–2016 outbreak in West Africa was the largest Ebola outbreak since the virus was first discovered in 1976. The outbreak started in Guinea and then moved across land borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia. Then in 2018-2019 there was an outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as fruit bats, chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest antelope or porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest. There have been over 11,000 deaths.
AIDS is also a zoonotic disease. It is thought to have come from chimpanzees and then transferred to humans. However, some same it was monkeys. Whatever the exact source, the virus ended up killing 35 million so far and it is not finished. Over 37 million people are still living with AIDS, most in sub-Saharan Africa. Like with Corvid 19, there are many cases and even deaths before people realise what is happening.
“To date, the earliest known case of HIV-1 infection in human blood is from a sample taken in 1959 from a man who’d died in Kinshasa in what was then the Belgian Congo.
It’s this fact which keeps me awake at night. Imagine, for a moment, that the HIV virus in that 1959 sample had been studied and identified. If, in the 1950s, the scientific community realized the potential harm this new virus could unleash. What could we have done? What therapies could we have developed before it became one of the deadliest pandemics in human history? Would we have a cure by now?” HIV/AIDS: The Pandemic of Our Time
Covid 19 is set to be the most deadly pandemic since the Spanish flu 1918-1919. It is thought to have come originally from bats but then jumped to another host before settling in humans. It is like the SARS (2002-2004) virus which had a similar origin and was a form of coronavirus. In both cases the intermediate host could have been the civet cat or the pangolin, animals which are high status food for the some of the well-off in China. SARS emerged in Guangdong province but did not kill many people nor did it spread so widely. Corvid 19 is thought to have started in the wet market in Wuhan, also in Guangdong province, where fresh products, meat, fish and vegetables, are sold. Wet markets do not necessarily sell the meat of wild animals, though some do have a small section. It is thought that there must have been some stalls selling such meat for coronavirus to have emerged in Wuhan. As the virus is so contagious, it wouldn’t have taken much for a few people to have infected enough others for it to eventually spread worldwide. 'Wet markets' likely launched the coronavirus. Here's what you need to know
Though it hasn’t come near the deaths from AIDS (hundreds of thousands, not millions), the fact that it spread so quickly all around the word, now present in 212 countries, and that it is so contagious- you just have to come close to someone, has struck panic. The worry is that there could be millions deaths if action isn’t taken. Of course the fact that this virus is hitting the wealthier nations and is not just a virus of the poor or the gay community will have something to do with the willingness to take drastic action. Everyone is now aware of the threat to humanity from zoonotic diseases and this will give the impetus for a long overdue rethink on our relationship with animals and their habitats.
In the past decade there have been several other viruses that came from contact with animals. In 2012 MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), another coronavirus, which comes from camels, began in Saudi Arabia and has remained largely in the Middle East. It can spread from person to person and 3 out of 10 who get it die. Around 850 deaths have been attributed to this About MERS.
Ebola was a major virus which hit parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The 2014–2016 outbreak in West Africa was the largest Ebola outbreak since the virus was first discovered in 1976. The outbreak started in Guinea and then moved across land borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia. Then in 2018-2019 there was an outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as fruit bats, chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest antelope or porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest. There have been over 11,000 deaths.
AIDS is also a zoonotic disease. It is thought to have come from chimpanzees and then transferred to humans. However, some same it was monkeys. Whatever the exact source, the virus ended up killing 35 million so far and it is not finished. Over 37 million people are still living with AIDS, most in sub-Saharan Africa. Like with Corvid 19, there are many cases and even deaths before people realise what is happening.
“To date, the earliest known case of HIV-1 infection in human blood is from a sample taken in 1959 from a man who’d died in Kinshasa in what was then the Belgian Congo.
It’s this fact which keeps me awake at night. Imagine, for a moment, that the HIV virus in that 1959 sample had been studied and identified. If, in the 1950s, the scientific community realized the potential harm this new virus could unleash. What could we have done? What therapies could we have developed before it became one of the deadliest pandemics in human history? Would we have a cure by now?” HIV/AIDS: The Pandemic of Our Time
Covid 19 is set to be the most deadly pandemic since the Spanish flu 1918-1919. It is thought to have come originally from bats but then jumped to another host before settling in humans. It is like the SARS (2002-2004) virus which had a similar origin and was a form of coronavirus. In both cases the intermediate host could have been the civet cat or the pangolin, animals which are high status food for the some of the well-off in China. SARS emerged in Guangdong province but did not kill many people nor did it spread so widely. Corvid 19 is thought to have started in the wet market in Wuhan, also in Guangdong province, where fresh products, meat, fish and vegetables, are sold. Wet markets do not necessarily sell the meat of wild animals, though some do have a small section. It is thought that there must have been some stalls selling such meat for coronavirus to have emerged in Wuhan. As the virus is so contagious, it wouldn’t have taken much for a few people to have infected enough others for it to eventually spread worldwide. 'Wet markets' likely launched the coronavirus. Here's what you need to know
Though it hasn’t come near the deaths from AIDS (hundreds of thousands, not millions), the fact that it spread so quickly all around the word, now present in 212 countries, and that it is so contagious- you just have to come close to someone, has struck panic. The worry is that there could be millions deaths if action isn’t taken. Of course the fact that this virus is hitting the wealthier nations and is not just a virus of the poor or the gay community will have something to do with the willingness to take drastic action. Everyone is now aware of the threat to humanity from zoonotic diseases and this will give the impetus for a long overdue rethink on our relationship with animals and their habitats.
Causes of the rise in zoonotic diseases
We live on this planet with features that will threaten our lives such as earthquakes, storms and viruses. However, we can take steps to minimise the effects of our environment through the application of science and technology. We have ways or predicting earthquakes and making our buildings more resistant. We develop vaccines for viruses. However, we are beginning to realise that there are limits to what we can do to control nature. We think we have managed to control something but our actions have unintended consequences. For example, a policy of rigorously suppressing forest fires has led to a build-up of fuel and even worse fires. In addition, it is often human activity itself that has made things worse, for example climate change. And like with climate change, it is not a question of just getting a more advanced science or a technological solution to deal with the new viruses; we will need fundamental changes to the way we exploit animals and the general environment for food and resources. We need to recognise that our health depends on the health of other species and the planet as a whole. This is not something that will come easy to a system which puts profit and growth before anything else.
We live on this planet with features that will threaten our lives such as earthquakes, storms and viruses. However, we can take steps to minimise the effects of our environment through the application of science and technology. We have ways or predicting earthquakes and making our buildings more resistant. We develop vaccines for viruses. However, we are beginning to realise that there are limits to what we can do to control nature. We think we have managed to control something but our actions have unintended consequences. For example, a policy of rigorously suppressing forest fires has led to a build-up of fuel and even worse fires. In addition, it is often human activity itself that has made things worse, for example climate change. And like with climate change, it is not a question of just getting a more advanced science or a technological solution to deal with the new viruses; we will need fundamental changes to the way we exploit animals and the general environment for food and resources. We need to recognise that our health depends on the health of other species and the planet as a whole. This is not something that will come easy to a system which puts profit and growth before anything else.
You know what's pathetic? Linking to random journalists, or random bozos on the internet with a blog called PlantBasedNews, or indeed anything except linking to scientific sources, and then expecting people to agree on the basis of your scientific "authority." No wonder you gravitate towards positions with authority, such as internet forum moderation. Though perhaps it's not so much pathetic as amusing.
Saul Goodman
It's all good, man
So not the exploitation of domesticated species, reared for food?
Spread of Capitalism and changes in land use
Capitalism has penetrated everywhere on earth in its search for profits. As a result there are less barriers between potential virus host animals and ourselves, creating the conditions for the spread of disease. Major landscape changes cause animals to lose their habitats, crowding species together and bringing them into closer contact with people. Eroding biodiversity causes a proliferation of the species most likely to transmit diseases to people.
According to David Quammen, author of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Pandemic, “We invade tropical forests and other wild landscapes, which harbour so many species of animals and plants – and within those creatures, so many unknown viruses. We cut the trees; we kill the animals or cage them and send them to markets. We disrupt ecosystems, and we shake viruses loose from their natural hosts. When that happens, they need a new host. Often, we are it” Opinion | We Made the Coronavirus Epidemic.
Kate Jones studies how changes in land use contribute to the risk. “We are researching how species in degraded habitats are likely to carry more viruses which can infect humans,” she says. “Simpler systems get an amplification effect. Destroy landscapes, and the species you are left with are the ones humans get the diseases from.”
Increasingly, these zoonotic diseases are linked to environmental change and human behaviour. The disruption of pristine forests driven by agriculture, logging, mining, cocaine and palm oil production, road building through remote places, rapid urbanisation and population growth is bringing people into closer contact with animal species they may never have been near before. The resulting transmission of disease from wildlife to humans, Jones says, is now “a hidden cost of human economic development. There are just so many more of us, in every environment. We are going into largely undisturbed places and being exposed more and more. We are creating habitats where viruses are transmitted more easily, and then we are surprised that we have new ones.”
One example of how disruption of habits and traditional agriculture may have led to outbreaks of zoonotic diseases is in West Africa. Studies have looked at the Ebola pandemic and seen a link with the expansion of palm oil plantations. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa may have been the result of complex economic and agricultural policies developed by authorities in Guinea and Liberia, according to a new commentary in Environment and Planning A. Looking at the economic activities around villages where Ebola first emerged, the investigators found a change in land use, particularly an increase in oil palm. Agriculture in the region had been characterized by coffee, cocoa, the kola nut, and by slash-and-burn farming. Such farming involves planting maize and rice initially, followed by cassava and peanuts during the second year. But these agroforestry practices changed recently with the introduction of improved palm oil production. Beginning in 2007, the Guinean government began to export palm oil and planned to ramp up production to export 84,000 tons in 2015, more than half of which would come from forested Guinean plantations. Bats are thought to be reservoirs of Ebola and are not affected by it. They pass it on to other animals, in turn infecting humans through bush meat processing. Palm trees are desirable habitat for bats. While palm picking occurs throughout the year around Gueckedou, where Ebola first emerged, the greatest harvest occurs at the onset of the dry season. This, according to the authors, is about the time the outbreak started. They further indicated that huge numbers of bats were roosting in both fruit and palm trees several weeks before the outbreak, one of the clues that led to their theory. They believe that deforestation, including that resulting from oil palm plantations, could change the foraging nature of the fruit bats. After losing their natural habitat and foraging sites, the bats may become more attached to eating garden crops, thus “expanding interfaces among bats, humans, and livestock” Did palm oil expansion play a role in the Ebola crisis?.
In recent years, the emergence of new diseases, such as Covid-19, has become more common, both in rural and urban environments. This is because: “We have created densely packed populations where alongside us are bats, rodents, birds, pets, other living things. That creates intense interaction and opportunities for things to move from species to species” (Eric Fevre, chair of veterinary infectious diseases, University of Liverpool).
'Tip of the iceberg': is our destruction of nature responsible for Covid-19?.
Capitalism has penetrated everywhere on earth in its search for profits. As a result there are less barriers between potential virus host animals and ourselves, creating the conditions for the spread of disease. Major landscape changes cause animals to lose their habitats, crowding species together and bringing them into closer contact with people. Eroding biodiversity causes a proliferation of the species most likely to transmit diseases to people.
According to David Quammen, author of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Pandemic, “We invade tropical forests and other wild landscapes, which harbour so many species of animals and plants – and within those creatures, so many unknown viruses. We cut the trees; we kill the animals or cage them and send them to markets. We disrupt ecosystems, and we shake viruses loose from their natural hosts. When that happens, they need a new host. Often, we are it” Opinion | We Made the Coronavirus Epidemic.
Kate Jones studies how changes in land use contribute to the risk. “We are researching how species in degraded habitats are likely to carry more viruses which can infect humans,” she says. “Simpler systems get an amplification effect. Destroy landscapes, and the species you are left with are the ones humans get the diseases from.”
Increasingly, these zoonotic diseases are linked to environmental change and human behaviour. The disruption of pristine forests driven by agriculture, logging, mining, cocaine and palm oil production, road building through remote places, rapid urbanisation and population growth is bringing people into closer contact with animal species they may never have been near before. The resulting transmission of disease from wildlife to humans, Jones says, is now “a hidden cost of human economic development. There are just so many more of us, in every environment. We are going into largely undisturbed places and being exposed more and more. We are creating habitats where viruses are transmitted more easily, and then we are surprised that we have new ones.”
One example of how disruption of habits and traditional agriculture may have led to outbreaks of zoonotic diseases is in West Africa. Studies have looked at the Ebola pandemic and seen a link with the expansion of palm oil plantations. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa may have been the result of complex economic and agricultural policies developed by authorities in Guinea and Liberia, according to a new commentary in Environment and Planning A. Looking at the economic activities around villages where Ebola first emerged, the investigators found a change in land use, particularly an increase in oil palm. Agriculture in the region had been characterized by coffee, cocoa, the kola nut, and by slash-and-burn farming. Such farming involves planting maize and rice initially, followed by cassava and peanuts during the second year. But these agroforestry practices changed recently with the introduction of improved palm oil production. Beginning in 2007, the Guinean government began to export palm oil and planned to ramp up production to export 84,000 tons in 2015, more than half of which would come from forested Guinean plantations. Bats are thought to be reservoirs of Ebola and are not affected by it. They pass it on to other animals, in turn infecting humans through bush meat processing. Palm trees are desirable habitat for bats. While palm picking occurs throughout the year around Gueckedou, where Ebola first emerged, the greatest harvest occurs at the onset of the dry season. This, according to the authors, is about the time the outbreak started. They further indicated that huge numbers of bats were roosting in both fruit and palm trees several weeks before the outbreak, one of the clues that led to their theory. They believe that deforestation, including that resulting from oil palm plantations, could change the foraging nature of the fruit bats. After losing their natural habitat and foraging sites, the bats may become more attached to eating garden crops, thus “expanding interfaces among bats, humans, and livestock” Did palm oil expansion play a role in the Ebola crisis?.
In recent years, the emergence of new diseases, such as Covid-19, has become more common, both in rural and urban environments. This is because: “We have created densely packed populations where alongside us are bats, rodents, birds, pets, other living things. That creates intense interaction and opportunities for things to move from species to species” (Eric Fevre, chair of veterinary infectious diseases, University of Liverpool).
'Tip of the iceberg': is our destruction of nature responsible for Covid-19?.
editor
hiraethified
Do you think such animals are never exploited?
Saul Goodman
It's all good, man
Listening to someone whine on about it bores me. I prefer text, so I can skim it and pick out anything worth reading.
Animals as food
Raising, hunting, slaughtering, selling and buying animals for food are ways an animal-borne disease may infect people. Avian flu affected mainly those who raised the animals but corona viruses seemed to have spread at markets where animals are bought and sold and sometimes when they are slaughtered fresh for customers. Viruses can spread more easily if animals in markets are sick or kept in dirty, cramped conditions, such as in stacked cages. When animals are under duress, viral pathogens can intermingle, swap bits of their genetic code, and perhaps mutate in ways that make them more transmissible between species. In the case of respiratory diseases, such as COVID-19, the virus can jump to food handlers or customers through exposure to an animal’s bodily fluids. Therefore, we need to look critically at all stages of food production, distribution and consumption.
There are two main sources of the virus: wild animals and domesticated animals. Contact with wild animals in their habitat was the main source of Ebola and AIDS. As we discussed above, we have come into contact with more and more wild species because of encroachment on habitats. The cutting down of rainforests has meant a much smaller space for wild animals and there is more interaction between the animals and villagers. One village lost more than half their population when they killed and ate a wild chimpanzee. Our food habits are also indirectly responsible for this loss of habitat because one of the main reasons for cutting down the forest is to grow soybeans and other crops to feed livestock. Killing and eating the meat of wild chimpanzees was the main cause of Ebola.
Though the source of Corvid 19 was wild animals, many of these animals are actually farmed. So just like with avian flu in the 1918-1919 pandemic, it was not direct contact with wild animals in their habitat but the result of the raising, slaughtering and selling of animals on farms and in markets. There are around 20 thousand wild farms in China rearing pangolins, civet cats, peacocks and porcupines. So in China, the issue is that wild animals are actually part of the agricultural system and there are just too many potential viruses in these animals that we know nothing about and could be very lethal; hence, Covid 19.
There could very well be more pandemics. Not just a return of Covid 19 but the emergence of others. Though they may have their origins in one place whether a farm, market or village, where there are particular problems with human-animal contact, globalisation means that these will soon spread world-wide. Scientists have been aware of the pandemic danger for years. One such organisation, One Health, was established in the USA in 2009. By working in collaboration across disciplines, it has been trying to raise awareness and change practices for several years, both in the US and globally. ‘One Health is an approach that recognizes that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment. One Health is not new, but it has become more important in recent years. This is because many factors have changed interactions between people, animals, plants, and our environment’ CDC’s One Health Office: Who We Are | One Health | CDC.
This is certainly an important project. However, like with many scientific projects, especially ones that have some government connection, they are likely to underestimate the socio-economic factors that make developing and implementing policies so difficult. It is not just a question of keeping an eye on animals on farms and markets or raising awareness; the problems are much deeper roots in our meat-eating culture, agribusiness and factory farming, and inequality and poverty. All of these are in turn tied up with the fact that food production and distribution are based on the search for profit and capitalist economic and social relations.
Raising, hunting, slaughtering, selling and buying animals for food are ways an animal-borne disease may infect people. Avian flu affected mainly those who raised the animals but corona viruses seemed to have spread at markets where animals are bought and sold and sometimes when they are slaughtered fresh for customers. Viruses can spread more easily if animals in markets are sick or kept in dirty, cramped conditions, such as in stacked cages. When animals are under duress, viral pathogens can intermingle, swap bits of their genetic code, and perhaps mutate in ways that make them more transmissible between species. In the case of respiratory diseases, such as COVID-19, the virus can jump to food handlers or customers through exposure to an animal’s bodily fluids. Therefore, we need to look critically at all stages of food production, distribution and consumption.
There are two main sources of the virus: wild animals and domesticated animals. Contact with wild animals in their habitat was the main source of Ebola and AIDS. As we discussed above, we have come into contact with more and more wild species because of encroachment on habitats. The cutting down of rainforests has meant a much smaller space for wild animals and there is more interaction between the animals and villagers. One village lost more than half their population when they killed and ate a wild chimpanzee. Our food habits are also indirectly responsible for this loss of habitat because one of the main reasons for cutting down the forest is to grow soybeans and other crops to feed livestock. Killing and eating the meat of wild chimpanzees was the main cause of Ebola.
Though the source of Corvid 19 was wild animals, many of these animals are actually farmed. So just like with avian flu in the 1918-1919 pandemic, it was not direct contact with wild animals in their habitat but the result of the raising, slaughtering and selling of animals on farms and in markets. There are around 20 thousand wild farms in China rearing pangolins, civet cats, peacocks and porcupines. So in China, the issue is that wild animals are actually part of the agricultural system and there are just too many potential viruses in these animals that we know nothing about and could be very lethal; hence, Covid 19.
There could very well be more pandemics. Not just a return of Covid 19 but the emergence of others. Though they may have their origins in one place whether a farm, market or village, where there are particular problems with human-animal contact, globalisation means that these will soon spread world-wide. Scientists have been aware of the pandemic danger for years. One such organisation, One Health, was established in the USA in 2009. By working in collaboration across disciplines, it has been trying to raise awareness and change practices for several years, both in the US and globally. ‘One Health is an approach that recognizes that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment. One Health is not new, but it has become more important in recent years. This is because many factors have changed interactions between people, animals, plants, and our environment’ CDC’s One Health Office: Who We Are | One Health | CDC.
This is certainly an important project. However, like with many scientific projects, especially ones that have some government connection, they are likely to underestimate the socio-economic factors that make developing and implementing policies so difficult. It is not just a question of keeping an eye on animals on farms and markets or raising awareness; the problems are much deeper roots in our meat-eating culture, agribusiness and factory farming, and inequality and poverty. All of these are in turn tied up with the fact that food production and distribution are based on the search for profit and capitalist economic and social relations.
NoXion
Craicy the Squirrel
The organisms that humans make use of are overwhelmingly domesticated. If we stopped exploiting wild species then it would hardly make a dent. Also, I disagree with the "perfect storm" metaphor - so what was it in the days before industrial agriculture when diseases were even more rampant than today - an "even more perfect storm"?
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