Drs Shireen and Zahra Kassam explain how animal farming has dramatically increased the risk of new infections with epidemic and pandemic potential.
Several pandemics that have occurred in the last century can be traced back to our farming practices and the use of animals as food. In fact, three out of four new and emerging infections are zoonoses – that is, diseases that arise in animals and then jump to humans. Here’s how our appetite for animals is driving the problem, and the plant-based solution that is at our fingertips.
A direct association
Industrialisation of animal farming, along with the wildlife trade and habitat destruction that goes with it, has created the perfect conditions for the emergence of new zoonotic infections – mostly viruses – that jump from animals to humans.
The conversion of wild habitats to farmland destroys the natural ecosystems and wipes out larger species, leaving behind smaller animals, such as rats and bats, which are more likely to carry infections that can be passed on to humans. These smaller animals are mobile and adaptable, and can produce lots of offspring rapidly.
In addition, the increasing industrialisation of animal agriculture means that most farmed animals are raised on factory farms, kept in cramped and squalid conditions, suffer from stress and disease and thus are more likely to succumb to infections. These infections can be passed on to other animals, mutate and eventually have the potential to be passed on to humans.
A matter of time
An even bigger threat than coronavirus for causing a future pandemic is a bird flu. Recent strains include H5N1, which was first detected in humans in 1997, causing a major outbreak in 2004, and H7N9, which was first detected in 2013. Both originated in wild birds and were transmitted to humans via poultry farming. Although transmission to humans is currently rare, when it does occur there is a 60 percent chance of dying from H5N1 and about 30 percent from H7N981.
It is only a matter of time before these viruses adapt and become more transmissible to humans and, when they do, the results could be catastrophic. In fact, it is already happening. In February 2021, the media reported the first case of H5N8 bird flu in humans. Many of us consider the COVID-19 pandemic a warning, with worse in store if farming practices do not change.
The plant-based solution
A global shift to a plant-based food system would free up 75 percent or more of agricultural land that is currently used for animal pasture and to grow crops to feed animals, while still being able to produce enough food for the global population. This land could instead be allowed to rewild, restore natural habitats and biodiversity, and act as a store of carbon – while dramatically reducing the risk of new pandemics emerging.
At the same time, efforts to promote healthful plant-based eating and other beneficial lifestyle changes will help to address the high prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases in the world today, in turn building resilience against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and future pandemics that are likely to arise.
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It’s clear that transforming our food system can – and must – be part of the solution to restoring human and planetary health to a state of flourishing. The time for change is now!
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This article is an edited extract from Eating Plant-Based: Scientific answers to your nutrition questions by Dr Shireen Kassam and Dr Zahra Kassam. Published by Hammersmith Books. Available in Australia via Booktopia. |
Lead image: Paul Shuang on Shutterstock
