This is simply not true. Bird flu mainly spreads among wild birds and that is where it has its reservoir. It would still exist even if the world was free of bird farms. It also usually doesn't spread between farms because, in the event of an outbreak, all the animals on the affected farm are culled. At most, bird farms slightly increase overall contact between birds and humans.
It’s like this with most animals that we have learned to live with in close proximity. Zoonotic viruses are responsible for many of our diseases today, but through natural selection we are adapted to many.
This is partly why European disease wiped out Native American populations to a large extent. Europeans carrying diseases from animals they lived closely with.
But it's not (just) about us living in close proximity to them, it's about putting them in an environment that makes it impossible for them to live healthy lives and incubates potential zoonotic diseases.
Living in close proximity is one thing, but growing them at the speed and scale which we do with factory farming must massively increase the rate of development of viruses. It’s almost as if we designed a special program just to develop a virus that would wipe us all out.
I am not sure how dangerous it is. Not saying it is not but maybe hyperbole.
I have been hearing this and the climate change stuff since I was young as a threat to humans and I think there must be a lot more than science in here, at least, in my humble opinion.
Flu has a long track record in causing pandemics with new variants, e.g., the Spanish flu in 1918–1920. Outbreaks spread much faster now thanks to air travel. We do have the advantages of P2 masks and mRNA vaccines.
This is simply not true. Bird flu mainly spreads among wild birds and that is where it has its reservoir. It would still exist even if the world was free of bird farms. It also usually doesn't spread between farms because, in the event of an outbreak, all the animals on the affected farm are culled. At most, bird farms slightly increase overall contact between birds and humans.
It’s like this with most animals that we have learned to live with in close proximity. Zoonotic viruses are responsible for many of our diseases today, but through natural selection we are adapted to many.
This is partly why European disease wiped out Native American populations to a large extent. Europeans carrying diseases from animals they lived closely with.
But it's not (just) about us living in close proximity to them, it's about putting them in an environment that makes it impossible for them to live healthy lives and incubates potential zoonotic diseases.
Which has been happening for centuries.
I’m actually not arguing against this being a bad idea though lol, just giving some historic trivia.
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Living in close proximity is one thing, but growing them at the speed and scale which we do with factory farming must massively increase the rate of development of viruses. It’s almost as if we designed a special program just to develop a virus that would wipe us all out.
But hey, cheap food!
Not even cheap food, just cheap meat. We could still have plenty of cheap, salty, fatty food without the livestock.
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Avian flu exists with or without farming birds.
I am not sure how dangerous it is. Not saying it is not but maybe hyperbole.
I have been hearing this and the climate change stuff since I was young as a threat to humans and I think there must be a lot more than science in here, at least, in my humble opinion.
Flu has a long track record in causing pandemics with new variants, e.g., the Spanish flu in 1918–1920. Outbreaks spread much faster now thanks to air travel. We do have the advantages of P2 masks and mRNA vaccines.