7 Recommendations to Prevent the Next Pandemic from Arising on a Factory Farm

As of November 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has killed over a million people worldwide. It has caused illness and suffering, shuttered businesses and sent the economy into a tailspin. The world was unprepared for the scale and magnitude of such a catastrophic public health crisis and surprised by its link to animals. But should we have been?

To prevent another pandemic caused by a zoonotic virus like the one that caused COVID-19, Humane Society International issued a new white paper on animal agriculture with recommendations calling for:

1. A substantial reduction in our global reliance on animal-based protein.

Wet markets are a common source of fresh produce, flowers, staples, and other goods in Asian cultures, however many of them also sell live poultry, fish, marine invertebrates, and other wildlife. It is fairly certain that COVID-19 emerged from a live animal market in Wuhan, China but viruses with pandemic potential could just as easily emerge from intensive animal agriculture. Disease control is a constant challenge in environments where pigs and chickens are raised by the thousands or even hundreds of thousands, together in dimly lit sheds, on top of their manure, often in barren cages. The rate at which future zoonotic diseases emerge is likely to be closely linked to the expansion of animal agriculture.

2. Public policies favoring the production of plant-based options in place of expanding animal agriculture.

Rather than incentivizing the expansion of intensive animal agriculture, governments should be encouraging through public policies the expansion of innovations in the plant-based food sector. This could help decrease the risk of the spread of zoonotic viruses. Campaigns like Meatless Mondays and developments in plant-based proteins are viable alternatives to intensive animal agribusiness.

3. A reduction in the number of animals raised for human food, to reduce animal population density both within farms and geographically.

The geographic concentration of many farms together in one region increases the likelihood that pathogens will spread between farms, infecting more host animals. Rendering trucks, feed delivery, maintenance personnel and staff can all transfer disease as they move between production sites. To “stamp out” the disease, government interventions may involve the mass killing of whole herds or flocks. There is no widely used humane way to kill so many animals all at once, and the destruction of 50 million birds (50 million!) to control the massive U.S. avian influenza outbreak in 2015 involved smothering birds with firefighting foam, gassing them with carbon dioxide or simply shutting off the ventilation and leaving them to slowly die.

4. A phase-out of the use of cages and crates used to overcrowd animals in intensive systems.

The confinement of pigs and hens in small cages permits the housing of many more animals together in the same building space. The larger the group of animals confined together, the greater the chances that animal diseases will spread, mutate and in rare cases jump the species barrier to infect humans. Viruses are known for changing (this is why the flu vaccine is developed anew each year and is only partially effective), and when transmitted among a dense population of susceptible hosts, they can become more virulent (deadly). This is the case for avian influenza, which has been shown to “heat up” in intensive confinement facilities changing from low to highly pathogenic form.

5. A phase-out of the long-distance transport of live animals.

The movement and mixing of farm animals also present a risk. Diseases can travel internationally as animals are transported across borders for breeding or slaughter. This can facilitate the reassortment of viral DNA, as new animals (and their viruses) are mixed with existing populations, generating whole new viral strains with unpredictable consequences. Like live animal markets, agricultural fairs and exhibitions bring together animals from multiple sources, comingling them for days. U.S. agricultural fairs have been implicated in human outbreaks of swine influenza and may have played a role in the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

6. Policies to protect natural ecosystems from agricultural expansion and other sources of degradation and fragmentation.

Across the world, about 40% of deforestation in the tropics and subtropics is due to large-scale commercial farming, while another 33% is due to local subsistence farming. When human industry encroaches into natural habitat, wild species are in greater contact with people and domestic animals, increasing the potential for diseases to spread. Protecting natural ecosystems from agricultural expansion decreases the probability disease will jump from wild animals to domesticated animals and people.

7. A ban on the sale of poultry at all live bird markets and restrictions on live animal exhibitions.

Live animal markets and fairs put the public at risk. Avian influenza, swine flu and Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) are all examples of human diseases originating from the exhibition and sale of live animals. Given the ever-present risk that avian influenza poses to public health, the selling and slaughter of poultry at markets should be banned. Mathematical modeling has shown that a single infectious bird can lead to an outbreak in the market without being detected since many birds can shed the virus without showing symptoms.

What you can do

As the world reflects on how society must change after COVID-19, the overwhelming public health risks associated with the large-scale farming of animals should be a paramount consideration. A reassessment of our relationship with animals and our food system is urgently needed. We have been lucky that a far worse disease has not yet emerged. Thankfully, each one of us can take steps right now to help ensure a healthier future by making conscientious food choices that reflect both our compassion for animals and the health of our global community.

Take the pledge to go Meatless on Mondays.

Learn How to Cook Meatless Plant-Based Meals at Home!

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is not only good for animals but is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health, and more! Dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer and has many side effects.

For those of you interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Here are some great resources to get you started:

• Weekly Vegan Meal Plans
• Plant-Based Health Resources
• Plant-Based Food & Recipes
• Plant-Based Nutrition Resources
• The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition
• Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Recipes
• High Protein Plant-Based Recipes
• Plant-Based Meal Prep

Related Content:

• UN Releases New Report on Curbing Animal-Human Disease Spread to Prevent the Next Pandemic
• UK Doctors Urge People to Go Vegan to Avoid Future Pandemics like Coronavirus
• Cory Booker Works Towards Ending High-Speed Slaughter of Commercially-Raised Animals Amidst Pandemic due to Public Health Concerns
• How Coronavirus Pandemic has Proved that Wet Markets and Factory Farms are a Threat to Public Health
• Scientists Urge Humans Change the Way they Interact with Wild Animals to Avoid Another Pandemic
• The Humane Society Outlines 11-Point Plan to End Animal Suffering and Prevent More Zoonotic Diseases like COVID-19
• 10 Zoonotic Diseases that Emerged from Humans Consuming Animals
• PETA Warns Indian Government About Zoonotic Disease From Working Elephants
• How Rearing, Hunting, Trading, Killing, Dissecting and Eating Animals Leads to Zoonotic Diseases like COVID-19

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