Eating Animals Causes Pandemics, Part 3 of 4

On today’s program, we look at some of the enormous suffering inflicted on humanity by the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequences of overlooking the fundamental causes of pandemics. As is well-known, COVID-19 can cause excruciating pain to those who contract it. Friends and relatives of those hospitalized also suffer. They cannot be by their loved one’s bedside during the illness and even death. Medical doctors and nurses also suffer. Often, hospital staff work 18-hour days and sleep in hallways, caring for the growing number of patients. They experience elevated risk of stress, burnout, depression, trauma, and other mental health challenges. The renowned Mayo Clinic in Florida, USA reports that COVID-19 can also lead to permanently damaged bodily organs. Children also suffer mentally as lockdowns force school closures around the globe.

In addition to the immense physical and mental suffering, the pandemic has also wreaked financial havoc across the globe. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that during 2020, the global economy had its worst decline since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The economic decline and loss of jobs have created more homelessness and food insecurity in the world.

Despite COVID-19 causing immense suffering, world authorities are concerned that the worst is yet to come. “This virus is very transmissible, and it kills people, and it deprives so many people of loved ones. But its current case fatality is reasonably low in comparison to other emerging diseases. This is a wake-up call.”

Is there a surefire way to truly halt COVID-19 and all future pandemics? Mercifully, there is one: to globally transition to a plant-based food system. “We need to work to transition, to help these industries transition. We need to force our governments to not give them (livestock industries) subsidies in order to continue to do what they're doing, but to subsidize the transition to a plant-based system that will benefit all of us.”