Lately, I have had a lot of time to think. This is thanks to a global pandemic that has engulfed the planet. It feels like everyone has been affected or infected by this contagious beast and it’s been devastating to witness the suffering it has caused. But lately, I have been thinking about the bigger picture. The fact that we will continue to see pandemics such as these arise time and time again unless we take serious long-term action to help save this world we call home.
Do you know that every single major disease that has afflicted us has come from animals? Diseases such as the common cold, the flu, measles, chickenpox and the HIV are illnesses originally found in animals and they have crossed over to human beings through our domestication of livestock and the conditions we breed these animals in. Due to the overcrowding in factory farming practices and various wet markets where many exotic animals are in very close proximity to each other, it can be assumed that pandemics like the COVID 19 crisis will become more and more common; especially since our planet is becoming more and more populated.
A Brief History of Disease
10,000 years ago human beings started domesticating animals and it was at this point that we first saw infectious diseases emerge. This is because for the first time in history, huge numbers of animals were in very close proximity to human beings so this meant that diseases that had only infected them, were able to cross over to us. The Measles for example, which has killed 200 million people worldwide originally came from cows and sheep. Smallpox most likely came from Camelpox, Whooping Cough came from pigs, the flu was most likely the result of ducks being domesticated and finally, we have horses to thank for the common cold.
Then in the 20th century, new diseases stopped emerging and in 1968 scientists declared that ‘the war on infectious diseases has been won.’ But then in 1975 figures started rising again. Why did this happen? It happened because we began the slow process of exploiting our planet; something that we are still doing to this very day. The deforestation to make way for cattle farming caused diseases normally only found in the rainforest amongst animals to move to human beings such as Lyme’s disease and the Ebola Virus. Logging in Africa meant that a whole workforce started eating bush meat (such as chimpanzees) and this led to the HIV, which has now killed 25 million people and is still a huge pandemic in Africa. Because Primates are our cousins, it’s not surprising that a disease that affected them would easily affect us too and this disease was passed to us through direct contact with contaminated blood through hunting and consumption of bushmeat.
Since then, we have seen diseases such as SARS, Bird Flu and Swine Flu emerge but now with COVID 19, we are experiencing a global pandemic on a far larger scale. What do these diseases have in common? They originated in the wet markets of Asia where many different exotic animals are crammed into small spaces and cross-contamination can easily occur. Again, our appetite for meat has led us into a world of lockdown, social-distancing, huge unemployment, general uncertainty and unnecessary death.
It’s not that I’m against farming. Believe it or not, I think that meat production can have a part to play in our society and human beings can live a healthy life, consuming meat and animal products in moderation. The problem is that we have forgotten to moderate ourselves and over time have grown more and more insatiable when it comes to our appetite for all things mammal. We know this is having a detrimental effect on the environment such as raising greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming but do any of us actually stop to ponder what this means for infectious diseases? Hopefully, now we will and this will be the wake-up call we have needed for so long. But this isn’t the only thing I have been concerned about as of late.
What happened to Climate Change Action?
Before COVID hit, we were well on the road to finally addressing the climate change crisis. Greta Thunberg was rallying kids all over the world; inspiring them to strike from school, make changes in their lives and put pressure on governments. And it was working! Veganism started to spread (1 in 10 children in the UK aged 8-13 are vegan or vegetarian, while 44% are trying to eat less meat and dairy) and many governments around the world started implementing changes and taking steps to protect the environment. Suddenly the spotlight was on reducing our waste, planting trees and generally ‘doing our bit’ to combat climate change. Thanks to influential people such as David Attenborough showing us first-hand how we are killing endangered animals through our waste, it seemed that the world was finally ready to wake up and take action. I for one was incredibly excited by the attention it was receiving (albeit a little too late) and thought that 2020 was going to be the year of great change.
And then COVID 19 came along.
For the past six months or so, everything else seems to have fallen by the wayside. This is completely understandable; we are facing a crisis on a global scale and scientists around the world are racing to develop a safe vaccine so that we can resume our ‘normal’ lives. It has been a huge stress on economies worldwide but especially on people who have been forced to stay at home and not see friends and family or others who have put themselves in danger every day because they are Key Workers. I understand all of this and I realise that the biggest task right now needs to be to fight this virus and to stay as safe as possible. But it breaks my heart not only seeing the urgency of the climate crisis taking a back seat but the re-emergence of single-use plastics in pubs and restaurants, disposable masks thrown away almost instantly and people purchasing antibacterial wipes by the bucketload that will just end up in landfill or clogging our waterways and oceans.
Yes, we all need to stay safe but that is not an excuse to take our eye off the bigger picture. And the big picture is this: unless we start taking serious action to combat climate change, reduce waste and develop more sustainable farming practices (that don’t involve bulldozing the Amazon), deadly pandemics will be the new ‘normal.’ History and science have taught us that much. Yes, we can wear masks and socially distance and wash our hands and eventually get vaccinated against COVID 19, but another disease will be waiting in the wings if we fail to make a change. Ideally, I would love this to come from government level but what I have learnt over the last few years is that this rarely happens, as despite what politicians say, they often think short term only. So the change has to come from us. We have to learn to vote with our wallets and choose degradable anti-bacterial wipes (yes they are more expensive) and support a local business by buying a handmade fabric mask that we put in the washing machine from time to time. There are still cafes that will serve your coffee in a ‘keep cup’ so bring your own rather than adding to landfill (my favourite one to use can be found here).
When I buy clothing I try and buy second-hand or make sure it’s made out of recycled or sustainable materials. I wash my kitchen cloths instead of throwing them out and I keep glass jars that once housed pickles or jackfruit and I use them in place of plastic Tupperware. I buy laundry detergent, dishwasher tablets and cleaning products that are all cruelty-free and eco- friendly and I order recycled toilet paper from Who Gives a Crap because they contribute 50% of their profits to building toilets in 3rd world countries (and the wrapping from the toilet rolls can double up as cute wrapping paper!) I am far from perfect and I have a long way to go but if I can manage to do this on a modest salary, many people can do the same. We all know that little changes can make a big difference and when coupled with a vegan diet (or even a flexitarian diet) you are contributing to positive change.
We have all seen that when something is in demand, the supermarket has to stock more of that product. It’s not a coincidence that the shelf-space for plant-based milk now rivals dairy milk or that the plant-based freezer section seems to grow with every passing week. If you want change to happen, vote with your wallets. Not only are you making a difference in the long run, but it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, just like being wrapped in a big warm hug. And since we can’t yet physically hug each other, surely that’s the next best thing?
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one small unintended positive consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic is the reduction in people commuting to a work place. As a result there was at least initially a significant reduction in green house gas emissions. Lets hope at least some level of reduction becomes permanent in our new post-pandemic world.
Yes this is true! I really hoped that these changes aren’t short lived.