Infected Cows, Bird Flu, and the Growing Threat of Mutations
Authorities are concerned about the dangerous intersection of dairy farming and the viral bird flu outbreak that threatens public health
Los Angeles, December 20th, 2024 — As the world grapples with the aftermath of COVID-19, a new zoonotic threat is building momentum. The highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu has taken an alarming turn, spreading beyond birds to infect dairy cows and even humans. Some health experts fear that this virus is just one mutation away from becoming a global pandemic.
Animal Activists Point to Dead Cows Piling Up As Sign of Broken Food System
With images of dead cows along California roads and reports of bird flu in dairy herds, the urgency to address this crisis has never been greater. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has now ordered the testing of milk for bird flu. However, critics argue that this measure is too little, too late. Free From Harm Founder Robert Grillo, Amber Canavan, PETA’s vegan campaigns project manager, and Dr. Crystal Heath, founder of the veterinarian organization Our Honor, discussed this issue with UnchainedTV host Jane Velez-Mitchell. Even as panelists were reacting to the disturbing images of the dead cows being broadcast on UnchainedTV, California Governor Gavin Newsom was declaring a State of Emergency due to bird flu, minutes after news broke that someone in Louisiana was hospitalized in critical condition with bird flu, the first severe case amongst the more than 60 bird flu infections reported in people in the U.S. since March, 2024.
California’s Governor Declares State of Emergency During Our Bird Flu Show
The Mutation Risk: A Ticking Time Bomb
By Catalin via Adobe Stock Images
The H5N1 strain has ravaged global bird populations since its emergence in 1996, resulting in the killing of over 300 million farmed birds since 2021. Now, researchers warn that a single genetic mutation could enable the virus to spread between humans.
SciTechDaily is reporting, “A recent study published in Science and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found that a single alteration in a protein on the surface of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus—currently present in U.S. dairy cows—could significantly increase its potential for human-to-human transmission.”
Recent findings in dairy farms across the United States indicate that infected cows are shedding large amounts of the virus, increasing the likelihood of cross-species transmission, and risking the emergence of a zoonotic-based pandemic.
Despite these warnings, public health agencies maintain that the immediate risk to humans remains low. However, Meg Schaeffer, an epidemiologist at the US-based SAS Institute, emphasizes the precariousness of the situation. She told Agence France-Presse, “Avian flu is knocking on our door and could start a new pandemic any day.”
A 2022 study from Oxford University found that 73% of emerging infectious diseases originate from animals, often in industrial farming environments.
“Whenever things like this are happening that seem far above our heads, the first thing people should do is to stop giving money to these industries by going vegan” — Amber Canavan, PETA
Factory Farming and Public Health: A Cruel Connection
Much of the blame lies with industrial farming practices. Factory farms confine animals in cramped, unsanitary conditions that can act as breeding grounds for zoonotic diseases. The dairy industry, in particular, is under fire for its handling of infected herds with many dead cows simply dumped on the side of roads with no warning signs or coverings, visible and accessible to the public. California is the largest dairy producer in the United States. The state also has many poultry factory farms and has reported widespread bird flu outbreaks, with some facilities resorting to highly controversial, bird mass-culling methods like ventilation shutdown. These gruesome methods involve trapping large numbers of animals in sealed areas and subjecting them to lethal heat that results in slow, painful deaths. This process has been condemned as torturous by more than 2,000 veterinarians who have signed a petition against its use.
Crystal Heath, DVM – Bird Flu’s Paul Revere, Took Dead Cow Video
The gruesome footage UnchainedTV showed of piles of dead cows by the sides of roads in California’s agricultural regions was taken by Dr. Crystal Heath. She joined our broadcast halfway through, taking a brief break from her veterinary work which involves doing numerous spay/neuter surgeries to battle California’s pet overpopulation crisis. Dr. Heath is the founder of Our Honor, the organization which has challenged the veterinary establishment, demanding it strongly condemn Ventilation Shutdown (and Ventilation Shutdown +) as a method of farmed animal depopulation. She and Farm Sanctuary CEO Gene Baur wrote an article for Time Magazine entitled: “It’s Time to End the Denial About Bird Flu.”
The article says U.S. government agriculture agencies are overly concerned with keeping consumer confidence up in the face of a rising threat. It also condemns CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) as filthy and crowded places that make farmed animals vulnerable to disease and complains that “tens of millions of birds are culled and taxpayers bear the cost of industry bailouts.”
Dr. Heath is a 2012 UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine graduate. According to her biography, “She grew up in a rural agricultural area, was vice-president of her 4-H club and even campaigned for Grand National Rodeo Queen, but is now a vegan and animal rights activist. Since graduating, she has spent her career helping homeless animals in shelters while working part-time at a general practice. Dr. Heath volunteers abroad to help animals overseas, winning a Jefferson Award for volunteering in Fiji. She believes in advancing compassionate care for all species on this planet. She advocates for One Health, the idea that human, plant, animal, and environmental health are all interconnected, and believes in confronting the corporations and institutions that stand in the way of advancing the compassionate care of all species on this planet.”
Watch a video about the battle to stop the mass killing of farmed birds here!
Time to Break the Cycle
Activists and experts are urging systemic changes to prevent another global health crisis. From demanding the cessation of government subsidies for animal agriculture to advocating for plant-based alternatives, solutions exist, but require immediate action.
Robert Grillo has 20 years of experience in the field of branding, design and communications. He is the founder and director of Free from Harm, an animal protection organization based in Chicago. He said, “Congress passed a disaster relief bill, which is giving 21 billion dollars to ranchers and livestock producers who have suffered losses from disease, from drought, from wildfires; all of the things that that industry actually creates and is the biggest driver of. The insanity in that alone is hard to wrap your head around.”
Watch a video of Robert Grillo recounting his arrest at a congressional hearing over the USA Farm Bill:
PETA’s Message. Don’t Buy It. Don’t Eat It!
Amber Canavan is project manager of vegan campaigns at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), where she focuses mainly on helping animals used for food. Her victories include persuading Costco, Target, and Albertsons to stop selling coconut milk sourced from brands that depend on forced monkey labor in Thailand, getting Kikkoman to end decades-long experiments on animals, and helping to get a ban on the sale of foie gras from force-fed birds passed in New York City.
She succinctly connects the dots in the bird flu crisis: “When factory farms cram millions of animals into filthy conditions, they create a petri dish for diseases to spread, especially when they are spreading between species. The fact that this jumped into cows used for dairy is definitely very concerning.”
The bird flu crisis is more than an animal health issue; it’s a wake-up call for humanity. Our reliance on factory farming is not just an environmental and animal welfare disaster, but a public health threat. The choices we make now, from individual dietary changes to collective action against harmful animal agriculture industries, could determine whether this looming threat becomes a full-scale pandemic.
Check out this show and more at UnchainedTV.
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