Covid-19 came from eating animals!

Expectations were high at the start of 2020.  It started out full of promise, but now less than halfway through the year, there are currently more than 400,000 cases worldwide - in almost every country of the world - from the new corona virus pandemic.  The disease now named Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus.  At the end of March 2020 there are almost 415,000 cases and almost 20,000 deaths worldwide.

What is the cause of this tragedy of biblical proportions?  It was first thought to have originated in a laboratory.  Now it is now believed to have started in a wild animal market.  The virus has evolved to its current pathogenic state by transmission from its non-human host to humans.  Previous coronavirus outbreaks have emerged from humans contracting the virus after exposure to infected animals.  Corona virus 2019 (Covid-19), as well as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), “Swine Flu”, avian influenza viruses (H5N1, H9N2, and H6N1 from poultry) and other epidemics are the result of Speciesism.

Animal-to-Human Diseases Kill 2.2 Million People Each Year.  Epidemics are the direct result of speciesism – the abuse of other species for the benefit of the human species.

The current outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to spread.  In January, the World Health Organization defined the outbreak of COVID-19 as an international public health emergency of international concern.  Another concern is the H5N1 virus infection which has proven fatal for chickens (and sometimes other poultry) as well as for human beings. With poultry and eggs now the major source of meat protein worldwide, this fact has implications for food supply and international trade.  It also raises the possibility that human beings and chickens can be cross-infected, and in the absence of tight biosecurity, the virus potentially spreading in pandemic mode.

It is time to rethink our priorities and stop eating animals.  Adopt a healthy, compassionate lifestyle.  Go Vegan!