THE MEDIA ROOM

Although the origin of the new coronavirus is not yet certain, some scientists suggest that SARS-Cov-2 originated in bats. COVID-19 is most likely a zoonotic disease, as it was transmitted from an animal to a human. It is not the only zoonotic disease humans have faced. Others have emerged before and will continue to do so as long as we allow certain human practices on our planet, experts warn. #mongabay #zoonoticdisease #COVID19 #biodiversity #publichealth ---- Mongabay is a nonprofit environmental science and conservation news platform that produces original reporting in English, Indonesian, Spanish, French, Hindi, and Brazilian Portuguese. Check out https://www.mongabay.com/. Watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/MongabayTV Subscribe to Mongabay’s newsletter: https://mongabay.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=80161fe385606408293ae0e51&id=940652e1f4 Follow Mongabay on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mongabay Follow Mongabay on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mongabay Follow Mongabay on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mongabay/

Alex O’Connor is a prominent podcaster, YouTuber and student at the University of Oxford. In his TEDx talk, Alex puts forward the case against factory farming, not only based on ethical concerns, but also by exploring how factory farms can become breeding grounds for Zoonotic viruses. Alex O'Connor is a prominent YouTuber and podcaster. He has amassed over 400,000 subscribers, and his videos on Philosophy and Ethics have been viewed over 37 million times across the globe. He is the creator and host of the Cosmic Skeptic podcast, which has welcomed guests such as Richard Dawkins and Peter Singer. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Why do we have pandemics? Where does disease outbreak come from? What can do we do to stop it happening again? This video explains all! In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic which has the world in lockdown, we take a look at the origins of disease outbreak.

There is a single species responsible for the current pandemic: Us. Humans. This isn’t our first pandemic...and if we don't stop eating animals, it definitely won’t be our last. COVID-19 has been merely the dress rehearsal for future global zoonotic disease outbreaks. Zoonotic diseases are diseases that originate in other animals and spread to humans. Well-known examples are SARS, Avian / Bird Flu, Swine Flu, Mad Cow Disease, Ebola, HIV, Measles, Smallpox, the "Spanish" Flu … and, of course, COVID-19. Every year, we slaughter over 70 billion land animals for food around the world, with more than 90% of them in factory farms. This number doesn’t include the TRILLIONS of sea animals we kill around the globe on an annual basis. Whether in a wet market or a barn, large numbers of highly stressed animals with weakened immune systems, living side-by-side and on top of one another, in cramped and filthy conditions, is the perfect breeding ground for viruses to flourish, mutate, and jump to humans. All farms, whether small and family-run or large industrial complexes, keep animals in intensively confined spaces like large-scale incubators where diseases can spread easily. These animals are NOT social distancing. But free-range or regenerative agriculture is not the answer. Raising animals on smaller farms results in mass deforestation to provide pasture for animals to graze and also to grow other crops to feed them, leading to massive encroachments into the natural world and causing biodiversity loss. Such environmentally destructive practices bring humans and domesticated animals in closer contact with wild animals and their pathogens. We must demand that our governments, the media, and the public stop ignoring the source of pandemics happening time and again around the world, which is our dangerous and broken animal-based food system. By transitioning to a plant-based food system, we can stop zoonotic disease outbreaks in their tracks. All the masks, social distancing, vaccinations, and hand sanitizer in the world will not avoid the next, and potentially worse, global outbreak. Let’s take pandemics off the menu and make plant-based eating…the “new normal”. For more information, please visit www.EatingAnimalsCausesPandemics.com #EatingAnimalsCausesPandemics #PlantBasedFoodSystemOrSystemCollapse

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a nightmare for all of us. As vaccines are deployed across the world, many hope we’ll soon be able to return to our previous lives. But before we rush to resume ‘business as usual’, we should pause to consider where COVID came from. Read more: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/2008-we-bailed-out-banks-2021-we-need-bail-out-planet/ ═ See our latest stories: https://www.opendemocracy.net/ Support our work: https://support.opendemocracy.net/project/oureconomy Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/odytsub

In this panel from the Animal Justice Academy (register for free: https://www.animaljusticeacademy.com/), we gather top scientists and lobbyists in the field of linking pandemics to animal use. 75% of emerging infectious diseases in humans are now zoonotic, which means they start in animals and are passed to humans. The COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from wildlife in China, but it could just as easily have come from a factory farm in North America. Our panel will arm you with the facts to help get the public and government to take heed of the very serious pandemic threat posed by industrial animal farming (for food and fur) and the wildlife trade. We’ll also talk about how this is an opportune time to make the case to the government to protect animals to prevent the next pandemic. Panelists: • Dr. Aysha Akhtar, MD, MPH, President & CEO, Center for Contemporary Sciences • Melissa Matlow, Canadian Campaign Director, World Animal Protection • Dr. Tushar Mehta, Co-founder of Plantbaseddata.org • Dr. Jan Hajek - Clinical Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases, University of British Columbia Animal Justice Academy is a FREE six-week online bootcamp and community to empower people to make a better world for all animals via politics, media, the legal system, veganism, corporate outreach, and their own communities and social circles. Sign up: https://www.animaljusticeacademy.com/

Experts from the World Health Organization have told the end of year media briefing that even though the coronavirus pandemic has been severe, it is 'not necessarily the big one', and that the virus is likely to become endemic and the world will have to learn to live with it. The head of the WHO emergencies programme, Dr Mike Ryan, warned that the next pandemic may be worse, while Prof David Heymann, the chair of the WHO's strategic and technical advisory group for infectious hazards, said the 'destiny' of the virus is to become endemic, even as vaccines begin to be rolled out across the world Subscribe to Guardian News on YouTube ► http://bit.ly/guardianwiressub WHO warns Covid-19 pandemic is 'not necessarily the big one' ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/29/who-warns-covid-19-pandemic-is-not-necessarily-the-big-one Support the Guardian ► https://support.theguardian.com/contribute Today in Focus podcast ► https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/todayinfocus The Guardian YouTube network: The Guardian ► http://www.youtube.com/theguardian Guardian Football ► http://is.gd/guardianfootball Guardian Sport ► http://bit.ly/GDNsport Guardian Culture ► http://is.gd/guardianculture