how to prevent a pandemic
Whether the virus came from a lab or a market, whether a vaccine will be the answer to our prayers to get back a life resembling what it was like before 2020, whether you believe any or all the far-fetched conspiracy theories flying around the internet, it’s clear there is only one way out of never having to relive this nightmare.
Unfortunately, since we all have a stake in the prevention of further pandemics, it’s up to all of us to do our small part, and that proves difficult at every turn.
Consider, if you will the anti-proliferation of nuclear arms. One country couldn’t solve the issue and rescue us from our impending doom; it would take several countries working together. That was impossible, and the only way we survived the twentieth century was by bolstering a system of cut-throat capitalism and bankrupting our adversaries. Our oligarchs beat their oligarchs, and still today, the threat of nuclear exchange looms over every petty squabble between nations.
I’d use global warming to illustrate my point, but pandemics and climate change are simply two symptoms of the same illness.
Since AIDS, the 1980’s, I’ve been hearing about a pandemic sensation that would sweep the nations, and we finally got it with Covid 19. Sure, we flirted with other viruses. There was Swine Flu, Bird Flu, SARS, and Ebola. Even West Nile and Lime disease were all good fun. Politicians argued about them, and the media conjected upon the discovery of each that this might be the big one. It’s blatant prevarication to claim now that no one saw this coming. We all saw this coming. And we didn’t do anything about it.
We seem to instinctually know that spending time with animals is a bad idea. We train dogs and do whatever it is people do with cats, but they’re vaccinated against a cadre of parasites and pathogens to keep them safe for our homes. We’ve normalized snuggling our faces in their filthy muzzles, but make no mistake, that’s only possible due to the efforts of countless scientists and breeders.
If you encountered something as docile and cute as a koala in the wild, your instinct should be to leave it alone because it’s probably carrying chlamydia or something worse.
Such encounters become increasingly frequent as we move in on their territory. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone living in California, where there are warning about coyotes and mountain lions on hiking trails located next to busy highways and bustling neighborhoods.
As we tear down animals’ wild habitats, we are accelerating climate fuckery and increasing our chances of encountering wild creatures whose parasites and pathogens will have no choice but to turn their ugly heads toward us. This is admittedly an oversimplification. Massive cities, regular air travel and other modern day trappings aid in the spread of diseases once they get into us, but we’re not doing away with those any time soon. . . even though many argue we should.
And because we don’t want to give up any of the things we like, most of what you’ll read or hear about when we talk about preventing another calamity is early warning systems and testing and helping poor countries with their healthcare. All that’s great. But warning systems would mean we would have to be way cooler about our personal medical data getting out there (if it wasn’t for our broken medical system that wouldn’t matter) but things being as they are it would require monumental efforts by the powers that be on our behalf. Getting people to get tested was laughable even when folks were dropping like flies, so that’s out too.
We’re still arguing at every level of government on the efficacy of the tests. Helping poor countries to solve their Ebola-type problems before they spread would be awesome, but again, try convincing republicans that’s a good idea. So what can you do? Is there any action an individual might take to help? Can we punt the other stuff to the government and hope that the slow grind across the gridiron might result in a touchdown one of these days while doing our small part, tiny heroes working individually to make a difference in the face of what seem like insurmountable odds?
You’ll happy to know there is a way you can wage a private war on the likelihood of another pandemic destroying everything we hold dear.
Most habitat encroachment occurs because of our insatiable desire to breed more livestock. That includes ocean and riparian habitats. If you eliminate your own demand for animal products, your contribution is three-fold: climate change is slowed, fewer humans will encounter wild pathogens, and your own odds of contracting a disease are greatly reduced. Even if this baddie actually came from a bat in a Chinese market, most of our plagues have historically come from messing with far-less exotic creatures.
You also might have heard of preexisting conditions being the main cause of fatality when it comes to pandemics, and that’s true. But you’re in luck here, too. Obesity, heart disease, and our most popular cancers (prostate and colon) are directly linked to the consumption of animal products. That correlation is so clear to most doctors, that when you’re diagnosed with colon cancer, they almost always put you on a vegan diet immediately. But why wait around for the cancer or the next pandemic? You can start now and maybe help save the world!
You might feel like you’re only one person and can’t make a huge impact, but that’s not the case. Viruses need hosts to spread. If you’re healthy and don’t have any underlying issues, they die pretty quickly, and you can look at it selfishly too: don’t eat animals and keep your butthole clean, and the pandemic won’t hurt you personally as badly as it might.
There’s a lot of arguing going on about pandemics. But if you choose to celebrate a vegan lifestyle, you’ll inspire others to make healthier choices for themselves and the planet. . . and the economy I guess. It’ll help everyone make more money too. I mention that just because it’s one of the things people tend to drone on about lately. I’m more in it for the lives and happiness of humans and animals, but if you’d rather go vegan in order to avoid another hiccup in our weird late-capitalist doomsday march, that’s cool, I guess.
So celebrate life, stay positive, and go vegan! I hope you and your people are safe and pathogen-free.
