Introduction
The Black Plague also known as the Black Death has killed more people than any other pandemic in the history of the world.
During the 14th century it killed 50 million people. To put that into perspective, the entire country of Columbia has 50 million people.
It's sad to hear, but in 2020 it's hitting the headlines again.
The Cases
A herdsman is reportedly in a stable condition after having been confirmed to have caught the Black Plague also known as the Black Death on Sunday, according to the New York Times.
There is also a second case where a young 15 year old girl caught the Bubonic Plague after eating a marmot.
Last May, a couple in Mongolia also died from Bubonic plague after eating the raw kidney of a marmot.
The Warnings
This compelled the local health authority to issue a warning : "At present, there is a risk of a human plague epidemic spreading in this city. The public should improve its self-protection awareness and ability, and report abnormal health conditions promptly"
Officials have warned people not to consume marmot meat, and yet the practice continues despite people having contracted the Black Plague and dying.
The Three Variations
There are three forms of plague, the Bubonic plague, Septicemic plague and the most deadly is the Pneumonic plague which is spread via coughing.
Fortunately we're not dealing with the most deadly one.
Swine Flu also making the Headlines
Last week, reports also started emerging of a new strain of Swine Flu that has pandemic potential.
Right now it hasn't jumped the species barrier. But Swine flu is a zoonotic disease which means it can jump to people given enough mutation.
Read this article by the Washington Post to learn more:
The scariest part of this article is this sentence:
"Pigs are routinely catching variations of the flu and mostly it’s not a big deal".
Pigs routinely catch flu and people eat them. That's crazy!!!
The Questions
The CDC itself states that "3 out of every 4 new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals". Check it out here : https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/basics/zoonotic-diseases.html
It has to be asked, why are we eating these animals?
Is one pandemic not enough for us?
We have got one pandemic kicking our ass right now, and two in the making - and that's for 2020 alone.
COVID-19, Swine flu and the Black Plague are zoontoic diseases. They're originate from the consumption of animals.
So if we do not want any more pandemics the solution is obvious :
Do not eat animals!!
Conclusion
It is 2020. It is a modern era where we have robots on Mars, self driving cars, decentralised finance and remote working.
There is no reason what so ever as to why we should eat animals.
Especially when the risks are existential to humanity.
I for one do not want another pandemic.
Let's leave these animals in peace, lest nature kick us in the ass so hard we'll never recover.
Here's some good reading:
https://www.theaidsinstitute.org/education/aids-101/where-did-hiv-come-0
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/06/asia/china-mongolia-bubonic-plague-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html