COM Outlook Summer/Fall 2020

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY | 33 First-Person Perspectives RESOURCES sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982220303602 link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s42522-019-0007-9 thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X (15)00068-6/fulltext sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787817300114 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4638249/ who.int/dg/speeches/2016/antimicrobial-resistance-un/en/ “Let us prevent another pandemic with the immense power of our forks.” Tempting as it is to wag a finger at Wuhan, modern production of chickens, turkeys, cows, and pigs shares many of the same infectious risks as wet markets, plus some hazards of its own. Industrially farmed animals have been bred for extreme growth and are genetically homogenous, dampening their immune systems. To avoid infection amid abominable living conditions, they consume daily regimens of antibiotics. In fact, 80 percent of antibiotics in the United States are fed to healthy animals. Both issues contribute to antibiotic resistance, which the World Health Organization has deemed “a global tsunami…that must be managed with the utmost urgency.” The infamous avian flu seasons of 1918 and 1957 came from poultry. SARS came from horseshoe bats, passing to civet cats sold in wet markets. Swine flu and mad cow disease came from their eponymous species in Western factory farms. HIV and Ebola jumped from other primates to humans as we encroached on their African habitats to satisfy the demand for bush meat. The common denominator is our appetite for another animal's flesh. In honor of the COVID-19 patients who died, in support of the millions who are now out of work, in solidarity with those who have relapsed into despair or addiction in lockdown, and perhaps by recognizing our reflection in fellow animals, let us prevent another pandem- ic with the immense power of our forks. Zachary Burns is a fourth-year KPCOM student .