It would seem to some that the COVID-19 pandemic came out of thin air. Sadly, this is far from the truth, and the vaccine that the masses are clinging to is merely a bandaid to what is to come if we maintain our current course (Pocock et al 2020). We have broken the tip of the iceberg, first with the outbreak of SARS in 2003, followed by variously named MERS, avian, and swine flus and now the global pandemic of COVID-19. All have a common denominator, humanity's cruel and destructive nature of every other species that inhibit the world we share. The intense abuse of animals is not a new idea; however, we are yet to recognize the connection of our demise and their infinite torture.
To be clear, the abuse of animals is widespread. Factory farms are a global phenomena.
A common example of breaches in animal welfare are the wet markets throughout Asian, primarily China. To a common American the idea of caging and consuming some of our worlds’ most exotic creatures is barbaric; however, do not be quick to judge and take a longer look at our consumption and treatment of livestock. We must attempt to understand the deeper complexities of why such markets exist. China has a deeply rooted culture and tradition surrounding the wet markets and they will not be going anywhere anytime soon (Zhu et al. 2020). Yet it still stands, there is still an outstanding connection between the slaughter of wildlife and global pandemics (Zhu et al. 2020).
Hyper-globalization and the systematic butchering of wildlife has only increased the odds of global exposure to deadly diseases (Aguirre et al. 2020). Likewise, the continual encroachment of human life on dwindling wildlife reserves exponentially increases the potential for novel disease transfer (Aguirre et al. 2020). Animal ethics is synonymous with human ethics, we must begin to see clearly our connection to the world we continue to destroy.
References
Aguirre, A. A., Catherina, R., Frye, H., & Shelley, L. (2020). Illicit Wildlife Trade, Wet Markets, and COVID‐19: Preventing Future Pandemics. World Medical & Health Policy, 12(3), 256–265. https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1002/wmh3.348
Pocock, L. (2020). Pandemics and a New Age of Reason. Middle East Journal of Business, 15(2), 3–35. https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.5742MEJB.2020.93826
Zhu, A., & Zhu, G. (2020). Understanding China’s wildlife markets: Trade and tradition in an age of pandemic. World Development, 136, 105108. https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105108
I agree with you regarding the wet markets. Wet markets can potentially cause another outbreak of disease in the future. What happened once can happen again. I think Wuhan, the place from where COVID-19 is believed to have originated banned the consumption of wild animals (cbsnews.com). The United States even went as far as seeking a complete ban on all wildlife wet markets in China (Nolen). There is definitely action being taken against the consumption of wild animals and a recognition of the potential danger of diseases that can spread. To change such an old and widespread practice will require a lot of effort and resources. If wild animals are totally removed from the markets for consumption, something else will require to take its place. What that something else could be is possibly more livestock; however, you argue that having livestock for human consumption is also not good because this still does not eliminate the ethical issue of animal abuse. Then, what needs to change is also the way we treat animals in the factory farms. Unfortunately, as the global human population increases, this will be incrementally more difficult to do. My suggestion would be to find different means of producing our food, perhaps 3D printing or creation of artificial meat, as a means of quickly mass-producing cheap meat for the masses? It is an interesting topic, nonetheless, one worthy of further attention.
ReplyDeleteSources:
Cbsnews.com. May 21, 2020. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wuhan-china-coronavirus-bans-eating-wild-animals-breeding-wet-markets/
R. Scott Nolen. United States seeks ban on China’s wildlife wet markets. American Veterinary Medical Association. July 1, 2020. https://www.avma.org/javma-news/2020-07-01/united-states-seeks-ban-chinas-wildlife-wet-markets
The original post and Adrian's comment bring up good points. I particularly appreciate the mention of factory farms. These concentrated animal feeding operations house many, many more animals than do wet markets - commonly with even worse living conditions. According to ASPCA.org, there were close to 10 billion farm animals housed in factory farms as of 2017 - the numbers are incomprehensible. It goes to show that while wet markets do make the news because of their shock value and separation from many of our daily lives in the United States (and the global pandemic obviously), factory farms still account for a huge portion of mistreatment of animals and much greater environmental effects than do local wet markets. COVID is the caveat, I think wet markets beat out factory farms as most hated agricultural phenomena in society today.
ReplyDeleteThe mistreatment of animals is something that has been happening for a long time and is not talked about as much as it should be. One area of personality psychology that is relatively new is animal personality. The idea of animals having personality similar to humans is widely debated amongst the scientific community. This could be because meat eaters tend to deny minds to animals. It has been found that when someone is reminded of the suffering that animals go through in order for them to be consumed by humans, people are more likely to deny minds to animals. The acceptance and further research of animal personality could help people understand the mental capabilities of animals that they consume on a regular basis. This could influence people to turn to a plant-based diet leading to fewer factory farms.
ReplyDeleteReference:
Bastian, Brock, et al. “Don’t Mind Meat? The Denial of Mind to Animals Used for Human Consumption.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 38, no. 2, 2011, pp. 247–256., doi:10.1177/0146167211424291.
I think you bring up some very interesting points about how we as Americans view other peoples cultures within this post. It is very different from our lives because of the different cultures that we are a part of. I wonder if you think that this is an all or nothing issue. Should we completely get rid of these wet markets and factory farms as a whole and shift to only plant based foods? I do agree that this mistreatment of animals is wrong and yes it is very difficult to comply with this when we do eat animals. I wonder if there are possible ways to just reduce the spread of these institutions that offer a gradual shift to more plant based diets. From this idea I think I want to go out and research different types of diets that lead to a more healthy and balanced lifestyle. It makes me ponder whether or not it is morally right for me to eat, for example, a piece of chicken? Am I blind to the suffering of this animal? This was a very well written and informative blog that I really enjoyed reading.
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