Green Glossary: Bird Flu

While the bird flu (a.k.a. avian flu) hype has quieted a bit (more specifics here), it's important for those in the green movement to remember the environmental factors that play a role. Josh Rothstein of the Foundation for Environmental Security and Sustainability explains that there are "four primary ecological factors underpinning this avian influenza: deforestation and other forms of habitat destruction that affect the routes of migratory birds; farming environments that enable the spread of bird flu; human utilization of potentially infected water; market environments that enable the spread of the disease."

Also, there are factors like urban chicken coops and the fact that more humans on earth will likely translate into more diseases on earth. Perhaps most importantly, as PETA reports, "In a vegetarian world, humans would likely not be threatened by bird flu. Viruses that would dissipate in nature spread quickly in crowded factory farms, where chickens are intensively reared for their flesh. These viruses eventually mutate and are spread to humans who work in filthy farming sheds...and then to the general population." Michael Greger, M.D. concurs: "Humanity's lust for flesh not only kills billions of animals every year directly, but threatens the health of our planet and may threaten our health in more ways than we know."