Ending industrial animal farming can prevent future pandemics - animal rights activist
12 July 2020, 09:28
How animal farming is unsustainable with animal rights activist
After Trafalgar Square's fountains were dyed red by animal rights activists, Andrew Castle was joined by someone explaining the goals of the culprits.
Stephanie Zupan was videoing events at Trafalgar Square on Saturday as animal rights group Animal Rebellion dyed the fountains in the London landmark red to symbolise blood.
She explained the ideals of the group to Andrew Castle and that their belief is that animal farming and consumption is having a terrible impact on the world through the spread of pandemics and the depletion of the environment and global ecosystems.
Andrew wanted to know "how you've settled on animal farming and eating animals as the source of all your evil" as Ms Zupan blamed industrial grade farming as a main reason for the spread of disease.
"With zoonotic diseases three out of four come out of animal farming" she quickly noted, explaining to Andrew that "these pandemics are nothing new.
"To the magnitude and scale of Covid yes, but whatever the cause is we're not saying there's a one step to prevent everything but it is a major way we can prevent future pandemics happening."
Andrew wondered if there was any alternative to simply ending farming. "How about better farming techniques" such as free range products being the norm in a meat eating diet.
Ms Zupan pointed out that "we currently feed 76 billion animals on this world" and that currently is not sustainable in any case.
"If we eliminate the intensive farming which a lot of our meat comes from" the activist said, we would only then be able to have sustainable farming in the world.
She stressed that her group is not against farmers or their trade. "For farmers, we care about their livelihoods" she said. All of the points she made to Andrew built up her view of a need to "talk about transitioning to a just and sustainable plant based food system."
Listen & subscribe: Global Player | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify
