Spread of ‘free-range’ farming may raise risk of animal-borne pandemics – study

If we can ’t dramatically cut meat consumption then intensive ‘factory farming’ may be comparatively less risky, say authorsThe industrial farming of animals such as pigs, poultry and cattle to provide meat for hundreds of millions of people may reduce the risk of pandemics and the emergence of dangerous diseases includingSars, BSE, bird flu and Covid-19 compared with less-intensive farming, a major study by vets and ecologists has found.Despitereports from the UN and other bodies in the wake of Covid linking the intensive farming of livestock to the spread of zoonotic (animal-borne) diseases, the authors argue that “non-intensive” or “low-yield” farms pose a more serious risk to human health because they require far more land to produce the same amount of food.Continue reading...

Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - June 23, 2022 Category: Science Authors: John Vidal Tags: Farming Environment Animals Coronavirus Bird flu Infectious diseases Science Health Society UK news World news Medical research Microbiology Source Type: news