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EU Official Has “Strong Evidence” Factory Farming Is Linked To COVID-19

by Alix Coe | May 4, 2020

The European Union (EU) Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevicius has claimed that factory farming is partially to blame for the coronavirus outbreak.

Sinkevicius said that there is “strong evidence that the way meat is produced, not only in China, contributed to COVID-19.”

The EU is now reportedly working to increase controls over the wildlife trade and factory farming systems.

“Healthy ecosystems lead to a healthy society and therefore it is not too high a price to pay to fix them” said Sinkevicius.

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• DONALD TRUMP URGED TO SHUT MEAT PLANTS AS CORONAVIRUS SPREADS AMONG WORKERS

Factory Farming & COVID-19

The World Health Organization has not conclusively confirmed the origin of the coronavirus outbreak. However, many experts are in agreement that a live-animal market in China is the source of the virus.

The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) states that three out of every four new infectious diseases come from animals.

The often unsanitary and overcrowded conditions at factory farms make these environments ideal for bacteria to thrive. The large numbers of workers present at these farms further fuels this problem as they can contract and spread these germs.

“Exposed”

“Fifty years ago, a US farmer who raised pigs or chickens might be exposed to several dozen animals for less than an hour a day” explained a 2008 report.

“Today’s confinement facility worker is often exposed to thousands of pigs or tens of thousands of chickens for eight or more hours each day.”

Do you think governments should be doing more to address the health issues posed by factory farms? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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