Musings: Turkey talk turns serious
Turkeys raised at a Flanders, New Jersey, farm. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
With Thanksgiving just days away, it’s time to talk about yet another round of bird flu outbreaks across the country. Since Sept. 1, outbreaks have wiped out 1.2 million turkeys from farms supplying meat for delis and dinner tables. That’s turkeys alone.
How many times will we repeat this cycle before addressing its cause? These outbreaks aren’t accidents. They’re a predictable outcome of cramming animals into facilities where viruses spread quickly.
Instead of normalizing mass slaughter as “biosecurity,” we should be rethinking our reliance on factory farms altogether. The safest, most ethical solution is to reduce our dependence on animal agriculture and invest in plant-based food systems that don’t incubate pandemics.
— Nathan Daniels, Melville
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