UN Report Lists Rising Demand for Animal Protein First Among Seven Drivers of Pandemics

A new United Nations report lists increasing demand for animal protein first among seven human-driven trends behind the rise of diseases that jump from animals to humans, alongside unsustainable intensive farming and the exploitation of wildlife.

Preventing the Next Pandemic, from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), was launched today, World Zoonoses Day. It warns that more outbreaks will follow COVID-19 unless governments act, and sets out ten recommendations built around a "One Health" approach joining up human, animal and environmental health, according to the UNEP press release.

The other drivers it names are unsustainable use of natural resources, travel and transport, changes in food supply chains and the climate crisis, as Common Dreams reports.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said:

The science is clear that if we keep exploiting wildlife and destroying our ecosystems, then we can expect to see a steady stream of these diseases jumping from animals to humans in the years ahead.

Choosing more of our protein from beans, lentils, tofu and nuts is one simple way to ease the pressure.

We've written before about how the meat industry is creating new health threats, and this spring, as meat shelves ran empty, plant-based meat sales surged 264% in nine weeks.

A healthier planet, and fewer pandemics, can start on our plates.