What to Do About Bird Flu

The roots of the bird flu threat couldn't be more obvious. There would be no risk of an avian influenza epidemic without poultry farms.

On massive poultry farms, overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions create the perfect reservoir for viruses and other diseases to incubate and spread. Without these farms, viruses harbored by migrating birds would have no chance to propagate. The solution is obvious, too. A meatless diet helps eliminate the farms that breed infectious disease.

As PCRM’s Tim Radak, Dr.PH, R.D., recently wrote, “Doctors have long recommended meatless diets for the sake of our hearts, but a collective shift to a vegetarian diet would not only eliminate animal fat and cholesterol. It would also eliminate the farms that breed infectious disease. More than 60 people have died from the flu in Asia. How many more will die before we realize these outbreaks are preventable?”

PCRM offered a free copy of its popular 16-page Vegetarian Starter Kit in a news release sent to media outlets throughout the country earlier this month. CBS Radio, Associated Press, and CNN picked up the story.