There's something we can all do about avian flu

This past month there was a conference in Europe that I would have loved to attend. Entitled Defund Meat, it brought together global researchers who recognize that big investment money fuels factory farming, helping industrial animal agriculture produce more meat, eggs, and dairy than ecosystems can handle. Here's the website for the conference, which in the near future will publish its proceedings. https://www.mpil.de/en/pub/news/conferences-workshops/defund-meat.cfm. I'll let you know when they do.

We taxpayers subsidize industrial chicken production

Avian flu -- that lethal virus that's killing birds and mammals, and threatening humans as well -- is one reason we need to Defund Meat. That complements a key point in my article in The Tyee this past week. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/01/17/Address-Bird-Flu-Reform-Chicken-Farming/

Because the unfortunate fact is that we taxpayers in Canada, as well as additional sources both public and private, egg on the chicken business with financial assistance to help it constantly expand its operations and convince more and more global citizens to eat more and more wings.

It hit me some time ago that the problem of too many livestock and too much meat isn't simply driven by consumers' desire for animal-source foods.  It's driven partly by the massive amounts of meat that are being made.  In mature capitalist economies, producers (whether of widgets or beefsteaks) become so adept at making large amounts of product, that soon their main challenge is to sell it all.  So they ramp up advertising and other promotional strategies to convince consumers to buy far more than they need. 

Demand can drive supply, but supply also drives demand

Economists say that demand drives supply, but in many cases supply also drives demand.  Therefore, one positive step we can take toward better food systems and environments is to discourage corporate and government funding of the worst kinds of animal agriculture. Another is to work in your own orbit to stop supporting industrial chicken production, and instead eat more plant-based proteins and look to support small-scale agriculture that raises animals in healthy surroundings.

If you agree, let me know, and join me in writing a letter to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada asking that they stop subsidizing industrial chicken.  Or leave a comment below, on any aspect of this important topic.   Thank you, all.