
With the Coronavirus (or Covid-19) wreaking havoc on our society, we thought it was timely to rebroadcast this episode. Coronavirus is one of many zoonotic diseases — diseases that jump from non-human animals to human animals.
A “wet market” in Wuhan, China, is most likely where this strain of the coronavirus started. At many “wet markets,” meat, poultry, and seafood are sold alongside live animals for consumption. It is our very consumption of animals and their products that has bestowed upon us what Guns, Germs, and Steel author Jared Diamond calls the “lethal gifts of livestock.” Our abuse of nature comes full-circle and at a heavy price for both the consumer and the consumed.
Being animals ourselves, it makes sense that we share many of the same diseases as our non-human cousins. We aren’t – after all – plants. We aren’t at risk for catching aphids or sooty mold or downy mildew.
In fact, many of the major killer pandemics we’ve been plagued with were acquired from non-human animals. Here are just a few:
we got tuberculosis from cattle, influenza from pigs and birds, whooping cough from pigs and dogs, smallpox from cattle, and of course cowpox from cows. Even HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is believed to have been first transmitted to humans through the butchering and consumption of infected chimpanzees.
HOW TO LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
- Click PLAY on the player above.
- Listen and subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Soundcloud, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
- Subscribe to the RSS feed.
Food for Thought Podcast is listener-supported. Please join other supporters by going to Patreon.com/ColleenPatrickGoudreau and becoming a patron.
Related Posts

How to Talk to Strangers: A Masterclass in Conversations and Communication

Vegan for Health vs. Vegan for Ethics: Is There a Difference and Does it Matter?

Covid Christmas: How to Make The 2020 Holidays a Little Brighter

About Colleen
Hello, and welcome. I’m Colleen, aka The Joyful Vegan, and I’m here to give you the tools and resources you need to eat, cook, travel, and live compassionately and healthfully.
Donating = Loving
For over twenty years, my work and podcast have remained free (and ad-free) and vibrant thanks to support from listeners, followers, and readers. I have no staff, no interns, and no assistant. What you see (and hear and watch) is a one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. If this labor has impacted your life in the past year (or the past decades), please consider aiding its sustenance by becoming a patron or by making a one-time donation. Your support makes all the difference.
Favorite Things
Joyful Vegan Messageware
Wear your compassion on your sleeve (or chest or head!) by choosing any number of my message products.