The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has devastated the poultry industry in other states and now threatens Georgia’s top commodity. Scott Olson/Getty Images (file photo)
I have been following closely our country’s bird flu crisis and am especially concerned about the recent revelation that a new strain of the virus, H5N9, has been detected in California. This is the development many public health officials have been most concerned about as it indicates that bird flu is mutating in a way that could allow it to spread more easily to humans.
For this reason, I was shocked when I read the news that the new administration has halted the release of public health information related to the study of bird flu virus, including knowledge that could help reduce the risk of contagion. I call on Sens. Ossoff and Warnock and my Congressman Richard McCormick to do everything in their power to see that communication and information related to ameliorating our nation’s bird flu virus epidemic is permitted.
The administration would do well to follow the lead of Georgia— often dubbed the poultry capital of the world—which is taking definitive action against the spread of bird flu. Georgia has suspended all poultry operations in an effort to control this outbreak. At least two commercial poultry operations in our state have been hit recently by H5N1. Healthcare professionals are monitoring this situation and remain hopeful that Georgia does not join the list of states in which human cases of bird flu have been detected.
I applaud our public health officials for doing what they can to keep the bird flu from spreading but the reality is that the virus has sickened dozens of people, decimated poultry populations, and infected dairy cows. Now is the time to take a hard look at the food production system that puts farm workers in close contact with sick birds and cows, the Standard American Diet that demands it, and the health ramifications of both.
From a doctor’s perspective, shifting food production away from intensive animal agriculture can benefit public health. Facilities with large numbers of animals in a small amount of space are a concern for public health because they provide ideal conditions for viruses to spread, evolve, and possibly acquire the ability to more easily infect people. Intensive animal agriculture was implicated when influenza viruses H1N1, H5N1, and N7N9 jumped from animals to people, according to research published in Frontiers in Microbiology.
The life of a contract chicken grower can be challenging, and some of them are repurposing their chicken houses to grow crops. North Carolina poultry farmers Dale and Paula Boles switched from chickens, converted their 500-foot-long poultry barn to a greenhouse, and now grow organic vegetables. They are not alone. In Southwest Arkansas, farmers Jennifer and Rodney Barrett are transitioning from raising poultry and cattle to growing mushrooms.
These farm transitions aren’t easy. The government should provide financial and technical support. Georgia could help its farmers with a program like the one established by lawmakers in Vermont who provide grants to farmers who wish to diversify or transition from one type of farming to another.
Georgia is full of opportunity for poultry and dairy farmers who want to transition to crops or orchards. Plant-based foods like beans and legumes grown in Georgia can help people improve heart health, prevent diabetes, and maintain a healthy weight, among other benefits. The Georgia peach is my favorite but cantaloupe, sweet corn, peanuts, blueberries, watermelons, and cucumbers are also healthful options that can provide income to Georgia farmers.
Shifting away from animal agriculture helps our environment and improves worker safety as well. Large-scale poultry operations produce huge amounts of waste and contribute to waterways overloaded with phosphorous, and other pollutants. Poultry farms are a primary source of water, air, and land pollution.
I have found for myself and my patients that removing animal products from the diet improves health, and the scientific literature tells the same story. A recent study with 22 pairs of identical twins found that a plant-based diet improves heart health in as little as eight weeks. The twins following a plant-based diet experienced lower LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and they lost more weight than the omnivore twins.
In the short term, let’s allow our public health officials to communicate in order to stop the spread of this virus. Taking a long view, government grants and other assistance should be available if Georgia poultry farmers or egg producers would like to switch to growing crops and planting orchards, which will also benefit human health and the environment.