is our intersectionality speciesist?

we rightfully call out

forms of discrimination

sexist behaviors 

racist thinking

exploitative work

torturous immigration policies

ableist practices

authoritarian governments

hierarchical religions

anti-revolutionary beliefs


we cancel feminists

for being exclusionary

liberals playing the race card

activists hiding privilege 

everything under the sun

as well as hidden in the shade


we are confidently 'woke'

proud of being non-binary,

pro-sex and pro-porn

saviors of 'rescued' pets

equal in every way

a brave new world

awaits our righteous rage


with not a blind spot

at the intersection

of past, present and future

we are the courageous ones 

we have been waiting for

calling out every form of bias

leaving no one behind


and yet

as the world crumbles

it is not our fault

we are the solution

"they" are the ones that hate

we are blameless


but, if our intersectional discourse

confluence of discrimination 

multiple forms of oppression

multi-discipline analysis

ignores nature 

excludes food animals 

most of the world's injustices 

remain hidden 


sharing the same Earth

we exploit nature's innocents

at our own risk

cancelling our survival

festering pandemics

fueling climate change

fires, hurricanes

our intersectionality is speciesist

but we're too "woke" to care


Altering Gut Bacteria & Meat Parasites

Pandemics Ahead: Number 14 in a series looking at the link between animal protein and global health disasters.

Excerpt from Meat Climate Change: The 2nd Leading Cause of Global Warming by Moses Seenarine, (2016). Xpyr Press, 348 pages. ISBN: 0692641157. http://amzn.to/2yn7XrC

Gut Bacteria

Research show that consumption of plant-based foods versus those of animal origin is the main cause for variance in human gut microbes. Long-term vegetarian diets have contributed to large shifts in microbiota composition. And importantly, gut bacteria are related to the body's immune system.(1011) Carcass from pig, cow, and sheep contains a sugar, Neu5Gc, which is naturally produced by carnivores, but not humans. That means that when humans eat red animal flesh, the body triggers an immune response to the foreign sugar, producing antibodies which spark inflammation, and eventually cancer.(1012) This may help explain potential connections of animal consumption to other diseases exacerbated by chronic inflammation, such as atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes. Further, a pigment in red meat may damage the DNA of cells lining the digestive system.

Meat Parasites

There are several parasitic diseases associated with ingestion of cattle and pig flesh, and organic flesh may have higher parasite risk. Parasites include toxoplasma cysticercosis, sarcocystis, taenia saginata, taeniasis and trichinosis. T.solium, also known as pork tapeworms, can measure up to 10m (33 ft) when mature and are among the biggest of a ribbon-like worm that infect humans. Malnutrition can occur as the worm competes with the body for food.

Eating under-cooked carcass especially from pig, sheep and wild animals such as deer, is one of the main ways people become infected with the toxoplasma parasite. T. gondii presents more of a threat to pregnant women and people with a weakened immune system. In its earliest stages, the illness causes flu-like symptoms, and if severe, can cause damage to the brain, eyes and other organs. In the US, T. gondii is responsible for more than 4,000 hospitalizations and 300 deaths annually, ranking it fourth among food pathogens.

The pig tapeworm, cysticercosis, is particularly common in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. In some areas it is believed that up to 25% of people are affected. The ancient knowledge of tapeworms in pigs may be one of the reasons for pig flesh being forbidden by Jewish and Islamic dietary laws. People may have little or no symptoms for years. Some parasites affects the brain and can have neurological symptoms. In developing countries this is one of the most common causes of seizures.(1055)

Sarcocystis is a genus of protozoa related to toxoplasma and eimeria. They are parasites infecting mammals, reptiles and birds. Four different species can infect cattle, sheep, and pig and infection is very common. The infection rate in sheep is above 90%, and it is over 80% in cattle and goats. Ingesting infected animal flesh can lead to anorexia, nausea, abdominal pain, distension, diarrhea, vomiting, dyspnoea and tachycardia. Symptoms may last as long as five years. Infection by Taeniasis is due to eating cysts in poorly cooked pig carcass. Treating those with taeniasis and other parasites is important to prevent their spread, but many people go untreated.(1056)

Chapter 28: HUMAN DISEASES, page 269.   Previous  |  Home  |  Next

For more information, see MeatClimateChange.org

Food-borne Illnesses

Pandemics Ahead: Number 13 in a series looking at the link between animal protein and global health disasters.

Excerpt from Meat Climate Change: The 2nd Leading Cause of Global Warming by Moses Seenarine, (2016). Xpyr Press, 348 pages. ISBN: 0692641157. http://amzn.to/2yn7XrC

Animal consumption is a major cause of food-borne illnesses, a preventable public health challenge that causes illnesses for millions of people and thousands of deaths each year in the US alone. Food-borne illnesses come from eating food contaminated with bacteria, like (a) Campylobacter jejuni from raw or unpasteurized cow's milk; (b) raw or undercooked carcass, birds, or shellfish; and (c) contaminated water. 

There are over 2,300 types of Salmonella that can come from raw or undercooked chicken eggs, chicken flesh, cow carcass, unpasteurized cow's milk and juice, cheese, seafood, and contaminated fresh fruits and vegetables. The CDC estimates that Salmonella causes upwards of one million illnesses per year and over 20,000 hospitalizations. On top of that, Campylobacter causes in excess of one million illnesses annually.(1043)

Over 1.1 million Americans are sickened each year by undercooked, tainted chicken flesh. A USDA investigation discovered E. coli (Biotype I) in 99% of supermarket chicken. This shows that chicken butchering is not a sterile process. Feces tend to leak from the carcass until disembowelment, and the evisceration stage itself gives an opportunity for the interior of the carcass to receive intestinal bacteria. So does the skin of the carcass, but the skin presents a better barrier to bacteria and reaches higher temperatures during cooking.(1044) 

Food-borne illnesses are oftentimes caused by other animal-based pathogens including (i) Clostridium perfringens from carcass, animal products, and gravy; (ii) Vibrio vulnificus from uncooked or raw seafood; and (iii) Escherichia coli from uncooked cow carcass, unpasteurized cow's milk and juices, and contaminated raw fruits and vegetables, or water. Another common food-borne illnesses is (iv) Listeria monocytogenes from ready-to-eat foods such as hot dogs, luncheon meats, cold cuts, fermented or dry sausage, and other deli-style flesh and chicken carcass.

Chapter 28: HUMAN DISEASES, page 267.

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Gaia is


Gaia is

calm

patient

timeless

forever at home

super comfortable

never leaving her place

always giving

loving, living

forgiving


da Queen

don't do drama -

deal with it

get it over completely

keep on going

without baggage

from the past

persevere at all cost


Earth shows the way

moving constantly

in all directions

fearless

pride-less

a Deity that needs no pity

from narcissists

who suffers no guilt

from the shameless


our Mother is

ever so watchful

humble, honest

noble, dignified

open, supportive

ever willing, ready

to receive, cuddle

Her off springs


da Goddess

of all life

is incorruptible

Her intentions are naked

obvious - preserve life

with matchless integrity

She cannot be fooled

by maya's thoughts, illusions

via self

She easily sees thru

ego's holy show


indestructible Gaia

is impervious to man

to all of masculinity

standing tall

witnessing it all

She abhors the male horror show

but does nothing

to stop men's march

to extinction


its never too late

to re-connect

become grounded

honor Her Highness

respect all Earthlings

live in joy and beauty

as She does


Gaia is

when maya is not


Pandemics Ahead

Pandemics Ahead is a series of articles looking at the link between animal protein and global health disasters. The articles are excerpts from Meat Climate Change: The 2nd Leading Cause of Global Warming by Moses Seenarine, (2016). Xpyr Press, 348 pages. ISBN: 0692641157. http://amzn.to/2yn7XrC

See also Meat Society, a series exploring issues related to curbing demand for animal products, an important climate change solution for individuals and nations alike, especially in Western states where meat and diary consumption dwarfs other regions. See also our COVID-19 Meat Pandemic Bibliography with a categorized listing of Online News and Reports (March to June, 2020).


For more information, see MeatClimateChange.org

Fish-kills in One Month

Pandemics Ahead: Number 12 in a series looking at the link between animal protein and global health disasters.

Excerpt from Meat Climate Change: The 2nd Leading Cause of Global Warming by Moses Seenarine, (2016). Xpyr Press, 348 pages. ISBN: 0692641157. http://amzn.to/2yn7XrC

Looking at records for the month of September 2014 alone, there were tens of thousands of dead fish in rivers, ponds, lakes and streams. Around the world, on almost every day of the month, fish kills were reported. On many days, multiple fish kills were recorded.(933)

On the 1st of September, 2014, there were two fish kills reported: thousands of dead fish washed ashore on a beach in Mohammedia, Morocco; and a large mass of fish floated in a river in China. On the 6th, there were three fish kills reported: a mass die off of fish in a river in China; hundreds of dead fish on a beach in Alicante, Spain; and 7 tons of fish dead in a lake in Sabaudia, Italy.

On September 12, 2014, there were three fish kills: large amounts of dead and 'sick' fish in the Baltic sea off coast of Sweden, Finland and Germany; thousands of dead fish washed up, 'the first of it's kind' along the coast of Qatif, Saudi Arabia; and thousands of fish died 'due to chemical pollution' in a lake in South Carolina, America.

On the 22nd of September, 2014, there were five fish kills: (i) a large fish kill in Valenzuela City, Philippines; (ii) a mass fish kill in Kuwait Bay, Kuwait; (iii) hundreds of dead fish floating in a river in Bejaia, Algeria; (iv) hundreds of dead fish in a canal in Pontedera, Italy; and (v) thousands of fish washed up dead in Central Java, Indonesia.

On September 30th, 2014, there were four fish kills reported: (a) hundreds of fish dead in Yosemite Lake 'due to rain' in California; (b) hundreds of fish floating in a canal in Hermosillo, Mexico; (c) a mass die off of fish in a channel in Sakarya, Turkey; and (d) hundreds of dead fish floating on a lake in Tours, France.

In the US, there were numerous fish kills during the month of September 2014 as well. For instance, (i) on the 2nd, hundreds of dead fish washed ashore in Pinellas County, Florida; (ii) on the 3rd, tens of thousands of dead fish washed up along the Neuse River in North Carolina; and (iii) on the 11th, hundreds of thousands of fish died in a creek in Iowa. 

On 12th September, (iv) thousands of fish died 'due to chemical pollution' in a lake in South Carolina; (v) on the 17th, hundreds of pounds of fish died in a lake 'due to herbicides' in Illinois; (vii) on the 29th, hundreds of fish were killed in a lake in Texas; and (viii) on the 30th, hundreds of fish died in Yosemite Lake 'due to rain' in California. 

The repercussion of fish kills include biodiversity loss, extra greenhouse (GHG) pollution, and negative effects on human health. But the climate-altering gases related to the livestock waste, eutrophication, disposal of fish-kills, and effects on human health, are either ignored and uncounted.

Chapter 25: WASTE POLLUTION, page 242 
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Dead Zones

Pandemics Ahead: Number 11 in a series looking at the link between animal protein and global health disasters.

Excerpt from Meat Climate Change: The 2nd Leading Cause of Global Warming by Moses Seenarine, (2016). Xpyr Press, 348 pages. ISBN: 0692641157. http://amzn.to/2yn7XrC

The manure from factory farms contains ammonia which is highly toxic to fish at low levels. Escalating the amounts of manure and nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus from livestock production, can cause algal blooms which block waterways and deplete oxygen as they decompose. This often kills fish and other aquatic organisms, devastating the entire aquatic food chain.(929)

The concentration of nitrate in the ground water supply can reach unhealthy levels. Infants up to three months of age are especially susceptible to high nitrate levels and may develop Blue Baby Syndrome (methemoglobinemia), an often fatal blood disorder.(930) In 1996, the CDC established a link between spontaneous abortions and high nitrate levels in Indiana drinking water wells located close to feedlots.

Almost all the US feed production and industrial farms are concentrated along the Mississippi River basin. A liter of seawater commonly holds around 7 milligrams of dissolved oxygen, but around the mouths of the Mississippi, it holds less than 2 milligrams. The only organisms active here are those that do not depend on oxygen to live. Most summers, between 13,000 to 20,000 sq km (5,000-7,700 sq mi) of sea at the mouth of the Mississippi becomes a "dead zone."(931) 

Nearly 400 dead zones ranging in size from one to over 70,000 sq km (27,000 sq mi) have been identified, from the Scandinavian fjords to the South China Sea. Animal farming is not the only cause, but it is one of the worst. In Asia, pig and chicken feed farms in coastal China, Vietnam, and Thailand regularly pollute the South China Sea. The northern part of the Caspian Sea is loaded with nitrogen that comes down the Volga. Many of the seas surrounding Europe are affected - the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Irish Sea, the Spanish coast, and the Adriatic, all have dead zones.

Not all algal blooms are toxic, but some kinds of algae do produce toxins, such as domoic acid, which is a powerful and fatal neurotoxin. Toxic algal blooms impact the lowest levels of the food chain first, in shellfish and feeder fish that larger marine animals feed on. Even if the toxins do not kill the larger marine animals, toxic algal blooms can wipe out lower levels of the marine food chain and decimate supplies of food that larger marine animals rely on.

Climate change may encourage longer and more frequent blooms of toxic algae along Canada's Pacific coast, impacting marine communities as far north as Alaska with much more consistency than in the past. This is because algae thrive in warmer waters, which both encourage growth in certain kinds of algae and discourage a mixing of ocean waters. And Alaskan waters are some of the most rapidly warming waters in the world, having risen by 3 degrees C in the past decade.(932)

Chapter 25: WASTE POLLUTION, page 241
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