Meat Free Monday: How Eating More Sustainably Could Have Prevented COVID-19

Author: Ashini Modi

Editor: Sara Oberle

What do Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Swine flu, Bird flu, and COVID-19 have in common? They all originated from animals...not animals in the forest, jungle or sea, but animals crammed together in a cage in the back of dark and musty “wet markets” ready to be sold for human consumption. These markets are typical of China, the suspected genesis of COVID-19. But this method of treating animals doesn’t end in China; it continues all the way to our home soil—America—where factory farming is ever increasing. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Director Elisa Allen says, “Many devastating disease outbreaks come about because humans house animals in filthy, severely crowded farms and markets – breeding grounds for pathogens – in order to satisfy their meat habit.” So what’s the solution? What could we have done to ameliorate one of the most disastrous viruses the world has seen and what can we do to prevent future viruses? The answer is simple: eat more sustainably-- have a more plant-based diet.

According to the Sentience Institute, more than 99% of farm animals in the United States are factory farmed. US soil is ridden with these farms. The feces and blood-covered floors of these slaughterhouses are breeding grounds for pathogens. When more animals are crowded together, diseases are able to spread rapidly, and as humans come in contact with these animals—either through handling or through consumption

—a disease that was once contained in one species has jumped to another: humans. Not only has factory farming led to a rise in diseases around the world, but it has also led to a rise in antibiotic resistance. Factory farming requires a widespread administration of antibiotics to livestock to prevent them from accumulating diseases. This does not always stop diseases from spreading; instead, it enables more dangerous diseases to grow. These diseases adapt and develop antibiotic resistance, which makes combating them difficult. Unfortunately, is a commonplace situation in the medical field due to the overuse of antibiotics encouraged by factory farming. Every year doctors find themselves seeing an alarming number of patients with infections for which there are no effective antibiotics. As we continue to eat unsustainably, the number of these diseases is only going to grow

If we could stymie the growth of factory farms in the US and worldwide by encouraging people to consume a more plant-based diet, then it is very much possible that we could prevent pandemics like Covid-19.

Recommended Resources for further information:

Food Inc. documentary

Local farm suppliers:

Mahaffey Farms, Cotton Street Farms, Sample Farm, Shady Grove, Shreveport Farmers Market

Sources

“Could a Plant-Rich Diet Help Defeat COVID-19? Forks Over Knives, 23 June 2020, www.forksoverknives.com/wellness/could-changing-diet-defeat-covid-19/.

Euronews. “The Best Way to Prevent Future Pandemics like Coronavirus? Stop Eating Meat and Go Vegan ǀ View.” Euronews, Euronews, 2 Apr. 2020, www.euronews.com/amp/2020/04/01/the-best-way-prevent-future-pandemics-like-coronavirus-stop-eating-meat-and-go-vegan-view.

Keeve, Anna. “3 Ways Pandemics Make Us Examine Our Relationship With Food and the Environment.” Center for Nutrition Studies, 5 Aug. 2020, nutritionstudies.org/3-ways-pandemics-make-us-examine-our-relationship-with-food-and-the-environment/.

Plant-Based Recipe of the Week: VEGAN PIZZA

Pizza dough:

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour + more to dust the dough and surfaces

•1 teaspoon instant yeast

•1/4 teaspoon salt

•1 teaspoon olive oil + more to coat the dough

•3/4 cup water

1. Combine the flour, instant yeast, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the olive oil and water. Mix and knead by hand until it's a soft, non-sticky dough or put all the ingredients in a kitchen machine and let the machine knead the dough for you. Finetune the dough

2. coat the ball of dough in a drizzle of olive oil. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise until it has doubled in size (2-3 hours depending on the room temperature).

3. Preheat the oven to 480F/250C.

4. Divide the dough into two equal parts. Carefully roll it out on a lightly floured parchment paper into two pizza crusts (don't use too much pressure). You can stretch it a bit with your hands until it has the right shape.

5. Transfer the crust on the parchment paper onto a baking tray. Top the pizza dough with tomato sauce, vegan cheese, and your favorite toppings!

6. Bake the pizza for 10-15 minutes until the crust is golden and slightly crispy. Enjoy!

Sauce:

•1 15-ounce can tomato sauce* (organic when possible)

•1/2 tsp each dried or fresh basil, oregano, garlic powder, granulated sugar

•~1/4 tsp sea salt

1. Prepare the sauce by adding tomato sauce to a mixing bowl and adding seasonings and salt to taste. Adjust seasonings as needed. Set aside.

Vegan mozzarella:

•1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked

•1 1/3 cups water

•1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh from about 1/2 lemon

•1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

•1/2 teaspoon salt

•4 tablespoons tapioca starch

Instructions:

1. Boil 2 cups of water. Pour the water over the cashews and let soak for 5 minutes and up to an hour.

2. Drain the cashews, and add them to a blender along with 1 1/3 cups fresh water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, and tapioca starch. Boil until sticky.

Recipe courtesy of Ashini Modi (simplevegansisters.weebly.com)