Germs of Animal Origins: "The Lethal Gift of Livestock"

The rise of germs are linked to the rise of food production, particularly in the domestication of once wild animals. One of the major side effects of livestock are germs, that is human diseases of animal origins. Animals are so prevalent in human society in the form of livestock and companionship animals it is hard to imagine our lives without them. When one thinks about their beloved Dog, an ancestor the domesticated wolf, we rarely think about their nasty germs that they are passing along to us. “Some of us adults, and even more our children, pick up infectious diseases from our pets” (Diamond). Many of these germs, of animal origins, have become major killers of humanity throughout our recent history. These animals we have chosen to live with side-by-side have led to the spread of disease, a major consequence hand-in-hand with the domestication of animals. These microbes that once infected animals “transferred themselves from their original animal hosts” (Diamond) to humans. A characteristic of epidemic microbes is that they once lived in other animals and evolved to infect the human species. This evolution happened while humans were living in close proximity to animals giving the microbes a chance to adjust themselves to infect us. When living in dense populations humans are living among their own waste compared to hunter gathers who leave their waste behind as they move across the land. These conditions found in dense populations of people provided a breeding ground for these microbes. Animals that carried these microbes were mainly social animals living naturally in large populations “hence when we domesticated social animals, such as cows and pigs, they were already afflicted by epidemic diseases just waiting to be transferred to us” (Diamond). These diseases, such as the measles virus, which evolved from cattle, changed its properties to adapt to us. “Given our proximity to the animals we love, we must be getting constantly bombarded by their microbes” (Diamond). Animal microbes evolved into specialized human pathogens to the point where it can become transmitted directly between people causing epidemics. One of the most notorious human epidemic of animal origins is AIDS, a major killer of modern humanity, which derived from monkeys. These infectious diseases can be traced back to the diseases of our animal friends. Pathogens tried to make the jump from animals to us once they discovered humans do to our close proximity to animals and were ultimately successful. Despite many of the positive attributes the domestication of wild animals have brought to humanity there were also devastating consequences. This is the lethal gift of livestock.

Quality of Life

Consolidated Livestock: 

Humans have a tendency to act in their favor even if it results in inhumane conditions for other species. This is especially true when there are strongly held values that are “good” in the most visible circumstances. Economies of scale are valued so more is better, getting ones money worth, with cheep produce is accepted with little question. Consumers often only see what they buy, products, and are therefore extremely disconnected from the product life cycle. This is the case for consolidated livestock. Consolidating livestock allows people to live the American dream of more is better. In terms of consolidated livestock, people can have more animal produce because it costs less through mass-production keeping prices down. The cheapest way to raise animals is all in the same place. The concern of cheep food is caused by “the single-minded existing pursuit of biological efficiency” even though it is at the expense of quality of life says J. Hodges in “Livestock, Ethics, and Quality of Life” published in the Journal of Animal Science. “Animal science and business management have turned livestock into disposable biological resources that are processed swiftly on a huge scale to supply animal products to distant markets” (Hodges). In addition this system of intensive animal production is unsustainable as well as unethical. It produces a lot of waste and consolidation causes us to use a lot of energy to transport food. Author Bill McKibbens in Deep Economy challenges the basic presumptions of modern economists, who promote economies of scale and consolidation of ownership. “One farm in Utah, with 1.5 million porkers, has a sewage problem larger then the city of Los Angeles” (McKibben). McKibben proposes moving from large-scale systems of agriculture to community-supported agriculture (CSA) in order to conserve our planets natural resources and environment. In addition, focusing on local economies will improve the quality of animal's lives by not forcing them to live under inhumane & miserable conditions that often occur with consolidation (industrial farming). An alternative to mass-produced food are local green markets where there is less waste produced, less energy used to transport food, and better quality of life for livestock. Some of the practices of industrial farming involve cruel confinement, force-fed animals, and cruel slaughter practices.

  Foie Gras Practices

they are forced to live in filth 

they are confined to small body cages where they cannot move for their entire lives

they receive no medical care and are often in excruciating pain

Puppy Mills: 
Another ethical implication that arose out of the domestication of animals are puppy mill operations. Owning a dog is an American commonplace and are now being produced like products rather then living things. A form of animal cruelty known as puppy mills, is when dogs are consolidated and bred to mass produce small designer breeds to be sold in the commercial pet trade industry (primarily pet stores). The ASPCA defines a puppy mill as “a large-scale commercial dog breeding operation where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dogs. Unlike responsible breeders, who place the utmost importance on careful husbandry for the integrity of their litters, breeding at puppy mills is performed without consideration of genetic quality. This results in generations of dogs with unchecked hereditary defects.” These mills, usually found in the Midwest, breed dogs in absolutely despicable and inhumane conditions fueled by our desire to have cheep designer dogs. The animals are forced to live in their own filth among hundreds of other dogs continually being inbred and forced to have litters of unhealthy puppies as often as possible. The health and happiness of these animals are ignored for their main purpose is to produce puppies for profit even if it is at their demise. Spending time with them would take away from work and taking them for proper vet checkups would cost money. The more dogs that are produced the more money the puppy mill farmer makes and once females are no longer able to produce offspring they are destroyed inhumanely to cut expenses. Living without the luxury of cheep designer dogs could have saved millions of lives. These dog-breeding operations are consolidated and mass-produce puppies to ensure low prices. This concept is similar to consolidated livestock and agriculture. Rather than going to an expensive breeder, people are able to purchase a purebred dog for a couple hundred dollars. Puppy-mill offspring are prone to having congenital diseases and suffer from them throughout the rest of their lives due to inbreeding. “With millions of unwanted dogs and cats (including purebreds) dying every year in animal shelters, there is simply no reason for animals to be bred and sold in the pet-shop trade” (PETA). Rather than breeding dogs in these inhumane conditions, we can open our homes to animals that are constantly being put down in shelters because they are unwanted. These unnecessary and cruel breeding operations are facilitated by people buying dogs from pet stores rather then adopting. Adoption is the best and most humane option and also reduces populations. If you are interesting in a dog please visit your local animal shelter or go to Petfinder.com. 

dogs are forced to live on uncomfortable wire surfaces cutting up their feet

dogs are confined to small crates for their entire lives

they receive no medical care and are not bathed 

they are left outdoors to face the elements

Conclusion: 

Although the domestication and eventually the consolidation of animals has reaped many benefits for humans, such as cheap food and animals, there have been many ethical problems and implications as well. For humans, domestication caused the rise of many epidemic diseases and for animals their quality of life was diminished. We may have the power to but we do not have the right to take away millions of lives for such unnecessary purposes; having the option to buy a cheep purebred dog or the option to eat Foie Gras is not worth the horrifying consequences these poor souls are forced to face. The most detrimental effect of contemporary consumption are the millions of animals that suffer at the expense of our choices. Animals have become prisoners of our greed. Is our anxiety over making sure we have what we want (not what we need) worth the pain, suffering, and even death of millions of animals?