6mo ago

On the frontline against bird flu, egg farmers fear they're losing the battle

www.npr.org /sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/02/nx-s1-5282389/avian-bird-flu-eggs-prices-cull-usda-michigan-poultry-influenza-farmer-vaccination-h5n1

31 comments

If the birds weren't kept in such horrifically constricted locations, many millions wouldn't need to die.
- Ok yeah but have you considered how better treatment would affect their profit margins?
- If they gave the birds good living conditions eggs would be very expensive.
  /s
Here's an idea - maybe, just maybe - factory farming at scale to feed the SAD is something that won't end well for humans either? I mean, beyond the health problems it already causes...
- I only know SAD as meaning seasonal affective disorder. What do you mean it as?
  
  SAD=Standard American Diet.
  In other words, eating wayyyy too much meat (and eggs/dairy) and very low on fruits and vegetables:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_pattern_diet
People, Trump promised he was going to do something about this, but you all voted for President Musk anyway.
Whelp, guess it was nice having chickens while we did.
Somebody better figure out a way to make crickets seem appetizing, ASAP. Otherwise, things might start to get pretty dire around here.
- Don't need crickets, use plants! There's already some good communities here on lemmy
  !homecooks@vegantheoryclub.org
  !veganrecipes@lemmy.ml
- LOL, well, as someone that has not eaten chicken in ages and ages, not eating chicken does not mean resorting to eating crickets. Plenty of other options, some with a very, very long shelf life if you keep it away from pests and so on....
Where’s the RNA vaccine for livestock?
- I wonder if it would work to administer at that kind of scale? Or maybe they only have so much and are keeping it in reserve for humans for now?
  
  Is there a vaccine for humans against this kind of flu? And will Trump and RFK Jr. ban it and sell Trump Bleach pills instead?
But vaccination could put poultry meat exporters (whose birds are genetically less susceptible to H5N1 than laying hens) at risk of losing billions of dollars in international trade deals.
This sounds like maybe a good time to start looking for a more-resistant crossbreed between meat and egg chickens. I mean, it probably doesn't take long to make up for some loss in egglaying production from a hybrid breed if we're losing massive numbers of chickens on a regular basis.

31 comments