Podunk @ Podunk @lemmy.world

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2 yr. ago

Wash your hands. Dont drink raw milk.

All employees are provided free diposible ppe. Gloves, face masks, face shields. No one really uses them, and from what we know of the virus, the risk even for those of us who are handling animals every day, is very very low. Im not worried about catching bird flu, im worried about my cows catching it. The negative health impacts in humans is small and low. It hasnt crossed over strongly enough to cause us damage.

The farm workers that have been diagnosed with bird flu? It was conjunctivitis, aka pinkeye. Hardly something most people worry about.

But on the other hand, the cows do get sick. Fatality is nonexistant to low, except for the west coast for some reason, but the cows do run fevers and do lose milk production. Its a virus, so the best care we can support our cattle with are supportive. Push water and electrolytes, give medicine to lower fever. And wait. Same as if your kid gets the flu.

And last of all. Do. Not. Drink. Raw. Milk.

If your cat drinks h5n1 infected milk, it will develope brain swelling and die. Currently nothing happens to humans, that we know of. But If all we have to do to prevent that is pasteurization, why wouldnt we? And if a wild mutation is all it takes to get a spillover event into humans, why would we take that risk?

There is currently no study that i have seen that has even hinted at any flu virus being transmitted through meat consumption.

And biologically speaking, its not really a vector that any influenza virus would be a real threat in. The common vectors of air and saliva from breathing or coughing are where flu viruses excel.

That being said, the usda has found that cooking temps as low as 120 degrees farenheight significally inactivate the virus.

Where you should be worried is raw milk. Pasteurization was developed for a reason. The science is over a hundred years old. Before bird flu, i would occasionally run over to the dairy and fill up a jar of milk rather than go to the store. Just something for the morning cheerios when i was low on milk from the store. I will not do that now. Drinking raw milk now is like playing russian roulette with patient zero in a brand new pandemic. Do not do it. Pasteurized milk only.

Yeah you are right. Sleep deprivation is the only thing i can blame.

Your comment was noted the first time you responded. Please dont spam.

Thank you for your input. Just like last time, it be downvoted and ignored.

Have a nice day.

Eh i think it was lack of sleep and a false alarm of the ole spidey sense going off.

But yeah, for a minute there something didnt seem right. now that there are more comments, it all seems good again.

As a dairy farmer myself, im paying extreem attention to all of this. Ive been paying attention to it since we found out about it a year ago. Our response has been absolute garbage and ill be one of the first to call out our absolutely shitty response. Im on the front lines right now. We have not dealt with this problem with the seriousness and attention it deserves.

That being said, this comment chain feels wierd. Like, the discourse im seeing is setting off real red flags right now for me. Im not so sure that lemmy is as secure as i expected it to be.

Im still here and will stay here, but something doesnt feel right about our conversation in this thread right now.

Its funny. No one criticized me for owning cows. At all. The woodwork was empty. I get that there are militant assholes here, but every time i bring up my profession, things have been cordial.

We can all disagree on a lot of things, but the average vegan is not my enemy. Ive even given some tours of my facilities. Its just someone that thinks different thsn i do. Thats perfectly fine.

Good discourse and an open mind is all it takes. I eat vegan meals frequently. I also eat steaks and eggs and fish. I will never be the one to shut down sincere discourse. We all have to live in this world together. May as well learn from other perspectives.

You can say it as a joke, but Ive got dairy cows...

Ive found that any george strait style waltz beat throws off the graboids completely.

Not true. As unhappy as i am to say it, the united states in a trade war only with china could actually have a net benefit. To add to that, a multilateral trade war against china could actually change economic advantages on a global scale that have a real positive impact.

However, a trade war from the usa against canada, mexico, china, taiwan, and whoever else our supreme leader trump decides, whilst taking his mid morning dump. Yeah, thats not going to help anyone.

Lets be clear. I dont hate china or their people. But the influence they have on an economic scale is impressive. And an authoritarian economy is not who any western country wants in control of global trade. Their advantage is gaming the system. When you can force your people to produce what you want, when you want, and prop up your economy artifically to make up the difference, you create a power dynamic that capitalistic powers cant legitimately deal with without extra measures. And those measures that prop up that economy are paid for in poverty and blood.

Tarriffs are a sword when a scalpel would be better warranted. But it can be effective if used properly.

On the long term. A trade war is a legitimate means to an end. If used properly. But in this case. Yeah. Its going to hurt everyone for no real gain but the pockets of oligarchs.

This time you are right. More suffering, more expenses. Thats how it goes now. No net benefit. So once again, make us pay. So that this doesnt happen again until our grandchildren have forgotten this lesson and need a reminder.

You guys in canada should 100% support retaliatory tariffs. Fire them at us as hard as you can. Make us a pariah.

We fucked around. We should find out. We couldnt learn from round one of trump. We couldnt learn from watching the train wreck that was brexit. If you dont quid pro quo. If you capitulate. We will not learn our lesson.

Teach us and do not make our mistakes.

As a dairy farmer, i understand i may be somewhat biased on the evaluation of living conditions for my animals. I try very hard to make sure my animals are well cared for and have the space they need. And there is still room for improvement. Compared to a few decades ago, we are doing pretty good in my opinion.

But in the case of poultry, i do have opinions that do align a little bit more with you. While poultry overcrowding and handling practices did play a role in exacerbating the bird flu problem, they were not the sole main driving factor that let this disease go rampant. It helped, but it isnt the whole story.

To see why, all we have to do is look at export markets and their rules.

There is a vaccine for bird flu for poultry. We've had it for years. Poultry farmers do not use it. Because using it limits the countries you can export your product to.

https://www.newsweek.com/why-us-not-vaccinating-poultry-against-bird-flu-2010511

Long story short, it is more economically feasible for producers to nuke entire flocks and start from scratch, (chickens reproduce very quickly), than it is to spend money on vaccination and limit your export market.

This creates constant hot zones that spread to wild populations and migratory birds. This is why seals are dropping dead like flies on the Argentinean coast. I believe the mortality rate is over 90 percent. There are no large scale poultry farms in the falkland islands. Bird flu is so ingrained in migratory bird populations at this point that its crossing over and killing random species that are not confined or used for humans.

Cats that eat infected birds develope encephalopathy and have a massive mortality rate. Its how we first tied bird flu to cattle in the first place. Dairy farm cats are what turned us on to the bird vector. There is also no current vaccine for cattle, or many other animals. Yet.

There will continue to be huge issues with bird flu until we develope good policies to vaccinate all animals in cafo sites and let common sense and science take the lead instead of bad policy and greed. And it may be too late to be honest.

After being on the front lines from day one of the bird flu epidemic in cattle, when we didnt even know what was happening, and seeing how badly the government and officials have handled it, it is an absolute miracle that covid was only as bad as it was.

Oh there is a flu sweeping through cattle herds. Its bird flu. Its killing some cattle, but the vast majority recover. But, one result of the bird flu, california's milk production is down 9 percent. That is an absolutely staggering number.

Lets be clear. Its still bird flu. Not bovine flu. Regardless of whether cattle are getting it.

If a person gets swine flu it doesnt suddenly become human flu.

Things have names and this distinction matters.

Usenet really is miles better. It blew my mind how quick and hassle free downloading was.

I had no idea im not a farmer anymore.

Now what should i do with all these cows and corn?

"Well, how is his wife holding up?"

Because he needed the libertarian vote this time in order to win. Its a very cheap promise that guarantees votes and doesnt alienate anyone that doesnt care. Honestly, the fact that he followed through suprises me.

"But why didnt he need the libertarian vote in 16?"

Because he never intended to win the first time. The first run was a fluke. He wanted to play victim and run the media circuit for profit.

Absolutely

He had a job. He did the job. His run down of how things go does not exist in a vacvuum. Where do his responsibilities start and where do they stop?

He did his job right. The follow-up is on someone else. And they failed. On epic levels. But dont blame him. He already paid the piper. The man gets credit for what he did. His report being ignored is no fault of his own.