The following statement was issued today by the Caribbean Vegetarian and Vegan Community CVVC:
The influenza pandemic of 1918–19 killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide. This pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of poultry origin.
The glaring link between COVID-19, Swine and Bird Flu, SARS, Ebola, MERS, and HIV is a meat-based diet.
A meat-based diet has also been linked to environmental destruction including global warming, obesity, and non-communicable diseases. Yet many people persist in meat being central to their diet.
The CVVC Charity aims to raise awareness as to the health and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet.
It has as its mission statement: “The promotion of a plant-based diet to improve human health; protect the environment; facilitate social justice; and reduce animal cruelty”.
It has Cheryl Haynes [Yoga Teacher] as its President; Zalika Hanoman-Van-Sluytman [Environmental Consultant] as its Treasurer; and Lalu Hanuman [Attorney-at-law] as its Secretary.
The media has generally concentrated on the effects rather than the causes of COVID-19, in particular the devastating implications it is having on global public health and economies. The initial epicentre of this virus was in the Chinese city of Wuhan, an important hub in the lucrative trade in wildlife. The outbreak is believed to have originated in a market in which bush meats are widely available, including peacocks, porcupines, bats, and snakes. The spill-over event involved the crossover of the virus from animals to humans, similar to the situation with previous contagions like Ebola and SARS viruses.
Lalu Hanuman, commented “Leaving aside animal cruelty concerns, and the threats to bio-diversity, the eating of bush meat ought to be banned outright as being a severe danger to human health. It is not just the participants of this abhorrent practice who are at risk, we all are being exposed to danger as a result of their myopic actions. We need to learn the lessons from the COVID-19 and Ebola viruses. Guyana and Suriname both have a huge bush meat trade. CARICOM should as a matter of urgency ensure that the bush meat trade is banned within CARICOM, before we have our own regional viral animal to human transmission, which might be even more virulent and devastating than COVID-19. Further CARICOM should urgently raise the issue of a global bush meat trade ban, in international fora”.
