577
matrix; MERS coronavirus—camels, bats; Rickettsia—canids and rodents; and
Zika virus—numerous other primates
19
(Fig. 60.5).
In every instance, it would be too simple and incomplete a mental sequence of
events to suggest that these are Gaia’s (the earth’s) antibodies to human overpopulation. For one, the plague (“Black Death”)—humanity’s worst pandemic thus
far, peaking throughout Europe and Eurasia between 1347 and 1351—wiped out
between 30% and 60% of the afflicted regions’ populations, or as many as 200 million people.
20
But by the time William Shakespeare was born (1564) the human
population had made a total comeback, plus some. The underlying story fueling
every zoonotic eruption has been the same: humans encroaching on wild habitat,
capturing, poaching, consuming, or transporting other species; commingling in usually unsuspecting ways with a wild animal’s urine or feces, or the fleas and diseases
it may be carrying-unnatural intrusiveness, in other words.
With the human species on a single-minded path toward 9.5, 10, 11, or even 12
billion individuals, depending upon which predictive model one cares to believe in,
there is little if any persuasive empirical evidence, thus far, to suggest demographic
amelioration. Indeed, our continuing population explosion (83+ million humans
added to the planet each year), and that magnitude of human biomass in proportion
to the fast-waning portion of all other wildlife on the planet, is a ratio painfully out
of balance, with no promise for improvement.
In our “Animal Rights In China” conversation for Forbes with Dr. Li, he told us,
“Never in its 5,000-year history did China ever raise and keep hundreds of millions
of wildlife species in captivity as it is today.” But, he added, “Today, Chinese consumers, according to a recent report eat twice as much meat as those in the United
States. This is not surprising. China surpassed the U.S. as the world’s biggest meat
19 World Health Organization, “Zoonoses,” https://www.who.int/zoonoses/en/. Accessed April 1,
2020. For one prime example, see the PBS feature film documentary, “Mad Cowboy,” the story of
Montana rancher turned vegan, Howard Lyman, http://www.dancingstarfoundation.org/mad_
cowboy.php; According to an NIH study, “Prioritizing Zoonoses for Global Health Capacity
Building – Themes from One Health Zoonotic Disease Workshops in 7 Countries, 2014–2016,”
by Stephanie J. Salyer, Rachel Silver and Casey Barton Behravesh, “An estimated 60% of known
infectious diseases and up to 75% of new or emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin.”
Emerg Infect Dis. 2017 Dec; 23(Suppl 1); S55-S64. Doi: 10.3201/eid2313.170418, PMCID:
PMC5711306, PMID: 29155664, Cent3ers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
That data comes from Woolhouse ME, Gowtage-Sequeria S. Host range and emerging and
reemerging pathogens. Emerg Infect Dis. 2005; 11:1842–7, 10.3201/eid1112.0500997; and Jones
KE, Patel NG, Levy MA, Storeygard A, Balk D, Gittleman JL, et al. Global trends in emerging
infectious diseases. Nature. 2008; 451;990–3.10.1038/nature06536. We don’t know if cockroach
tea, consumed by ancient Greeks and Egyptians, but also 19
th century diners in Louisiana to fight
certain ailments, acquired immunity to viral diseases like poliomyelitis, or to typhoid fever and
diarrhea, or, conversely, were more prone to such ailments. See “Cockroaches – World Health
Organization,” https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=diseases+spread+by+co
ckroaches; See also, “How cockroaches could save lives,” by Mary Colwell, BBC Magazine,
November 3, 2015, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34517443, Accessed July 18, 2020.
20 Historical Estimates of World Population,” United States Census, https://www.census.gov/data/
tables/time-series/demo/international-programs/historical-est-worldpop.html.
60.3 Ethics and Epidemiology
matrix; MERS coronavirus—camels, bats; Rickettsia—canids and rodents; and
Zika virus—numerous other primates
19
(Fig. 60.5).
In every instance, it would be too simple and incomplete a mental sequence of
events to suggest that these are Gaia’s (the earth’s) antibodies to human overpopulation. For one, the plague (“Black Death”)—humanity’s worst pandemic thus
far, peaking throughout Europe and Eurasia between 1347 and 1351—wiped out
between 30% and 60% of the afflicted regions’ populations, or as many as 200 million people.
20
But by the time William Shakespeare was born (1564) the human
population had made a total comeback, plus some. The underlying story fueling
every zoonotic eruption has been the same: humans encroaching on wild habitat,
capturing, poaching, consuming, or transporting other species; commingling in usually unsuspecting ways with a wild animal’s urine or feces, or the fleas and diseases
it may be carrying-unnatural intrusiveness, in other words.
With the human species on a single-minded path toward 9.5, 10, 11, or even 12
billion individuals, depending upon which predictive model one cares to believe in,
there is little if any persuasive empirical evidence, thus far, to suggest demographic
amelioration. Indeed, our continuing population explosion (83+ million humans
added to the planet each year), and that magnitude of human biomass in proportion
to the fast-waning portion of all other wildlife on the planet, is a ratio painfully out
of balance, with no promise for improvement.
In our “Animal Rights In China” conversation for Forbes with Dr. Li, he told us,
“Never in its 5,000-year history did China ever raise and keep hundreds of millions
of wildlife species in captivity as it is today.” But, he added, “Today, Chinese consumers, according to a recent report eat twice as much meat as those in the United
States. This is not surprising. China surpassed the U.S. as the world’s biggest meat
19 World Health Organization, “Zoonoses,” https://www.who.int/zoonoses/en/. Accessed April 1,
2020. For one prime example, see the PBS feature film documentary, “Mad Cowboy,” the story of
Montana rancher turned vegan, Howard Lyman, http://www.dancingstarfoundation.org/mad_
cowboy.php; According to an NIH study, “Prioritizing Zoonoses for Global Health Capacity
Building – Themes from One Health Zoonotic Disease Workshops in 7 Countries, 2014–2016,”
by Stephanie J. Salyer, Rachel Silver and Casey Barton Behravesh, “An estimated 60% of known
infectious diseases and up to 75% of new or emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin.”
Emerg Infect Dis. 2017 Dec; 23(Suppl 1); S55-S64. Doi: 10.3201/eid2313.170418, PMCID:
PMC5711306, PMID: 29155664, Cent3ers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
That data comes from Woolhouse ME, Gowtage-Sequeria S. Host range and emerging and
reemerging pathogens. Emerg Infect Dis. 2005; 11:1842–7, 10.3201/eid1112.0500997; and Jones
KE, Patel NG, Levy MA, Storeygard A, Balk D, Gittleman JL, et al. Global trends in emerging
infectious diseases. Nature. 2008; 451;990–3.10.1038/nature06536. We don’t know if cockroach
tea, consumed by ancient Greeks and Egyptians, but also 19
th century diners in Louisiana to fight
certain ailments, acquired immunity to viral diseases like poliomyelitis, or to typhoid fever and
diarrhea, or, conversely, were more prone to such ailments. See “Cockroaches – World Health
Organization,” https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=diseases+spread+by+co
ckroaches; See also, “How cockroaches could save lives,” by Mary Colwell, BBC Magazine,
November 3, 2015, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34517443, Accessed July 18, 2020.
20 Historical Estimates of World Population,” United States Census, https://www.census.gov/data/
tables/time-series/demo/international-programs/historical-est-worldpop.html.
60.3 Ethics and Epidemiology