Could Beef Be the Route to a Bird Flu Pandemic?

Over the decades, avian flu has mutated often and moved globally through many other species. But experts now worry that bird flu could infect humans and grow into a pandemic. Photo: USAID Vietnam/Richard Nyberg via Flickr Creative Commons (U.S. government work).

TipSheet: Could Beef Be the Route to a Bird Flu Pandemic?

By Joseph A. Davis

As late-season cookouts serve up burgers and grilled chicken, it is a good time to ask about food safety and bird flu. The sad part is that you may not get very good answers.

First off, when you say the word beef to many environmental journalists, it triggers a host of issues that have little to do with bird flu: climate impacts, animal welfare, factory farming, pollution, etc. (See more in our Editor’s Note below.)

 

There is an important story in

the connection between bird flu

and the food we eat. It’s not

very local, but it should be.

 

But setting those concerns aside for now, there is an important story in the connection between bird flu and the food we eat. It’s not very local, but it should be. If you ask your local food market where their meat comes from, they may not give you the whole story. Ask anyway.

When we say bird flu, we mean highly pathogenic avian influenza HPAI A(H5N1). That’s what’s going around these days — almost entirely in animals.

 

Why it matters

The biggest worry is the possibility that bird flu could jump the species barrier and infect humans, then spread from human to human and grow into a pandemic.

Having recently experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, we know that pandemics can sicken and kill people. That hasn’t really happened. Yet. As far as we know.

But recent news stories suggest there is reason for concern and vigilance. Apoorva Mandavilli did a thorough piece in The New York Times Aug. 21. The headline: “How U.S. Farms Could Start a Bird Flu Pandemic” (may require subscription). Another unsettling story came from Reuters’ Leah Douglas and Tom Polansek: “US Undercounts Bird Flu in Cattle As Farmers Shun Testing.”

The money quote from Mandavilli’s story came from Dr. Krutika Kuppalli: “We’re so quick to blame China for what happened with SARS-CoV-2, but we’re not doing any better right now. …  That’s how pandemics happen.”

 

The backstory

First, you should know that bird flu is not just for birds.

While the spread of the most recent wave probably started with transmission by wild and migratory birds, it has moved globally through many other species. It has been around for decades. And it is constantly mutating. (More here.)

 

In the last few years, there have

already been two outbreaks

of bird flu in animals.

 

In the last few years, there have already been two outbreaks of bird flu in animals.

The latest includes skunks, domestic cats and deer mice — and even Adélie penguins in Antarctica. This virus is able to jump species.

 

Story ideas

• Talk to heads of the meat departments in your local supermarkets. How often do their labels indicate the origin of their meat?
• Find chicken or poultry operations in your area. Ask about their experience, if any, with bird flu. What are they doing to prevent it?
• Are there feedlots, cattle operations or packing houses near you? Talk to the operators about what if anything they do to look for bird flu. Are their “biosecurity” measures stopping disease or preventing scrutiny?
• Are there any old-fashioned artisanal “butcher” shops in your area? Talk to them about their food safety measures and ask if they have critiques of supermarket meat.
• Is your state one of those that has reported cases of bird flu in beef or dairy herds? What are your state’s agriculture and health agencies doing about it?
• Talk to your state, county and local health departments about any programs they have to monitor bird flu in humans.

 

Reporting resources

• USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service: This U.S. Department of Agriculture agency is responsible for inspecting beef that goes to market. Also see the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The nation’s main public health agency, which tries to prevent, track and slow pandemics. Science-based and informative.
• Center for Science in the Public Interest: A nonprofit group that advocates for food safety.
• International Association for Food Protection: A professional organization focused on food safety.
• National Cattlemen’s Beef Association: The trade association of the beef industry. It is pro-beef, and it lobbies.

[Editor’s Note: For more, see our two-part series on food and climate and the environmental impacts of animal agriculture. Plus, check out our special Topic on the Beat pages on agriculture and the food system, which include a wide variety of stories from SEJournal, plus the latest food and ag headlines from EJToday.]

Joseph A. Davis is a freelance writer/editor in Washington, D.C. who has been writing about the environment since 1976. He writes SEJournal Online's TipSheet, Reporter's Toolbox and Issue Backgrounder, and curates SEJ's weekday news headlines service EJToday and @EJTodayNews. Davis also directs SEJ's Freedom of Information Project and writes the WatchDog opinion column.

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* From the weekly news magazine SEJournal Online, Vol. 9, No. 34. Content from each new issue of SEJournal Online is available to the public via the SEJournal Online main page. Subscribe to the e-newsletter here. And see past issues of the SEJournal archived here.