• BeamBrain [he/him]
    ·
    7 months ago

    Sometimes I wonder how many deadly epidemics would have been prevented if society had just gone vegan.

    • ComradeRat [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      7 months ago

      Basically all of them afaik. Most of the big epidemics spread to humans from 1. domesticated animals 2. kept in very close/tight quarters

      • LeninsBeard [he/him]
        ·
        7 months ago

        I would give the caveat that it's almost all diseases after the 19th century or so given that most of the epidemics before that were caused by people, like, drinking water with literal human shit in it.

        • ComradeRat [he/him, they/them]
          ·
          7 months ago

          To the best of my knowledge that isnt really accurate. For one, smallpox, the biggest recurring epidemic disease, is from rats. Bubonic plague is from fleas on rats drawn to cowfeed and other grains stored in large quantities. Chickenpox, cowpox etc also from livestock.

          For another, the water in pre-1800s Europe was much more drinkable than is commonly assumed. You might get worms, but generally you dont see the massive outbreaks of dysentry until urban populations explode from the 1600s on. Generally pre1800s epidemics are a complex mixture of lack of nutrition and a disease transmitted from some animal, rather than just "people drank their own shit".

    • HexBroke
      ·
      edit-2
      5 months ago

      deleted by creator

      • dat_math [they/them]
        ·
        7 months ago

        woah really? I thought it would be cleaning litter boxes or something else involving cat feces

        • coeliacmccarthy [he/him]
          hexagon
          ·
          edit-2
          7 months ago

          something like 80% of france has toxo just from steak tartare, I think they're equally liable to infect