Greta Thunberg Highlights Link Between Factory Farming, Climate Change And Pandemics In Short Film

24 May 2021

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg posted a short film on Twitter on Saturday, the International Day Of Biological Diversity. Made in collaboration with Mercy For Animals, it brought to light the link between factory farming, climate change and public health risks due to zoonotic diseases.

Thunberg reminds the viewers of past zoonotic diseases such as SARS, Ebola, Zika, HIV-AIDS which were transmitted to humans from animals. She also states that 75% of new diseases originate from animals.

“Because of the way we farm and treat nature, cutting down forests and destroying habitats, we are creating the perfect conditions for diseases to spill over from one animal to another - and to us,” Thunberg said.

She emphasized the damage caused by the current food production system and farming methods, and calls for a change in eating habits.

"If we keep making food the way we do we will also destroy the habitats of most wild plants and animals driving countless species to extinction.”

Thunberg also compares the environmental impact of animal agriculture and the fossil fuel industry, highlighting that the former is responsible for a quarter of the total carbon emissions.

The 18-year-old activist then stated that shifting to a plant-based diet can reduce eight billion tonnes of carbon annually. She also mentions the amount of land and resources that can be saved by shifting to a plant-based diet.

“We can change the way we farm. We can change what we eat. We can change how we treat nature.”

Finally, she calls for the compassionate treatment of animals, talking about the cruelty that is inflicted on them in factory farms. She reiterates the importance of change at the individual level:

“Those with the most power have the most responsibility.”

Thunberg has been a vegan since she was in her early teens, but this is the first time she has solely focused on the impact of factory farming in detail. She has been an important figure in the fight against climate change since her moving speech at the U.N. Climate Action Summit in 2019. Her influence with young activists can lead to this video having a wide-scale impact.

You can watch Greta Thunberg’s film here.

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