What do you think - does consuming a vegan diet help prevent you from the coronavirus attack? It is believed that all the major disease outbreaks have happened due to tampering with animals.

Recently, over 300 doctors of the UK joined a campaign that requests people to stop consuming meat for 31 days to save the planet and to end factory farming. The coronavirus has claimed over 316,000 lives. Also, it is believed that this virus has come from the Chinese wet market in Wuhan, where dead animals are sold in an unhygienic way.

Last week, the members of the Plant-Based Health Professionals UK (a non-profit organization) joined the campaign to stop eating meat, calling factory farming a ‘ticking time bomb.’ Other diseases like Avian flu and Swine flu are common examples of zoonotic infections that are caused by exploiting the animal kingdom.

The founder of the NGO, Dr. Shireen Kassam, said,

“Some politicians and commentators blame China. They do not mention that all of the recent major disease outbreaks have been caused by tampering with animals, or that our chicken salad and pepperoni pizza could be the next big health risk."

She also highlighted that the uncontrolled use of antibiotics on animals could also lead to the next widespread pandemic. A report suggests that nearly 10 million would die in the coming years due to antibiotic resistance. After the reports published that coronavirus is associated with wildlife animals, several cities like Shenzhen & Zhuhai have banned the consumption of wild animals.

Don’t you think that intensive farming of animals and the uncontrolled use of antibiotics have negatively contributed a lot to the infections affecting humans?

The ‘No Meat May’ Campaign is Now a Global Movement

Initiated in 2013 by Gyan James Whitworth and Ryan Alexander, the campaign is turned into a global movement and challenges people to cut meat from their diets for the next 31 days. Over 30,000 participants have pledged not to consume meat in May. Also, 70% of the population has stopped consuming meat to reduce the risk of other diseases. Dr. Newman said,

“I don’t know when this pandemic will end, or how many lives will be lost. But one thing I do know. I can guarantee that lentils will not spark a viral pandemic anytime soon.”

He added-

“Many of us are sitting at home wondering what we can do to help this situation. Taking some time to reflect on what we eat, limiting the meat we put in our supermarket trolley, and shifting to a more plant-based diet will help us shift towards a safer future.”

Novel Coronavirus is Affecting Vegetarians and Non-Vegetarians

Earlier, it was believed that those who consume vegan food are less prone to coronavirus attack. But this is not true, as it is affecting both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. The virus enters through eyes and then to the nose. A prominent health expert and President of the Public Health Foundation of India, Professor K Srinath Reddy, said,

“What happens is that this virus mainly enters through the face which means the nose, mouth or eyes. We don't usually talk about eyes. When the droplets drop on the face, it can also enter (the body) through the eye because eyes are also connected to the nose.”

Experts are also suggesting people wear spectacles to cover the entire face so that the entire face gets covered. Also, the Novel Coronavirus outbreak is encouraging people to turn vegan.

Final Words

There is no proof that vegetarians would not be affected by this virus. Several vegetarians have been affected, as coronavirus enters the body through infection and touching.

It is also noted that people are consuming fruits and vegetables in their diets to improve their immunity and fight the infection. It doesn’t matter who you are, make sure that you eat lots of healthy food to give a tough fight to the virus.