Public Health

Feature

Two States Declared Themselves Bird-Flu Free. But What Does That Really Mean?

Why the threat is far from over, regardless of state lines.

Health•6 min read

Solutions

How a Group of Immigrant Farmworkers Is Preparing for Avian Flu to Hit New York Dairy Farms

Amid heightened fears of immigration raids, Alianza Agricola has spent months educating hundreds of their coworkers on how to prepare for an avian flu outbreak.

Health•8 min read

Reported

Will Trump’s Diminished Data Sharing at CDC Hamper Bird Flu Preparedness?

In the U.S., bird flu is spreading rapidly on poultry and dairy farms—and data censorship could pose risks to combating it, experts say.

Health•7 min read

Fact Check

RFK’s Stance on Raw Milk, UPFs, Oils & Organic Food, Fact-Checked

His takes on food and medicine are anything but scientifically reliable.

Health•8 min read

Reported

Tracking Bird Flu Is Largely Left to States. Under Trump, the Federal Government Might Step Even Further Back.

With human infections of avian flu present in the U.S., workers remain most vulnerable to the virus.

Health•6 min read

Analysis

Every Human Case of Avian Flu Reported So Far

Human cases remain rare but the risk of an outbreak could change at any time.

Health•2 min read

Analysis

Avian Flu: Sentient’s Latest Stories

Avian flu poses an increasing risk to humans. Here's what we know, and a link to all of our coverage.

Health•2 min read

Investigation

Few States Are Tracking Dairy Farm Worker Health Protections Amid Bird Flu Outbreak

States with confirmed dairy cattle bird flu cases have drastically different personal protective equipment responses.

Health•11 min read

Reported

Avian Flu Is Spreading, and the Raw Milk Trend Could Make It Worse

CDC recommends consumers avoid dairy and poultry farms, and drinking raw milk.

Health•4 min read

Explainer

Why the McDonald’s E. Coli Outbreak Still Comes Back to Meat

Onions are at the center of a nationwide outbreak — but the source comes back to beef.

Health•8 min read

Reported

Got Bird Flu? Milk Production May Lead to More Human Infections, Study Finds

How bird flu puts vulnerable workers at even greater risk.

Health•4 min read

Explainer

Humans Can Get Bird Flu, and Here’s What You Need to Know

A brief explainer of the risks of avian flu for humans.

Health•8 min read

Reported

Bird Flu Has Spread to Dairy Cows in Five States

Cows in Texas, Kansas and New Mexico have tested positive for bird flu.

Health•4 min read

Reported

When Tyson ‘Depopulates’ Chickens, Taxpayers Are Left Footing the Bill

Despite more humane alternatives, the poultry industry continues to use ventilation shutdown to cull millions of birds in the cruelest ways.

Health•4 min read

Explainer

Antibiotics in Chicken and Other Animals Is a Big Public Health Risk

Consumers should be wary of “antibiotic-free” claims on meat.

Health•8 min read

Reported

Factory Farms’ Antibiotic Use Is Mounting, Despite Promises to Cut Back

The meat industry’s routine use of antimicrobials is making humans more vulnerable to disease and death.

Health•6 min read

Explainer

The Clean Water Act Is Important — but a New Supreme Court Decision Limits It

A new ruling threatens the power of one of the most important environmental laws in the United States.

Health•9 min read

Reported

What Do We Have to Fear From Swine Flu?

Most human cases of swine flu are found at agricultural fairs but there are other disease hotspots to consider, like factory farms.

Health•5 min read

Reported

Chickens Burned and Buried as Avian Flu Hits the Yucatán

Workers and residents say companies have downplayed avian flu, burning and burying culled birds just outside of town.

Health•5 min read

Explainer

How Do Factory Farms Use Antibiotics?

Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health threat responsible for 1.2 million deaths worldwide. A leading driver of this crisis? Antibiotic use on factory farms.

Health•8 min read

Analysis

Freshwater Fish Are a ‘Significant Source’ of Forever Chemicals

New research finds significantly higher levels of PFAS in locally caught freshwater fish than store-bought fish.

Health•3 min read

Reported

Avian Flu Is Making it Tougher to Keep Backyard Chickens

Domestic chicken-keeping surged in popularity during lockdown. Then avian flu happened.

Health•5 min read

Analysis

Pandemic Risk on the Rise Thanks to How We Eat

Pandemic risk is on the rise, but researchers know the cause and how to reduce the risk.

Health•4 min read

Reported

These Flu Shots Are Better for Animals and Just as Effective, Researchers Say

More than 80 percent of flu vaccines rely on chickens confined in secret FDA facilities. But there are alternatives.

Health•6 min read

Reported

On Small Farms, the Threat of Zoonotic Disease Still Looms Large

The connection between factory farms and zoonotic diseases is well-established. But new research shows that less-intensive farming styles also come with their own risks.

Health•4 min read

Reported

New Documentary Predicts ‘The End of Medicine’

A new documentary film by BAFTA-award-winning director Alex Lockwood explores the underreported connections between animal farming and human disease.

Health•5 min read

Reported

First Human Case of H3N8 Bird Flu Confirmed in China

Doctors confirmed that a four-year-old child in the country’s Henan province has been infected with the illness. Millions of birds are already suffering.

Health•3 min read

Reported

Superbugs on the Shelves: Diseased Chicken Being Sold Across America

A new investigation reveals that companies routinely exceed level of bacteria allowed by USDA—and do not have to recall their products.

Health•18 min read

Reported

Veterinarians Play Pivotal Role in Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance

The threat of antibiotic resistance looms large for veterinarians. We spoke with infectious disease specialist and veterinarian Dr. J. Scott Weese to understand why.

Health•7 min read

Reported

The Next Pandemic Is Already Here: Superbugs and Factory Farms

A new study published in The Lancet found that 1.2 million people died from antibiotic-resistant infections in 2019. Experts fear this is just the beginning.

Health•8 min read

Reported

The Ever-Clearer Link Between Deforestation and Public Health

Efforts to decolonize forest protection have been stalling for years. COVID-19 might give the movement the urgency it needs.

Health•1 min read

Reported

Antibiotic Resistance Starts on the Farm, but Marginalized Communities Pay the Price

The widespread use of antibiotics on factory farms is exposing everyone who lives within a 3-mile radius to significant health risks. Low-income people of color are often the most affected.

Health•9 min read

Perspective

Why Factory Farming’s Pandemic Risk Is Being Ignored

Activists, disease specialists, and environmentalists are making the connection between the way we eat and the risk it poses to public health. Sometimes it feels like they're the only ones.

Health•4 min read

Explainer

Can Animals Catch Coronavirus? What You Can Do to Protect Them

If you share your home with a companion animal, you might be asking, can animals catch coronavirus? Here's what you need to know to keep your pets COVID-free.

Health•8 min read

Explainer

Coronavirus & Animals: Can Humans Give Animals COVID-19?

Can humans become hosts and infect animals with COVID-19? To answer that question, you need to understand where the novel coronavirus came from.

Health•6 min read

Reported

The Other Pandemic: Avian Flu Is Spreading Around the Globe

As the world continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic, a parallel scenario is unfolding in the avian world. Outbreaks of avian flu have been detected on poultry farms from the…

Health•6 min read

Reported

Live Markets Aren’t Just China’s Problem

Many Americans are quick to blame the pandemic on China’s eating habits while ignoring the issues with their own food system.

Health•5 min read

Explainer

Coronavirus: Did Animal Agriculture Cause COVID-19?

Factory farming poses a serious pandemic risk, which begs the question: Did animal agriculture cause COVID-19?

Health•9 min read

Reported

“We Stand at a Crossroads”: Jane Goodall Joins Call for UN to Address Animals

Advocates are asking the United Nations to consider the role of animals in their COVID-19 recovery policies. They fear the return to 'business as usual' could lead to another deadly…

Health•6 min read

Explainer

Factory Farms Are the Perfect Breeding Grounds for Zoonotic Diseases

Factory farms are filthy and unnatural, housing tens of thousands of animals at a time. These conditions increase the spread of zoonotic diseases from animals to human beings.

Health•8 min read

Reported

Mink Farming’s Pandemic Potential

In Denmark, a new strain of COVID-19 originally found in minks has jumped to humans and could threaten the efficacy of newly developed coronavirus vaccines.

Health•5 min read

Reported

COVID-19 Leads to Early Closure of Dutch Mink Farms

A new ruling by the Dutch government will close all mink farms in the Netherlands by March 2021 in response to burgeoning coronavirus cases.

Health•4 min read

Perspective

To Avoid the Next Pandemic, We Need to Stop Factory Farming

Industrial animal agriculture is exacerbating the risks of zoonotic diseases. Are elected officials ready to dismantle the system that got us into this mess?

Health•4 min read

Investigation

New Mini-Doc Exposes Pork Industry’s “Unseen” Pandemic Risks

The mini-documentary chronicles pigs’ harrowing 700-mile journey across the American southwest, exposing widespread corporate misconduct that threatens public health.

Health•3 min read

Explainer

Wet Markets and the Risk of Transmitting Zoonotic Diseases

Wet markets can be places of profound animal suffering, out of which arise life-threatening diseases like the novel coronavirus. And they exist all over the world.

Health•13 min read

Perspective

VIDEO: How to Prevent the Next Pandemic

Plant-based campaigners Million Dollar Vegan explain the fundamental changes necessary to avoid the next pandemic. Experts warn that if we don’t act now, we may not have another chance to.

Health•1 min read

Perspective

Factory Farming Depends on Scarce Medical Supplies

With the availability of medical masks in such short supply, respirators should be sold only to truly “essential” industries—which excludes factory farming.

Health•7 min read

Perspective

Has Earth’s Most Trafficked Mammal Stopped the World?

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal on earth, sold for their meat and scales in wildlife markets around the world. The quirky, anteater-like animal is now at the center of…

Health•10 min read

Perspective

To Reduce the Risk of Pandemics, We Must Ban Factory Farms Now

Regulating the factory farming industry is not enough to minimize its risks. A total ban is necessary because it expresses that factory farming is deeply harmful to humans, animals, and…

Health•5 min read

Perspective

The Best Defense Against the Next Pandemic: Your Fork

As long as humans insist on abusing and exploiting animals on factory farms, stronger and deadlier pathogens than the novel coronavirus will emerge from the global food system.

Health•4 min read