b'We can changeThere is a long and terrible history ofDr Aysha Akhtar advises:human suffering and death as a result of the way we treat animals. When we intensivelyIf we really want to breed them, lock them up, deny them freshprotect ourselves, protect air, steal away their young and force them to live in squalor - in short, when we fail tofuture generations, protect treat them like the sentient beings they are -our kids, and protect our we make them vulnerable to illness.families, then we also need We did not understand that we are allto look at protecting other connected. If we cut down forests toanimals and not treating grow feed for farmed animals, we come into closer contact with wild species whothem as commodities.harbour their own viruses. When we eat the bodies of bacteria-laden animals, weThe good news is we can change.become sick, too.And the best thing we can do to protect Scientists are increasingly calling for aourselves, and our families, friends and change in our behaviour. Says Dr Arielcommunities, is to adopt a plant-based Kraselnik: Flu pandemics will continue ifdiet.If farming, eating and exploiting we insist on stacking animals up for ouranimals has created wave after wave of consumption. pandemics, isnt it time we made the decision to stop doing that?Dr Neal Barnard says: Getting animals off ourDownload a collective plate would go a long way toward preventingFREE Guide future pandemics and wouldto Going improve our health and ourVegan atenvironment at the same time.www.animalaid.org.uk/veganpack32'