Life in the time of COVID-19: Consumerism, Veganism, and Living Proactively

COVID-19 has underlined our inability to solve problems proactively. What started as an obscure, irrelevant-sounding thing in China, has become the new paradigm for all of “civilization”. This pandemic and its repercussions are a microcosm of a broader issue: ignoring causes and focusing on symptoms. 

What Caused COVID-19?

Not enough time has been devoted to understanding why this happened. Emblematic of society, we immediately turned our attention to a vaccine, the economy, what life would look like, and when this will be over. We didn’t prepare or try to prevent this and are now left wasting tons of money and effort treating the symptoms.

Scientists generally agree that the virus came from bats and was passed to humans through another animal (likely Pangolins). Previous pandemics have been caused by eating meat as well: Ebola, Sars, Mers, Mad Cow Disease, HIV, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, and so on.  Passed through is a non-graphic way to say eating animals.

Why has this not been a major talking point? I believe it’s because it’s uncomfortable to give hard truths or cast upon people any shared responsibility. It’s hard to tell people that eating meat is participating in a shared culture that leads to global pandemics. But it needs to be said.”

It is easy to point the blame at the Chinese government or your own government for not taking action sooner. We are all part of an interconnected world. Our individual actions have consequences. We can all be a part of the change and prevention of future outbreaks.

Why Everyone (Yes That Means You) Needs to Go Vegan

You can connect the dots and probably can guess where I’m going with this. Eating animals is a global health risk. You’re not immune if you think it’s fine to only eat Western domesticated animals. Mad Cow is believed to be caused by cows eating other dead cows, which were then consumed by humans!

If fewer people eat meat, the less likely food-borne illness will spread. Meat eating means deforestation which means ecological vulnerability. Vulnerable, non-diverse ecosystems are fertile grounds for an unchecked species (like a virus, or homo sapiens) to overpopulate and cause massive disruption.

Moving to a Proactive/Preventative Way of Living

We tend to live reactively, not proactively. If we don’t eat meat, outbreaks won’t occur and we won’t end up in the hospital.

Most Americans eat unhealthy food and don’t exercise enough. As a result, 72% of Americans are overweight. Heart disease and cancer are the nation’s top two killers. Is there any surprise? 

We should encourage people to eat fruits & vegetables, run, bike, lift weights, do calisthenics, yoga, etc. Instead, we encourage watching TV, driving, eating big portions, drinking lots of beer, and then when it doesn’t work out, medicine and expensive surgeries will take care of it.

Outside people who live in a food desert, eating vegan is not more expensive than eating animals. In the rare event it is, eating healthy should be viewed as an investment in avoiding far more expensive surgeries in the future.

Instead of eating well and doing the right things, many Americans end up chronically ill, spending tons of money on hospital bills and medicine.

Coronavirus is showing how we need to evolve to a proactive lifestyle in many ways. Instead of facing unprecedented economic destruction and loss, we could have spent less money to be prepared with well-supported, well-trained outbreak response teams. Instead of saving money every month and paying in full, we are spending more than we earn and paying more in the end after interest.

How We’ll Get Out of COVID-19

We’ll get through COVID-19 the same way we could have prevented it. 

Individually, keeping our immune systems healthy in the short term will keep them healthy in the long term. This means eating healthy with an antioxidant-rich diet (i.e. berries, leafy greens), exercising consistently and vigorously, sleeping 7-9 hours a night, and reducing stress (meditating, walking, etc).

Wearing masks and practicing social distance will be crucial, but we must also put our bodies in the best position to stay healthy.

These things will keep our immune systems strong in the short term and long term. We need to build long-term habits instead of searching for short-term quick fixes.  

On a societal level, it will require cooperation and acting with the interests of others in mind. It won’t be easy or pretty; long term gains require some short term sacrifices.

A Harbinger for Climate Change

Speaking of long-term thinking, Covid is previewing what future Climate Change consequences could look like if we don’t start making short-term sacrifices.

Climate Change is not a future doomsday. Climate change is here and we are seeing it play out in front of our faces. Compare Covid-19 with the Syrian Refugee Crisis, which is largely fueled by increasing drought.

In both the Syrian refugee crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen millions die or lose their economic livelihoods, coupled with increased political turmoil, racism and xenophobia.

The most marginalized people in society continue to bear the brunt of climate change. People of color are more likely to contract Covid-19. Healthcare and healthy food are not equally distributed. If you are white and have been living under a set of laws that has benefited you, you are also more likely to benefit in times of hardship.

Climate change may lead to even more severe scenarios. Imagine rising sea levels covering New York City in water. What would be the effect of displacing millions more people? Could you even imagine?

If we continue to eat animals and extract resources at a lightspeed pace (for our unquenchable consumption), there will continue to be disease outbreaks and irreparable environmental consequences. Hopefully, we will start preparing to slow the damage.

Our Economy is Built on Consumerism

Covid-19 is illustrating how much of our society runs on consumption. How many jobs can you think of that are non-essential? These jobs likely serve to create something that you don’t need.  I’m not saying we need nothing, but there sure is a lot we don’t need. I don’t mean to be too harsh; I am among millions who lost their job. This pandemic is forcing us to slow down, live simply, and rethink what the future could look like.

An Opportunity to Imagine a New Future

There is a bright side to this. Though I prefer pre-Covid life, especially safe socialization, there have been positive environmental impacts. How can we combine the best of both worlds? How can we recover focusing on what is essential and more in line with nature?

COVID-19 is giving everyone the opportunity to be more intentional and think about how we want to live our lives. What is most important to us? How can we create a better, more equitable future?

Instead of living in a destructive, reactive way where we must constantly clean up our mess, how can we live proactively and cleanly? What does a better future look like?