Trump's Plan To Combat Bird Flu Will Ensure More Bird Flu | Opinion

Three years into the epidemic that has claimed the lives of nearly 170 million farmed birds and caused 70 known human infections nationwide, Trump's newly appointed Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has revealed a $1 billion strategy for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to combat bird flu. The problem is that while the federal agency focuses its misguided efforts on biosecurity protections against wild birds, it will spend $400 million in further bailouts to prop up the real culprit—factory farming.

In 2025, egg prices are projected to rise by 41 percent, and more than 30 million egg-laying hens have already been culled since the start of the year. As the Trump administration fires officials tasked with preventing the spread of bird flu and withdraws the U.S. from the World Health Organization, it's clear the USDA's priority is not protecting the public. It's protecting animal agriculture's bottom line and propping up the industry. "We are confident that our comprehensive strategy will help to stabilize the market in the next three to six months, if not sooner," said Rollins.

By failing to address the underlying causes of bird flu, the USDA's plan will likely cause more instability by continuing to reimburse farmers engaged in risky and irresponsible practices—while failing to safeguard public health.

By nature, factory farms are breeding grounds for disease, where zoonotic pathogens that can be transmitted between animals and humans can proliferate. These facilities intensively crowd tens of thousands of farmed animals into unsanitary sheds, where workers face long hours in these same conditions, often with little protective gear to help prevent infection.

According to a new study, factory farm ventilation systems could worsen matters by facilitating the airborne transmission of bird flu. In April 2024, the USDA reported that bird flu was likely spreading between cows on dairy farms via milking equipment. Soon after, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine research revealed that bird flu remains active on milking equipment for one hour or longer. Furthermore, it is more likely that a lack of adequate precautions on factory farms proliferates the disease even when it originates in wild birds, spreading indirectly to poultry on contaminated feed, clothing, and equipment, reported the U.S. Geological Survey.

Meanwhile, animal agribusiness is taking advantage of consumers and profiting from soaring prices blamed on bird flu. A new report reveals a 157 percent inflation rate for eggs in the U.S. and that large egg companies may be artificially raising prices. The nation's largest egg producer, Cal-Maine Foods, reported a $219 million profit in the past quarter. Since 2022, the price of a dozen Cal-Maine eggs has jumped from $1.37 to $2.74. Major poultry producers, including Tyson Foods and Mountaire Farms, have also seen rising profits.

There is no evidence yet that bird flu is spreading from person to person, but we should not let down our guards and fail to address factory farming's reckless behavior as the virus evolves to pose a larger threat. This year, a U.S. child was infected with bird flu from an unknown exposure—and, in the case of the first American to die of bird flu, the virus most likely mutated post-infection and became more severe, a development that is worrying scientists.

We know that approximately 75 percent of human pathogens are zoonotic, such as COVID-19, SARS, swine flu, and bird flu. If the government wishes to act responsibly, it must shift its support away from factory farming, an industry that facilitates the spread of dangerous pathogens.

To truly protect animals and people alike, the USDA must support a shift from industrialized animal agriculture to a safer, more humane, and more sustainable plant-based food system. Otherwise, we will be right back in this same place over and over again. And for an administration that says it's focused on reducing waste and improving efficiency, that is unacceptable.

Gene Baur is president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, the world's premier farm animal sanctuary and advocacy organization, and author of the books Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food and Living the Farm Sanctuary Life.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.