DEAR READERS: I hope readers will consider sending a donation to Veterinarians Without Borders International. This highly reputable organization helps animals in parallel with Doctors Without Borders.

One of the group's recent online posts underscores the urgency of the need. From vsf-international.org: "The recent USAID funding cuts sent shockwaves through humanitarian and development efforts worldwide. For families already struggling to rebuild from conflict, food insecurity and disease, these sudden cuts are not just a policy shift -- they are a devastating reality."

For more, go to vsf-international.org/crisis-for-global-livelihoods-and-health.

PREVENTING POULTRY VIRUS SPREAD

The current H5N1 avian influenza virus that is decimating laying hen and turkey populations in factory farms across the country is a challenge to public health and biocontainment. While the media has focused on migratory birds as the main vectors, the dust from one poultry farm could infect another -- and many species of wildlife in between. This virus can survive in the air while attached to dried and particulate bird excrement matter, as well as food.

According to one study, “Viral RNA (vRNA) and infectious viruses were detected in air samples collected from inside and outside (but in close proximity to) infected houses ... (However,) other factors, including indirect contact with wild birds and the efficiency of biosecurity, represent greater importance in disease incursion.” (See the study "The Role of Airborne Particles in the Epidemiology of Clade ..." by Joe James et al., published in Viruses, 2023.)

Close contact with wildlife is evident around most chicken, turkey and duck farms. Ventilation fans blow various potential pathogens outdoors, where wild birds and rodents forage for leftover feed. Many farm and barn cats have died from this virus, and may have helped spread it.

BEEF PRICING RACKET BROKEN

From meatingplace.com: "Tyson Foods and Cargill have agreed to pay a combined $87.5 million to settle a federal class-action lawsuit alleging they conspired to inflate U.S. beef prices by limiting supply.

"According to court filings (Oct. 6) in the U.S. District Court for Minnesota, Tyson will pay $55 million and Cargill $32.5 million under preliminary settlements that still require a judge’s approval. The agreements mark the first consumer settlements in the beef price-fixing litigation, which began in 2019. ...

"Under the settlement terms, Tyson and Cargill agreed to cooperate with consumers pursuing claims against the remaining defendants, JBS USA and National Beef Packing, which have denied wrongdoing. An expert for the plaintiffs estimated total consumer damages at $1.9 billion.

"The beef settlement follows Tyson’s separate $85 million deal (earlier this fall) resolving similar allegations in the pork industry. Tyson, Cargill, and JBS have each denied participating in price-fixing schemes."

The beef industry is a major contributor to climate change, exterminating wolves and cougars and other predators and ruining natural biodiversity. Much beef is contaminated with growth-stimulating, estrogen-mimicking and endocrine-disrupting pharmaceuticals, some of which may cause cancer. My companion animals do not eat beef, and neither do I.

HELPING HORSES GRIEVE

Horses that spend time with deceased companions’ bodies are less likely to show behavior changes, such as movement or vocalization, say researchers. They note that access to the body might allow horses to better understand and cope with a death.

The study of 325 horses reports that animals that witness a death show a stress response through increased vigilance and reduced eating and sleeping. But behavior changes are less likely to endure if animals see the body, whether or not they witness the death. (See the study "Grief-like distress responses in horses after the death of a conspecific" by Claire Ricci-Bonot et al., published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2025.)

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: Please see this update of an important document, as summarized by Nature.com: "Six years ago, the Planetary Health Diet (PHD) was proposed to help optimize human health globally and reduce the environmental and social harms of food systems. Now it’s been updated to address some criticisms -- such as that its recommendations didn’t take into account local needs. It also quantifies some of the benefits of eating mostly whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, with only moderate or small amounts of fish, dairy and meat.

"The diet could prevent some 40,000 early deaths each day, says the latest report, and save the world $5 trillion in food-related health and environmental costs." (See the study "The EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems" by Johan Rockstrom et al., published in The Lancet, 2025.)

Vegetarianism and veganism are not panaceas, but they are good for our health and the environment. They are a humane, ethical response to cruel factory farms. Such dietary choices are part of a more complex set of necessary sociopolitical, economic and technological correctives identified by Michael Grunwald in his 2025 book, "We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate."

DEAR READERS: Please see this essay from Philip Steir of holistic pet food company Earth Animal, in which he explains the benefits of plant-based diets for dogs. This piece also appeared on the website of noted ecologist Marc Bekoff in August.

"Dogs, just like humans, have nutrient requirements -- not ingredient requirements. Dogs don’t need meat from animals. Dogs need 10 essential amino acids (humans need nine), and all 10 can be found entirely from plants, fungi and microorganisms. It’s really not about where protein comes from, it’s about whether it delivers all 10 amino acids and the full spectrum of nutrients, which plant-based foods can absolutely provide when properly formulated.

"Multiple peer-reviewed studies have found that dogs on plant-based diets maintain equal or superior health outcomes to meat-fed dogs. A landmark study following 2,500 dogs found that dogs on vegan diets had fewer vet visits, less medication use, and fewer health disorders overall."

(See the study "Vegan versus meat-based dog food: Guardian-reported indicators of health" by Andrew Knight et al., published in PLoS ONE, 2023.)

"Another study tracked 15 dogs over a full year on a commercial plant-based kibble (V-dog) and found no health issues, only positive results in energy, digestion and coat health." (See the study "Domestic dogs maintain clinical, nutritional, and hematological health outcomes when fed a commercial plant-based diet for a year" by Annika Linde et al., published in PLoS ONE, 2024.)

"For a dog’s long-term health and wellness, as well as disease prevention, plant-based diets offer compelling advantages (such as) improved gut health from fermentable fiber, which nourishes the microbiome and supports a dog’s immune system. Meat does not have fiber. Just like (in) humans, a plant-based diet can reduce inflammation through phytonutrients, antioxidants and fiber. Pet parents can supplement their dogs’ diets with omega-3s from sources like marine algae ... This is particularly important for dogs with kidney, heart or joint issues, skin sensitivities and inflammatory diseases.

"There is a significantly lower risk of allergy issues, since plant-based diets exclude the most common allergens, such as beef, chicken and dairy. Another overlooked aspect is the lower phosphorus content in plant proteins, which makes these diets particularly beneficial for senior dogs and those with kidney disease.

"This diet provides cleaner nutrition, too. Plant-based diets avoid contaminants commonly found in meat-based foods, such as heavy metals, antibiotics, dioxins and 4-D meats (from animals that were dead, dying, diseased or disabled)."

ELEPHANTS, PEOPLE AND CANCER

Elephants, compared to humans, very rarely get cancer. This is thought to be due to them having 20 copies of tumor suppressor gene p53, while humans have only two, according to one analysis. (See the study "The Elephant Evolved p53 Isoforms that Escape MDM2-Mediated Repression and Cancer" by Monikaben Padariya et al., published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2022.) Elephants are also vegan, thriving on a plant-based diet that may contribute to their cancer resistance.

People who consume plant-based diets also have a lower incidence of cancer, as per one recent study from Oxford Population Health. From a summary on ndph.ox.ac.uk: “Compared with regular meat-eaters, the risk of developing any type of cancer was lower in low meat-eaters (2% less), fish-eaters (10% less), and vegetarians (14% less). This means that the absolute reduction in cancer diagnoses for vegetarians was 13 fewer per 1,000 people over 10 years, in comparison to regular meat-eaters."

A survey of cancer rates in animals in zoos found carnivores, such as panthers, have a much higher rate of cancer than herbivores, such as antelopes. (See the study "Cancer risk across mammals" by Orsolya Vincze et al., published in Nature, 2022.) Considering that we cannot change our genetic susceptibility to cancer, but we can change our diets, health insurance companies should provide lower premiums for vegetarians and vegans to incentivize good nutrition associated with preventive health care.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: It is time to adapt, help all in need, and stop burning fossil fuels. According to a 2024 article on LiveScience.com, “Aridity is now impacting 40% of the world’s agricultural land and 2.3 billion people, causing intensified wildfires, agricultural collapse and spurring growing mass migrations. Areas particularly hard hit include almost all of Europe, the western United States, Brazil, eastern Asia, and central Africa.” (Full story: LiveScience.com, Dec. 4, 2024)

According to an August report on ScienceAlert.com, “terrestrial water is, on the whole, diminishing, with devastating effects worldwide. That includes freshwater sources on the surface, like lakes and rivers, and also groundwater stored in aquifers deep below Earth’s surface. The majority of the human population -- 75% of us -- live in the 101 countries where fresh water is being lost at increasing rates.” (Full story: ScienceAlert.com, Aug. 18)

“Areas of the planet ‘getting wetter’ and experiencing ‘wet extremes’ are another new feature (that are) decreasing in size ... while increasing in intensity,” wrote Robert Hunziker On CounterPunch.org in September. This scenario “paradoxically serves to complement dryness, leading to extreme mega-dry regions with serious vulnerability to wildfires.”

Hunziker quotes John Marsham, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Leeds, who said, “Our entire infrastructure and civilization are based around a climate that no longer exists.” (Full story: CounterPunch.org, Sept. 12)

DAME DR. JANE GOODALL: PRIMATOLOGIST AND ACTIVIST

The news of the death of this remarkable woman, at age 91, has spread around the world. I join millions in mourning her passing and reflecting on the gifts of her work and dedication.

According to Wikipedia, “Goodall credited the 1986 Understanding Chimpanzees conference, hosted by the Chicago Academy of Sciences, with shifting her focus from observation of chimpanzees to a broader and more intense concern with animal-human conservation.” I met her around this time, when she visited the Humane Society of the U.S., where I served as a vice president and scientific director. We agreed that all concerned citizens should collaborate to end all biomedical and military exploitation of chimpanzees.

Dr. Goodall’s legacy lives on as a pioneer in connecting us with our closet living relatives, long endangered and abused. She is remembered for promoting respect and compassion for animals and nature, and is honored in environmental and humane education programs in schools around the world.

Dr. Goodall filmed an interview in March with the understanding it would be released after her death. For more, go to: netflix.com/tudum/articles/jane-goodall-famous-last-words-documentary.

PLANT-BASED DOG FOOD BENEFITS ALL AROUND

An analysis of commercially available dry dog foods in the U.K. has revealed that plant-based formulations generate lower environmental impacts compared to meat-based alternatives. The University of Nottingham study examined 31 dry dog foods across five categories: plant-based, poultry-based, beef-based, lamb-based and veterinary renal diets. Researchers found that plant-based options consistently required fewer resources and produced lower emissions across all measured environmental metrics.

For details, see the study “Environmental impact of feeding plant-based vs. meat-based dry dog foods in the United Kingdom” by R.A. Brociek and D.S. Gardner, published in Frontiers in Nutrition-Nutrition and Sustainable Diets, 2025.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)