Visiting local Whole Foods or grocery stores in California, you might notice a shortage of eggs. Contrary to what Whole Foods claims, the scarcity is not due to strict animal welfare standards but a new strain of bird flu devastating flocks. The cramped indoor conditions facilitate the rapid spread of the flu, leading to entire flocks being culled when one bird is infected. 😩 This practice is the primary cause of the egg shortage.
Another concerning aspect is the transmission of bird flu from birds to cows and humans, potentially sparking another pandemic!
The reality is that many corporations, including Whole Foods, hide behind the facade of legitimate animal welfare standards. 'Ag-gag' laws further silence whistleblowers from exposing these distressing conditions.
While corporations and governments contribute positively to society, they must acknowledge and significantly enhance their treatment of non-human animals. 🙏🏾

Sources:

- ABC30: https://abc30.com/post/bird-flu-impacting-californias-egg-supply/15728243/

- The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/27/health/bird-flu-mutations-louisiana.html

This is a interesting list from the MIT Technology Review.

The 8 worst technology failures of 2024
* Woke AI Blunder
* The Boeing Company Starlineer
* CrowdStrike Outage
* Vertical Farms
* Exploding Pagers
* 23andMe
* AI Slop
* Voluntary Carbon Markets

I don't agree with everything on the list, but I do wish social networks could give me a toggle to *NEVER* see a purely AI-generated post, story or reel.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/17/1108883/the-8-worst-technology-failures-of-2024

I have left Twitter. Good riddance!

https://www.threads.net/@sdaswani_instagram/post/C_jsKC3PPoC?xmt=AQGzAwnuCNo1SmSojBelADkwh2_WxzgJSRWMYqQhxEdGgQ

A quick but interesting read for your weekend - should we care about intelligence, or 'educability'?

'An educable mind, he writes, can learn from books, lectures, conversations, experiences, and Zen koans—from anything, really—and notice when relevant aspects of almost forgotten knowledge reveal themselves. We admire aspects of someone’s educability when we say that they are a quick study, or identify them as “coachable,” but what really makes them educable is that they apply insights “for purposes not foreseen at the time of the study or the coaching”'

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/what-does-it-really-mean-to-learn

I'm looking forward to reading this series from the The New York Times.

'The idea behind What to Eat on a Burning Planet, a new Times Opinion series, is to push lawmakers, scientists, farmers and consumers to confront the growing strain on our global food supply and the natural systems it depends on and to advance a range of solutions.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/29/opinion/what-to-eat-on-a-burning-planet.html

The results of a new study are in: learn the truth about how your protein intake will affect your long-term health. What kind of protein should you consume? How much? And what difference will it really make on longevity?

https://youtu.be/qC3Euh8Ghbs?t=1094

Raising billions of animals in overcrowded, squalid conditions is of course bad for them, but for us too.

Compelling thoughts in this #nytimes column today.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/12/opinion/bird-flu-factory-farming.html