Bird flu devastates farms in California’s ‘Egg Basket’

A year after the bird flu led to record egg prices and widespread shortages, avian influenza is wreaking havoc in California, which escaped the earlier wave of outbreaks that devastated poultry farms in the Midwest. More than 1 million birds have been destroyed in Sonoma County over the past two months to control the outbreak. Experts say the bird flu is being spread by waterfowl and other wild birds whose migratory patterns have been disrupted by climate change.

Class discussion: What are some of the animal and plant diseases that threaten our food supply? Farmers use a wide array of chemicals, drugs and antibiotics to protect their crops and animals. Could that threaten human health? How is climate change making it harder to produce our food? How have agricultural innovations allowed the farmers to produce enough to feed the world’s rapidly growing population? Will we be able to adapt to the changing climate and keep the world fed?