On the fringes of California’s dairy country, where copper-hued mountains frame sprawling farms, a silent threat looms: bird flu. Already devastating the state’s poultry and dairy industries, this highly pathogenic virus has jumped from wild birds to cows, with alarming implications for livestock and human health. Farmworkers fear its spread, as cases rise and conditions on large-scale farms create a breeding ground for its mutation. With researchers warning of a single mutation away from human transmission, this outbreak highlights the dangerous intersections of industrial farming, climate change, and public health.
Want to know why your egg prices are so high? Here’s a clue. Get the full story from Inside Climate News below.