00:00I recently had a nightmare. I had to celebrate Christmas without my beloved jamón Iberico.
00:06But it was actually real, at least for a few days.
00:09Spain experienced his first outbreak of swine fever in more than 30 years.
00:14Within hours, the UK, which is where I live now, announced a blanket ban on all imports of
00:21Spanish pork. I hit the butchers desperately looking for some supplies. Thankfully,
00:26those restrictions have now been relaxed. I, of course, realized that my fear of a ham-free
00:33Christmas is a first world problem. But it's a good reminder that we are not ready, and I emphasize
00:39that we are not ready for the next pandemic, which likely will hit the supply of meat, eggs or milk.
00:47We are getting lots of warnings. Swine fever is now reducing poor supply. About a year ago,
00:54the cost of eggs in the United States went to an all-time high due to avian flu. And beef has
01:00never been this expensive, and that's in part due to diseases. History is full of really scary animal
01:08diseases. The spread of the rinder pest virus healed almost 90 percent of all cattle in Africa used a
01:15century ago. To make matters worse, all of this is happening along with rising demand. Meat consumption
01:22per capita nearly doubled from 1960 to 2025. We now eat as much beef, pork, poultry and other meat.
01:30In just one single decade, as we did in 30 years through the 1960s, 70s and 80s altogether. And the
01:39more animals, the bigger the risk of disease. Despite the warning signs, animal health remains largely an
01:46afterthought. Few governments are spending enough in treatment, let alone prevention. If they don't
01:52start paying more attention, Spanish ham lovers like me won't be the only ones who suffer. For this
01:58year, Christmas must have been safe.
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