jane goodall: humanity is 'finished' if it doesn't change after COVID-19

on june 2nd, 2020, legendary primatologist and anthropologist jane goodall issued a stark warning to each and every one of us: ‘if we do not do things differently, we are finished’. speaking during a webinar hosted by compassion in world farming, goodall spoke ardently about pressing environmental concerns, the current health pandemic and how the world must adapt to survive.

during the online conference, which was on the subject of ‘pandemics, wildlife and intensive animal farming’, goodall attributed blame for the outbreak of COVID-19 to intensive farming and the over-exploitation of the natural world. ‘we have brought this on ourselves because of our absolute disrespect for animals and the environment. our disrespect for wild animals and our disrespect for farmed animals has created this situation where disease can spill over to infect human beings’ (via the guardian).

speaking about the widespread impact of the virus and where the root cause lies, goodall went on to issue a bleak wake-up call: ‘one of the lessons learnt from this crisis is that we must change our ways. if we do not do things differently, we are finished. we can’t go on very much longer like this..‘ the UN messenger of peace called for rapid reform of the global food system and a cease on the destruction of natural animals habitats (via common dreams).

‘we have come to a turning point in our relationship with the natural world. one of the lessons learnt from this crisis is that we must change our ways. scientists warn that to avoid future crises, we must drastically change our diets and move to plant-rich foods — for the sake of the animals, planet, and the health of our children,’ warned goodall. as well as urging the world to move away from factory farming and the destruction of wildlife, goodall also discussed the need to end worldwide poverty, war, and violence in order to protect nature for the future (via common dreams).

hosted by compassion in world farming, the online event drew an audience of over 1300 participants and included an introduction from the company’s global CEO philip lymbery. the conference also featured comments and questions from members of the european parliament (MEPs) from seven different countries. you can watch the webinar in full on the website here.