- [Narrator] This week, Ricky Gervais
says eating animals causes pandemics.
A man is building tiny restaurants
for squirrels during quarantine.
And Nick Cannon opens a new vegan restaurant in LA.
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With 18 million humans hunkered down
in India's largest city,
more than 100,000 flamingos flocked to Mumbai.
- [Reporter] The reduction in pollution
along with the improvement in the quality of algae
have attracted the unusually large number of flamingos.
- The air is much cleaner,
there's no pollution.
There are no human activity going around there.
- [Narrator] Two species of flamingo, greater flamingos
and the smaller, lesser flamingo migrate to Mumbai
between October and March each year.
Residents who have been under a lockdown since March 25th
say that there seems to be a higher number than usual.
- [Man] If you ask me, the lockdown has been fantastic.
I think you can see nature regenerating everywhere.
- [Narrator] It's estimated that nearly 150,000 flamingos
have taken to the mud flats of the Thane Creek this year.
Rahul Khot, assistant director
of the Bombay Natural History Society
told the Guardian,
"Flamingos began migrating to Mumbai
"in the 1980s and 1990s.
"Records show that since then,
"their numbers have hovered
"between 30,000 and 40,000 each season."
According to the BNHS, the Mumbai Metropolitan region
is the second largest flamingo habitat
along India's west coast
after Kutch, Gujarat.
Experts believe that the area is seeing
increased numbers for several reasons
including suspended fishing activities
and a successful breeding season two years ago.
The coronavirus is also impacting the meat industry.
Tyson Foods, one of the world's largest meat companies,
has revealed pork production
in the US has dropped a staggering 50%
due to the outbreak.
The company made the comments
during an investor call last week.
Tyson said three of its six primary meat processing plants
in the US had been forced to close.
Its three other plants are operating at reduced capacity.
Steve Meyer, an economist for Kerns and Associates
told SFGATE that Tyson's pork production numbers
could be even lower,
"By my calculations pork production was down 42.9%
"for all US companies.
"Tyson, by my calculations
"was down by 57,780 hogs processed per day
"from a capacity of 78,500 processed per day.
"That's 74% percent short."
- [Stewart] Pork and beef processing
are down somewhere between 20 and 30%
so that's a pretty big impact I would say
on the supply chain of food.
- [Narrator] A number of other slaughterhouses
and meat processing plants
have been forced to close nationwide
due to the pandemic.
Cargill Limited, JBS, National Beef Packing Company
and Smithfield Food Inc
have all reported plant closures.
Coming up, Florida Senator Marco Rubio encourages people
to go vegan during the pandemic.
In a video posted to Facebook, comedian Ricky Gervais
said eating things you (beep) shouldn't
causes pandemics like the coronavirus outbreak.
- So if you keep away from people,
you probably won't get it.
You just won't get it.
That should be such a simple task, shouldn't it?
Don't be a (beep).
Don't mingle.
I mean the wet markets are already opening in China
and other parts,
they're already getting back to it.
You know, this comes
from animals like all the other things
like MERS and SARS
and it comes from originating usually in bats
but you know.
- [Narrator] Gervais previously urged live animal markets
to close in the wake of COVID-19
- You know what, it's not the first time a terrible disease
has started because of people eating things they shouldn't.
I mean this one comes from eating pangolins, pangolins.
Stop eating everything that moves,
it's gonna kill us all.
- [Narrator] Due to lockdown as a result
of COVID-19
America has experienced a meat shortage.
As a result Florida Senator, Marco Rubio
says the nation will have to go a little vegan.
- Yeah unlike other supply chain issues
this is nothing to do with anyone overseas,
this has to do with how many people
can you make work inside of one of these processing plants?
They're all very close to each other
and there's the public health risks
there has been disruptions there
and so I know people are working hard to get that resolved
and in the meantime,
I guess we will have to go a little vegan, right?
- Yeah or maybe the Impossible Burger
is gonna be the only possible thing you can have.
- [Narrator] As meatpacking plants and slaughterhouses
shut down in record numbers, former slaughterhouse workers
could train to make vegan meat through a new program
launched by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
The international animal rights organization just offered
to train workers to produce vegan meat
in place of traditional animal productions.
This follows high rates of coronavirus
among meatpacking employees
and the potential for meat shortages.
PETA said in a press release, "PETA hopes
"that dropping meat for good and investing
"in a vegan future
"would not only help flatten the coronavirus curve
"but also help companies
"avert the countless other deadly illnesses
"that can come from farms and slaughterhouses."
The animal rights group also highlighted the potential
for meat producers themselves
to switch completely to plant-based alternatives.
Companies including Smithfield Foods and Hormel
already produce and sell vegan meat.
Even before the pandemic,
slaughterhouses were extremely hazardous work environments.
According to the Food Empowerment Project,
prioritizing profits over worker safety
is not a new phenomenon.
Producers that implemented social distancing measures
noted that such safety protocols
further slowed meat production.
Within the industry,
excessive production demands are the primary cause
of both worker injuries and animal welfare violations.
PETA also recently offered slaughterhouse workers
the opportunity to retrain as flower arrangers
both for the sake of animals
and their own mental health.
Coming up, Pakistan just hired 63,000 people
to plant 10 billion trees,
actor and comedian Nick Cannon
just opened a vegan soul food restaurant in Los Angeles.
The television host opened The V Tree Hollywood
inside Yamashiro, Japanese restaurant
in collaboration with Chef Velvet.
The V Tree Hollywood opened on April 30th
and has been serving soulful plant-based cuisine
for takeout and delivery
due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Cannon plans to open the restaurant for dine-in
once lockdown restrictions have been lifted.
The restaurant's rotating menu
features classic Southern inspired dishes
made with organic ingredients,
such as barbecue ribs, cajun shrimp,
original fried drumsticks and chicken and waffles.
Shortly after opening, the restaurant sold out completely.
Pakistan is working to help laborers
who have lost their jobs amid the pandemic.
The country has hired more than 63,000 people
to help plant billions of trees.
The new tree planting initiative
is part of the country's 10 Billion Tree Tsunami program.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan,
Imran Khan founded the five-year project in 2018.
- It was no one expected it to happen
but we involved the local communities.
We first made them understand
how important trees were for the future.
We made the people understand
that Pakistan was very vulnerable to climate change
and we appealed to the people.
- [Narrator] It aims to help reduce rising temperatures
and the risk of natural disasters like floods and droughts
caused by climate change.
- With the plantation of these 1 billion trees
it will drastically change the soil erosion
in our province as released in our country.
- [Narrator] All workers must wear masks
and maintain social distancing.
Malik Amin Aslam, climate change adviser
to the Prime Minister, told the Thomson Reuters foundation,
"This tragic crisis provided an opportunity
"and we grabbed it.
"Nurturing nature has come to the economic rescue
"of thousands of people."
According to the Global Climate Risk Index 2020,
Pakistan ranks number five on a list of countries
most heavily impacted
by global warming over the past 20 years
Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party wrote in a tweet,
"The tree density of Pakistan
"is less than neighboring China, India and Iran.
"Trees per square kilometer are less than India and China.
"Trees per person
"are also less than India, China, and Iran.
"We are one of the countries to be affected the most
"by global warming."
As trees grow, they help reduce global warming
by removing carbon dioxide from the air.
The trees store the carbon
and release oxygen into the atmosphere.
A new report from the University of Michigan
and Tulane University entitled,
"Implications of Future US Diet Scenarios
"on Greenhouse Gas Emissions,"
revealed replacing 50% of animal products
in the US diet with plant-based foods
can also reduce emissions.
The study finds cutting the consumption
of animal products like meat, eggs, fish, and dairy by half
could prevent 1.6 billion tons
of greenhouse gases
from entering the atmosphere by 2030.
This would cause US diet-related emissions
to drop by 35%.
If Americans do not reduce
the amount of animal products they consume,
population growth will cause diet-related emissions to rise
says the study.
By 2030, emissions could increase by 9%.
Detroit resident, James Vreeland
has built a tiny restaurant for squirrels
while on coronavirus lockdown.
Most restaurants are currently only able to offer takeout
or delivery due to stay at home measures
but the Maison de Noix, or nuthouse
still offer sit-down service for squirrels.
The miniature restaurant is located in Vreeland's garden
and features picnic benches, a coat rail
and a menu at the entrance.
While the new restaurant caters primarily to squirrels,
blue jays and other local wildlife
also frequent the new establishment.
The menu offers squirrel favorites like the mixed seed trio
and stale bread or pizza crust.
It also serves raw peanuts on the shell
and the popular counter softened apple.
On Instagram, Vreeland wrote
that he figured now was a good time as any
to get into the restaurant game.
He told Fox 12 Detroit, "Every morning we have a rush
"around 10:30 to 11:00.
"With the shutdown, there's not a lot of cafe options.
"We're the only game in town."
The blue jays are terrible tippers and fairly messy diners.
They'll swoop right into the middle of the action,
steal peanuts and make a run for it.
That's it for today.
What do you think about Florida Senator Marco Rubio
encouraging people to go vegan?
Let us know in the comments below.
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