Conspiracy theorists think bird flu is plot to turn people vegetarian

Conspiracy theorists believe that the avian (bird) flu - which has killed more than 37 million chickens and turkeys already - is a plot to turn people into vegans or vegetarians.

In a report from NBC Los Angeles, bird flu is back and is putting US poultry farms at risk with farmers having to deal with the potential of killing animals who become sick and the conspiracy theorists claiming that the flu isn't real.

"You just want to beat your head against the wall," said Brad Moline, a fourth-generation Iowa turkey farmer of Facebook groups where people believe the bird flu is bioweapon or flat out fake.

"I understand the frustration with how COVID was handled. I understand the lack of trust in the media today. I get it. But this is real."

This outbreak provoked many conspiracy theories to arise that were similar to those that were circulating amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Some people believe the flu is ruse that is being used to justify the reduction of the supply of birds all in an effort to hike up the food prices and force people into vegetarian diets.

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"There is no 'bird flu' outbreak. It's just Covid for chickens," a man wrote on Reddit.

Someone else on Twitter believed that the animals are being tested for the flu "with PCR tests" and wrote.

"They're testing the animals for bird flu with PCR tests. That should give you a clue as to what's going on."

NBC Los Angeles further pointed out that the bogus claims are an expected result of losing trust in many American institutions, including science and the news media.

"There isn't a phenomena on the planet, whether it's the avian flu or 5G, that isn't already primed for conspiracists," said John Jackson, dean of the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

"Now we have coronavirus, which has traumatized us so profoundly," he continued before adding that there are "different kinds of conspiracy" added to the discourse.

The bird flu last ravaged the US in 2015 and killed around 50 million animals. It also cost the federal government more than a billion dollars.

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