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[-] Earthling105b@midwest.social 12 points 2 days ago

7th grade science test question: What would evolve faster, a virus that can create millions of new copies every day, or a chicken.

Apparently RFK jr thinks the chickens will evolve immunity faster than the virus can evolve to jump to humans.

[-] purplemonkeymad@programming.dev 2 points 2 days ago

If the pressure is right, the virus should evolve to be less lethal. If the virus kills its host before infecting a new host, then that evolution is not advantageous. This is why low contact was a good tactic for COVID. Only the strains that were less lethal would continue and out complete the ones that kill people.

Unfortunately I doubt that he would mandate a good management of this. In a environment like barn chickens live in, the virus can transmit so regularly that the lethality is not a pressure for it.

[-] P1k1e@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Or doesn't realize that evolutionary pressure tends to kill the shit oudda anything that ain't up to snuff...bye bye poultry industry. Likely doesn't care tho. Seems like a steak every night kinda guy.

Imagine if it were a Prion problem instead. Think he'd be like FEED THE COWS MORE COW! THEY'LL TOUGH IT OUT!

[-] wetbeardhairs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 days ago

I think it's less that they evolve and more that we just select the already resistant chickens.

[-] Earthling105b@midwest.social 1 points 1 day ago

Yeah, but it could take several generations of chickens until “resistant” evolves into being immune enough to not lose half the flock every time. And in the mean time since human farmers will have to be tending to the chickens in some way, there always a risk of the virus jumping to humans.

[-] wetbeardhairs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 day ago

If the options are

  • culling
  • vaccination
  • breeding resistance

Culling should be the last resort. I get that everything rfk jr touches turns to roadkill, but this is less on the crazy spectrum than some of his other antics.

[-] umbrella@lemmy.ml 16 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

no but seriously, why do these people want to spread disease?

[-] psivchaz@reddthat.com 7 points 2 days ago

I think it's part of a psuedo-religious death cult thing trying to force the apocalypse to happen. War and Death are easy. They're hard at work on Famine and Pestilence.

[-] umbrella@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

wtf do they get from it though. i get how war makes them money, disease is not that clear.

[-] GreenSkree@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

I think there's a few things going on.

On one side, you have Americans that have deep-rooted anti-intellectualism. You see this as the myriad of anti-woke, anti-vax, anti-science attitudes. These ideas aren't grounded in anything useful or real, but leaders in the far-right find these attitudes useful in various ways for pushing their cause. I don't think there's an actual goal of promoting disease necessarily... it's more that the further right-wingers can push people into extreme points of view, the easier it is to keep them there. It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of drivel in the anti-woke/anti-science sphere today became popular due to clickbait engagement, though, this movement has been promoted generally by the right wing for a long time.

I also wouldn't be surprised if there's some aspect of foreign influence going on as well. Russia has been working for decades at destabilizing the US. The spreading of disease here would definitely work towards that goal, so long as it doesn't generate a new pandemic that might bite them too.

[-] grueling_spool@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago

They want to make money. Spreading disease is just a side effect.

[-] umbrella@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago

but like... how does spreading disease makes them any money? if anything they are losing money mid to long term.

[-] grueling_spool@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Like I said, it's just a side effect. They make money off the grift.

Prior to his current position as Secretary of Undermining Health, RFK Jr. was the head of the Children's Health Defense, whose mission is to defend children's health from various things that improve it, such as vaccines and fluoridated drinking water.

From the linked Wikipedia page:

From $13,000 in annual revenue in 2014, World Mercury Project brought in $470,000 in revenue in 2015, when Kennedy joined the organization. Its revenues increased to $1.1 million in 2018. With the group becoming a major disinformation hub during the COVID-19 pandemic, its revenue reached $6.8 million in 2020, $15 million in 2021, counting among its new donors LimeWire's founder Mark Gorton,[6][64] and $23.5 million in 2022.[31]

Basically, it's just another variation of rallying people against a problem that doesn't exist. Once you have their support, you can start asking them for money. And since your cause is a farce, you don't have to worry about getting results - just keep banging that drum and let the donations roll in. An unfortunate side effect is that you might eventually start succeeding at eliminating public health measures, but who cares as long as you're getting paid?

[-] CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social 93 points 3 days ago

Why even have a health department if their answer to disease is "literally just do nothing about it"

[-] Makeitstop@lemmy.world 59 points 3 days ago

Because they aren't just doing nothing, they are actively interfering.

[-] limer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 38 points 3 days ago

Many departments in bad governments are named the opposite of what they do: department of defense, the department of public safety, the department of health…

[-] peoplebeproblems@midwest.social 38 points 3 days ago

258,000,000

But this guy in particular can't be fully human. Swims in sewage contaminated water, eats roadkill, has dead brainworm that's probably controlling his mind. He's also like one layer of skin away from being one of the nightmare things from "They Live."

[-] Kepion@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 3 days ago

SUGAR, WATER

[-] PattyMcB@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago
[-] eddanja@lemmy.world 53 points 3 days ago

The worm is definitely in control.

[-] Cosmonaut_Collin@lemmy.world 24 points 3 days ago

The worm is trying to take out the birds so the early bird cannot get the worm.

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 days ago

Welp, looks like Visser 3 is real.

... Time to bust out the old Hork-Bajir morph.

[-] magikmw@piefed.social 10 points 3 days ago

The worm died of hunger years ago.

[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago

Maybe the worm isn’t and feels as helpless and terrified as the rest of us

[-] Akasazh@feddit.nl 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Damn illithids! Ghaik trash!

[-] iAvicenna@lemmy.world 23 points 3 days ago

Guy heard the term herd immunity and did not think it through.

not sure if it is grammatically correct to use "thinks" in a sentence relating RFK jr

[-] Cethin@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 days ago

It's grammatically correct, but maybe not semantically correct. Grammar has to do with word ordering and stuff. Semantics has to do with word meaning.

[-] Etterra@discuss.online 4 points 2 days ago

That's because to him herd=food. I seriously wouldn't be surprised to find out one day that's he's a cannibal.

[-] frickineh@lemmy.world 40 points 3 days ago

I know that if farmers love one thing, it's deliberately losing a ton of money. I'm sure they'll be thrilled with this idea.

[-] Wazowski@lemmy.world 25 points 3 days ago

Stupid cunts would continue voting R.

[-] immutable@lemmy.zip 11 points 3 days ago

As long as the republicans bail them out.

[-] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago

They don’t though. Family farm ownership is dropping rapidly and farmer suicide rates are sky high.

[-] altphoto@lemmy.today 5 points 2 days ago

Costco chicken! Now pre chlorinated and triple kiln fried in real hydrochloric acid! Now with 99% less weak flu!

[-] Zier@fedia.io 27 points 3 days ago

Secret plan to force everyone to be vegan by killing all the animals. Checkmate humans!

[-] PattyMcB@lemmy.world 13 points 3 days ago

Don't forget the ticks that make you allergic to meat

[-] teletext@reddthat.com 8 points 3 days ago

All the animals including humans.

[-] Zier@fedia.io 3 points 2 days ago

We can't eat people anymore??? Where will I get my pRoTeIn from??

Since Tyson is shutting down chicken abattoirs all over the US, who needs all those birds? Let them get sick and cull the roost. It's not like they pose a threat to hoomans or anything.

[-] dastanktal@lemmy.ml 20 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

What's more, the mortality rate of H5N1 is extremely high among common poultry, reaching 100% in domestic chickens.

Cheers to the new pandemic 🍻

[-] PattyMcB@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

I have natural immunity!

[-] slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 6 points 3 days ago

I feel bad for the chickens. But they probably live in a hellhole anyway, so maybe they at least get to take some humans with them.

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this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2025
225 points (98.7% liked)

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