After the last three years of pandemic-depressed New Year’s celebrations, we’ve got something to shout about at last. Coronavirus is finally on its way out, and we can breathe easy again. It’s been a battle of wits, politics and medical science, but ultimately biotech innovation has won the war.

Not only have we developed breakthrough genetic vaccines to conquer the pandemic, but our whole relationship with the world of nature is changing – especially the animals. Now hundreds of millions of people are turning to ‘fake’ chicken, duck and turkey, manufactured from plants and cultured cells in sterile factories. We’re avoiding the slaughter of billions of birds, while also preventing bird flu strains from infecting humans.

The same goes for other mammals like cattle, sheep and pigs. Bacon without the risk of swine flu; it’s a win-win for both species. And wildlife consumption is taboo; let the bats fly free, and eat up all those nasty insects. No more zoonotic diseases for us, thank you very much!

Even our relationship with plants has improved. Being locked up in lockdown, kept indoors, has given us a new appreciation for trees, flowers and grasslands. Safari tourism has boomed, and wild open spaces are wildly popular, from Canada to Australia.

It’s finally dawned on us that the environment is important, for our own health and wellbeing, and preserving and nurturing it is in everyone’s interest, not just the greenies. We can’t do much about climate change, but we can reverse real pollution of the air, rivers and oceans, and we will. Here’s to the New Year – a cleaner, greener, nicer, new, year.