One Health as a normative concept. What are the implications for food production?

Abstract

The One Health initiative strives to improve global health, starting from the recognition of the interdependence of human, animal, and ecosystem health. Emerging infectious diseases, especially zoonoses (diseases that originate from non-human animals and can infect human beings), have been the major impetus for the development of this inclusive approach. While zoonotic diseases play a major role, it is the human-animal-ecosystem interface in general that is emphasised. OH has received little attention from (applied) ethics, despite its clear normative dimensions. Among them are considerations regarding the conceptualization of health in a multispecies approach. The aims of the paper are twofold, by showing (1) the importance of explicating the normative dimension of OH, and following from this, (2) the need to address ethical questions at the human-animal-ecosystem interface. We will discuss the implications for food safety, in particular with respect to wildlife health.