Animal Health and Sustainable Intensification: Towards Systematic and Holistic Prioritization of Disease Associated with Consumption of Livestock Foods

Grace, Delia and Dasman, Hardisman and Roesel, Kristina and et al, others (2018) Animal Health and Sustainable Intensification: Towards Systematic and Holistic Prioritization of Disease Associated with Consumption of Livestock Foods. First International Conference on Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition.

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Abstract

We first discuss the sustainability of livestock systems, emphasising bidirectional relations with animal health. We review conventional and contrarian thinking on sustainability, and show that health aspects of livestock system sustainability have been under-examined. Negative implications, or threats to health sustainability, associated with livestock encompass the emerging, neglected and non-communicable diseases. We also argue that improving animal health represents a pathway towards more sustainable livestock systems. Focusing on food-borne disease, one important but neglected category of animal associated disease, we summarise recent evidence on the importance of human disease associated with consumption animal source food. The health burden of foodborne disease is comparable to that of malaria, HIV-AIDS or tuberculosis and the majority of this burden is the result of consuming animal source foods purchased in informal (or wet) markets in developing countries. The health burden leads to economic loss and may adversely affect nutrition. However, attempts to manage foodborne disease in informal markets can have even greater negative impacts on nutrition, livelihoods and gender equities. Existing food safety systems are based on tradition and convention; they focus on hazards rather than risks, and on problems which are perceived as important rather than those which actually are important. In contrast, a risk based food safety system would prioritize food safety problems and preventive interventions using the best available data on the distribution of risk and on how risk can be reduced most effectively and efficiently. Moreover, a development-oriented food safety system would take into account how foodborne disease and attempts to manage it affects different groups. We describe a systematic, evidence-based, structured and participatory prioritisation process, undertaken in Cambodia to identify the priority hazards in animal source foods. This had four novel and important elements: An evidence-gathering process using systematic and grey literature review to garner best evidence on hazards and risks. A systems perspective driven gathering of information on nutrition and gender aspects of food safety. A participatory process whereby national stakeholders obtain capacity-building in using risk-based approaches and then take the lead in selecting priorities. A decision support tool that incorporates risk, nutrition, gender equity and opportunities for risk management in order to help stakeholders prioritize. We discuss the process of prioritization and the priority hazards identified and compare this with more conventional approaches. An important advantage of risk-based prioritization is it allows hazards to be easily categorized as “the vital few” and “the trivial many”. In contrast, conventional prioritization leads to much less differentiation among hazards making prioritsation more difficult. Keywords: food safety, prioritisation, risk

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