Eating animals is harmful to health - common-info.net

The high consumption of animal protein produces greater probability of transmission to humans of pathogens of animal origin. FAO urges the growth of prevention and supports the need to look to the health of humans, animals and ecosystems as a single set necessary for life

of Greenreport.it

70 per cent of new diseases that have emerged in humans in recent decades are of animal origin and, in part, directly related to the human search for more food of animal origin. This is the matter of greater significance that has emerged from the new FAO report “World Livesstock 2013: Changing Landscapes Disease.

“The continued expansion of agricultural land into wilderness areas, along with the boom in the world of animal production, has meant that livestock and wildlife are more in touch, and we ourselves are in contact with animals much more than in past – said Ren Wang, deputy director general of the FAO, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection – This means that we can not deal with human health, animal health and the health of ecosystems in isolation from each other, we have to look at them as a whole, and address the causes of the outbreak, its persistence and spread, rather than simply fight against diseases after they have emerged. “

developing countries face a huge burden of human disease, livestock, and other animal but which are transmittable to humans and this is a major obstacle to development and food security. Recurrent outbreaks of livestock impact on food security, livelihoods and the national and local economies of poor countries.

Into the meantime, risks to food safety and antibiotic resistance are increasing all over the mond or even because of globalization and climate change. According to the report “Livestock World 2013 ‘, ” population growth and poverty, along with health systems and inadequate sanitation, are important drivers of the dynamics of the disease. But in the push to produce more food, humans have made vast areas of agricultural land in areas previously wild, putting themselves and their animals into contact with wildlife diseases. In fact, most of the infectious diseases that have emerged in humans from 1940 to today can be traced back to the wildlife-FAO report continues.

For example, it is likely that the SARS virus emerged in humans has been transmitted from bats to civets before, and finally, it was extended to humans through animal markets. In other cases, the opposite occurred: the cattle introduced pathogens in natural areas, which have had an impact on the health of wildlife. At the same time many more humans are in motion than in the past, and the volume of goods and products in international trade is at unprecedented levels, phenomena that give the pathogen the ability to travel the globe with ease. ” Climatic fluctuations, then, are having a direct impact on the survival rate of environmental pathogens, especially in hot and humid areas, while climate change affects the habitats of the guests, migration patterns and the dynamics of disease transmission. The report also specifies that the way in which humans breed and trade the animals had no effect on how diseases emerge and spread.

The greatest demand in the diet of animal protein has led to an increase of livestock with nutritional benefits, but has also generated a number of problems such as greater risk that pathogens of animal origin pass to humans. According to the FAO to overcome this difficulty is a need for more investment in prevention. To this end, the UN organization supports the approach “one health”, looking at the interaction between environmental factors, animal health and human health and ensuring that health professionals, veterinarians, sociologists, economists, ecologists work together within a holistic framework.

The FAO report identifies four main lines of action: reduce the burden on humans and animals endemic diseases caused by poverty; deal with biological threats caused by globalization and climate change provide food of animal safer, prevent pathogens pass from wildlife to domestic animals and humans.

‘ Finally, there is need for stronger mechanisms for international exchange of information on animal diseases in general, as well as on best practices in livestock breeding and management risk to the health of animals, as part of the strategy “One Health”, “concluded by the FAO.

Source: greenreport.it

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