More on why outright banning of ‘wet markets’ (while ‘giving virologists the heebie-jeebies’) won’t work
Advocacy / Africa / Agri-Health / AHH / Animal Products / Asia / China / Consumption / COVID19 / Food Safety / Human Health / ILRI / Markets / News clipping / OneHealth / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Uganda / Zoonotic Diseases

More on why outright banning of ‘wet markets’ (while ‘giving virologists the heebie-jeebies’) won’t work

Many virologists do not want to see a blanket ban on wet markets. Rather, they prefer a more nuanced approach and more narrow regulation to control their most dangerous aspects. To understand why, it helps to unpick what wet markets are, and their role in the feeding of billions of people. Continue reading

The geometry of disease: A longitudinal calf cohort study in Kenya has yielded a unique database and biorepository
Agri-Health / AHH / Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Cattle / Disease Control / East Africa / Epidemiology / ILRI / Kenya / LiveGene / Project / Science paper

The geometry of disease: A longitudinal calf cohort study in Kenya has yielded a unique database and biorepository

The IDEAL project, first attempt to study the complete pathogen landscape of any species, has generated a unique dataset and biorepository for researchers of infectious diseases of cattle in East Africa. Continue reading

Wildlife markets in the pandemic: Prohibit or preserve them? Ban or promote them?
Advocacy / Agri-Health / AHH / AMR / Animal Products / Consumption / COVID19 / Directorate / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Environment / Food Safety / Food Security / Human Health / ILRI / Markets / Nutrition / OneHealth / Opinion piece / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Wildlife / Zoonotic Diseases

Wildlife markets in the pandemic: Prohibit or preserve them? Ban or promote them?

ILRI and UN experts say preserve and protect the world’s ‘informal markets’ AND invest and enhance these markets, which provide billions of people
with food and incomes. Continue reading

Getting beyond ’empty signifiers’—Food policy expert Corinna Hawkes asks: What are food systems for?
Advocacy / Agri-Health / Agriculture / Article / Diet / Opinion piece / Policy

Getting beyond ’empty signifiers’—Food policy expert Corinna Hawkes asks: What are food systems for?

Corinna Hawkes, director of the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London, UK, asks all of us concerned with ‘food systems’ of one kind or another to think beyond ’empty signifiers’, even beyond visions for better food systems, and to get back to a fundamental question—what should be the purpose of food systems? If we can reach agreement on that, she argues, we can then set about creating diverse visions and actions, suiting diverse circumstances, for fulfilling that agreed-upon purpose. Continue reading

The seven deadly drivers of zoonotic disease pandemics
Agri-Health / AHH / Climate Change / COVID19 / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Environment / Epidemiology / Film and video / Human Health / ILRI / Interview / News clipping / OneHealth / Zoonotic Diseases

The seven deadly drivers of zoonotic disease pandemics

A report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and ILRI last month makes the case for focusing on the causes of pandemics instead of treating the diseases as they emerge, an argument echoed by many in the field. Continue reading

Do Kenya’s camel handlers face a threat from MERS? What we found
Agri-Health / AHH / Camels / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Human Health / ILRI / Kenya / MERS / News clipping / Zoonotic Diseases

Do Kenya’s camel handlers face a threat from MERS? What we found

In Kenya, camels are a very popular animal to keep as livestock. There’s value in their meat and milk products and as a result, there are now over three million camels in the country. But there is a danger that the people who come into contact with camels, and their products, face getting the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). MERS is a disease in people caused by a coronavirus (MERS-CoV) which was first identified in Saudia Arabia in 2012. Continue reading

Australian body calls for RENEWABLE FOOD (aka ‘regenerative agriculture’ or ‘circular food economies’) as well as renewable energy
Advocacy / Agri-Health / Agriculture / Australia / Consumption / Event report / Food Security / Human Health / Nutrition / Policy

Australian body calls for RENEWABLE FOOD (aka ‘regenerative agriculture’ or ‘circular food economies’) as well as renewable energy

The Commission for the Human Future’s second round table conference on global threats and solutions has called for a worldwide effort to transform global food production to a system that is renewable, healthy and fair to all. Continue reading

Scientists stress need, amid COVID-19, to maintain focus on everyday zoonotic diseases of the world’s poor
Africa / Agri-Health / AHH / Brucellosis / COVID19 / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Human Health / ILRI / News clipping / OneHealth / Opinion piece / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Trypanosomiasis / Zoonotic Diseases

Scientists stress need, amid COVID-19, to maintain focus on everyday zoonotic diseases of the world’s poor

Most diseases that transmit from animals to humans (zoonoses) are not of the headline-grabbing, world-stopping variety write Eric Fèvre and Naomi Marks. They are an everyday reality for millions of people whose lives are quietly blighted or prematurely ended by diseases transmitted through farming and food systems. Continue reading

FOOD SAFETY: In support the traditional—and essential—food markets of low-income countries
A4NH / Advocacy / Agri-Health / AHH / Article / Disease Control / Event / Food Safety / Human Health / ILRI / Markets / Policy / Southeast Asia / Vietnam

FOOD SAFETY: In support the traditional—and essential—food markets of low-income countries

On this World Food Safety Day (7 June 2020), staff of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) make the case for supporting traditional markets to improve food safety. Continue reading