One Health Approach to Food Safety

Because of the complex nature of food systems, the strategies to produce safe food impact not only the health of humans, but are also influenced by the health of animals, plants and the environment. Food and water play a critical role in pathogen transmission from animals and plants to people. Solutions to these challenges are unlikely to be resolved by the actions of any single group or organization working alone. Instead, the application of a One Health approach, an express effort for all stakeholders in various disciplines (medicine, veterinary medicine, agriculture, environmental sciences, behavioural science, economics, etc.) and sectors (government, academia, private sector, civil society, etc.) to engage, communicate, coordinate and collaborate is essential to assess the costs and benefits of potential solutions, accounting for diverse priorities and perspectives. Moreover, enhancing diversity and leveraging the knowledge and experiences from multiple disciplines has the potential to better understand the problem and result in innovative, adaptive and resilient approaches to arrive at holistic and sustainable solutions. This infographic shows how using a One Health approach in food production is a way to obtain food that safe for human consumption.