the aid library

Red and processed meat in the context of health and the environment: many shades of red and green: information brief

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

There is growing international consensus that food systems transformation is important to address the challenges of malnutrition in all its forms, the burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), environmental sustainability, increasing inequality and ensuring the welfare of workers and animals. In li ... more

Control measures for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (‎STEC)‎ associated with meat and dairy products: meeting report

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2022) C_WHO

Although Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) have been isolated from a variety of food production animals, they are most commonly associated with ruminants from which we derive meat and mi ... more

Trends in UK meat consumption: analysis of data from years 1–11 (2008–09 to 2018–19) of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey rolling programme

Stewart C.; Piernas C.; Cook B.; et al. (2021) CC

High meat consumption, particularly red meat and processed meat, negatively affects our health, while m ... more

Antimicrobial Resistance in Food-Animal Production INDIA OVERVIEW

Action on Anitbiotic Resistance (ReAct) (2018) C2

Indian markets caused a stir across the country.1 According to the Centre for Science and the Environment (CSE), a respected New Delhi-based NGO, most honey brands sold in India contained varying amounts of antibiotics. Their consumption over time could induce resistance to antibiotics, putting p ... more

Antimicrobial Resistance - Adressing Antimicrobial Usage in Livestock Production Industry

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2016) C2

Uncontrolled use of antibiotics for disease control and treatment or growth stimulation in livestock, have increased resistance to antibiotics of bacteria that can reach humans through the food chain.

Guidelines for the use of antibiotics in production animals: Cattle, pigs, sheep and goats

The Swedish Veterinary Association SVS (2017) C2

In 1998 the Swedish Veterinary Association decided to adopt a general policy for the use of antibiotics in animals. Since then specifi c policies for the use of antibiotics in dogs and cats have been adopted and in 2011 Guidelines for the use of Antibiotics in ... more

Tackling antimicrobial use and resistance in pig production: lessons learned in Denmark

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO (2019) C2

This publication describes an arduous campaign to tackle the use of antimicrobials - specifically antibiotics - in the Danish swine-producing sector thanks to the collaboration between the regulatory sector within the Ministry of Environment and Food, private veterinary practitioners and swine produ ... more

Curbing Antimicrobial Resistance in Food Animal Production

Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (2016) C2

Antimicrobials are widely used in food animal production, and use is rapidly increasing. In an era of growing demand for animal products, there is an increasing trend towards the industrial production ... more

The Planetary Health Diet in Theory and Practice

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (2019) CC

On the global scale, the impacts of the current food system on the environment are severe. The agro-industrial revolution has made it possible to increase food production at a price.

Fertilizing Crops to Improve Human Health: A Scientific Review

IPNI, IFA International Plant Nutrition Institute, International Fertilizer Industry Association (2012) C1

- The Role of Plant Nutrition in Supporting Food Security - Micronutrient Malnutrition: Causes, Prevalence, Consequences and Interventions - Fertilizer Application and Nutraceutical Content in Health-Functional Foods - Plant Nutrition and Health Risks Associated with Plant Diseases - Human Heal ... more

When the Drugs Don’t Work – Antibiotic Resistance as a Global Development Problem

The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation and ReAct (2019) C2

This paper focuses on the Sustainable Development Goals related to poverty, economic growth, inequality, health, food production and the environment. It presents concrete examples of the underlying and complex aspects of antibiotic resistance and it ... more

Drug Resistance Through The Back Door: How The Pharmaceutical Industry Is Fuelling The Rise Of Superbugs Through Pollution In Its Supply Chains

Sascha Marchang, Natasha Hurley European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), Changing Markets (2016) C1

Irresponsible pharmaceutical companies fuel the proliferation of superbugs through supply chain pollution, the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) reports. The advocacy group uncovered lapses such as dirty production and inadequate waste disposal ... more

South Sudan - Emergency Livelihood Response Programme 2018

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2018) C1

In 2018, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in South Sudan must respond to the highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded in the country. To address this challenge, FAO revised its multiyear Emergency Livelihood Response Programme (ELRP) to enable rapid food ... more

Rwanda Poverty Profile Report, 2013/14 - Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey

National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) (2015) C2

This report provides an update on the level of poverty based on 2013/14 Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV4) focusing on poverty as measured in consumption terms. The report also highlights other trend dimensions of living conditions captured in other surveys that complement and pro ... more

NCDs and climate change: Shared opportunities for action

NCD Alliance (2016) CC

The policy brief focuses on four key areas for intervention - air pollution, energy, transport and food systems. Air pollution causes 7 million deaths annually, and is a leading cause of both NCDs and climate change, thus all interventions to reduce air pollution have a positive impact on both human ... more

Influencing food environments for healthy diets

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO (2016) C2

Food environments are usually defined as the settings with all the different types of food made available and accessible to people as they go about their daily lives. That is, the range of food in supermarkets, small retail outlets, wet markets, street food stalls, coffee shops, tea houses, s ... chool canteens, restaurants, and all the other venues where people buy and eat food. These environments differ enormously depending on the context. They can be extensive and diverse, with a seemingly endless array of options and price ranges, or they can be sparse, with very few options on offer. Because they determine what food consumers can access at a given moment in time, at what price, and with what degree of convenience, food environments both constrain and prompt the consumer’s choice.Food environments are influenced by the food systems which supply them, and vice versa. Food systems encompass the entire range of activities, people and institutions involved in the production, processing, marketing, consumption and disposal of food (FAO, 2013). They include but are not limited to food supply chains. Making food systems nutrition-sensitive can contribute to addressing all forms of malnutrition, as food systems determine whether the food needed for good nutrition are available, affordable, acceptable and of adequate quantity and quality. How closely food systems and food environments are interrelated and interdependent, and the degree to which external factors affect nutrition outcomes, varies from setting to setting.Many of today’s food systems and food environments are challenged in supporting consumer choices that are consistent with healthy diets and good nutrition. Consumers are not making choices based on nutrition and health, and poor diet is now the number one risk factor for death and disability worldwide (GBD, 2015). Food systems that do not enable healthy diets are increasingly recognized as an underlying cause of malnutrition (GLOPAN, 2016), and malnutrition, irrespective of form, has a huge cost. Economic costs associated with undernutrition are estimated at $1-2 trillion per year, about 2-3% of global GDP (FAO, 2013); the global economic cost of obesity and associated diet-related non-communicable diseases is estimated at $2 trillion per year, about 2.8% of global GDP (McKinsey, 2014). Influencing food environments for promoting healthy diets is an emerging strategy to address today’s nutrition challenges. more

Guidance on mainstreaming biodiversity for nutrition and health

World Health Organization WHO (2020) C_WHO

This report aims to support countries in the necessary transition toward healthier, more sustainable diets by integrating biodiversity in food-based interventions to support nutrition and health. It is intended to help guide decision-makers in the health, nutrition and other sectors, to: Consider ... the important role of biodiversity in food systems for the development of integrated interventions to support healthy, diverse and sustainable diets; To focus investments and country support for more comprehensive, coordinated and cross-cutting public health and nutrition projects and policies; and To strengthen the resilience of food systems, health systems, and societies, each of which are each increasingly compromised by widespread ecological degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change. Biodiversity at every level (genetic, species and ecosystem level) is a foundational pillar for food security, nutrition, and dietary quality. It is the basic source of variety in essential foods, nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and medicines, and underpins life-sustaining ecosystem services. It is a core environmental determinant of health, often a vital ingredient of healthy nutritional outcomes and livelihoods, gender equality, social equity, and other health determinants. Biodiversity can play a more prominent role in planning for nutritional outcomes in various ways, e.g. by facilitating the production of nutritious fruits and plant products, sustaining livelihoods through more efficient production and increasing the diversity of products available in markets. This Guidance presents and expands on six core building blocks for mainstreaming biodiversity for nutrition and health: Cross-sectoral knowledge development and knowledge co-production; Enabling environments; Integration; Conservation and the wider use of biodiversity; Education and awareness-raising; Monitoring and evaluation; This WHO report builds on an unprecedented opportunity to mainstream biodiversity in order to support healthy and sustainable diets, and offers the necessary technical guidance to catalyze and support a transformation of the global food system and transition to healthier, more sustainable diets. more

Prudent and efficient use of antimicrobials in pigs and poultry

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO (2019) C2

This manual will contribute directly to the fourth focus area of the FAO Action Plan by promoting the prevention of infections and the prudent use of antibiotics in the pig and poultry sectors. The pig and poultry sectors are addressed together, as these sectors generally have the highest use of ant ... more

Planetary Health Basics

Liebau, L. The MEDBOX Team (2022) CC

Issue Brief No. 29: Planetary Health is an interdisciplinary academic collective of many scientific disciplines. In addition to the fields of environmental and social sciences, that of human health is one of many. Because of the many disciplines involved in this topic and the large number of res ... more

Zoonoses Key Facts

World Health Organization WHO (2020) C_WHO