
==== Front
One Health
One Health
One Health
2352-7714
Elsevier

S2352-7714(24)00216-7
10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100890
100890
Review Paper
Threatened by many complex food security problems - agriculture, academic, and government professionals seek new one health research partnerships
Gray Gregory C. gcgray@utmb.edu
abcd⁎
Nguyen-Tien Thang ae
a Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
b Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
c Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
d Department of Global Health, School of Public and Population Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
e International Livestock Research Institute, Hanoi, Viet Nam
⁎ Corresponding author at: Internal Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Microbiology and Immunology, and Preventive Medicine & Population Health, 301 University Boulevard, Route 0435, Galveston, TX 77555-0435, USA. gcgray@utmb.edu
12 9 2024
12 2024
12 9 2024
19 1008909 6 2024
11 7 2024
6 9 2024
© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
2024

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
With modern international trade and the rapid movement of people, animals, and food products, today's risks to food security are increasing worldwide. It is clear that human health, animal health, environmental health, and agriculture are inextricable linked. Food security problems in one sector often adversely impact multiple other sectors. Food security threats are often complex with many factors influencing the emergence of new threats. As multiple US governmental agencies share responsibilities for food security threat mitigation, we need to find new ways for the numerous food security scientific disciplines and agencies to forge new effective research collaborations in meeting these threats. This special issue of the journal One Health seeks to give examples of such research. It represents a collection of scientific reports from oral and poster presentations delivered at the April 21–23, 2024, “International Symposium on One Health Research: Improving Food Security and Resilience” in Galveston, Texas.

Highlights

• Threats to global food security can suddenly occur and rapidly spread across the globe.

• Human health, animal health, environmental health, and agriculture are inextricably linked.

• No single professional discipline or institution can control such complex infectious disease problems.

• In the USA, the distribution of food security responsibilities among six federal agencies is problematic.

• Employing One Health Research Strategies in anticipation of food security threats is the best way forward.

Keywords

One health
Agriculture
Food security
Emerging infectious diseases
Research partnership
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pmcModern international trade and the rapid transportation of people, animals, and food products are presenting new food security problems we did not anticipate 50 years ago. Today, in less than 24 h, a biological threat to food security can move half-way around the world through the rapid transport of people, animals, or food products (Fig. 1). A recent example is the rapid geographical spread of SARS-COV-2. Emerging in December 2019 in Wuhan, China; the virus quickly worldwide during the next several years causing an estimated 676 million human infections and 6,881,955 deaths by March 10, 2023 when a popular web site stopped counting [1]. Although vaccines are available to many developed nations for reducing SARS-COV-2 impact upon humans, the virus continues to change and has now spilled over to infect at least 35 animal species in 40 countries [2] threatening to spillback into humans and again cause new morbidity. However, we note that vaccines to counter emerging threats such as COVID-19 are often not rapidly available to developing countries.Fig. 1 Through international trade and modern transportation, an emerging microbial threat to food security can travel via humans, animals, or food products half-way around the world in less than 24 h (Photos used with permission from Adobe Stock).

https://www.eturbonews.com/246645/international-travel-outperforming-economic-growth/;https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/travel/2018-05-02-plane-passengers-behaving-badly-are-you-guilty-of-these-annoying-habits/;http://moovafrica.com/news/iata-expands-ceiv-certification-program-with-live-animal-version/;http://www.eastbysoutheast.com/chinas-maritime-silk-road-africa/.

Fig. 1

Recent food security threats have demonstrated that human health, animal health, environmental health, and agriculture are inextricably linked. The 2009 human H1N1 pandemic is a good example. Although illness was primarily among humans, the US pork industry suffered marked transient economic losses of ∼15% due to consumer avoidance of pork, and trade restrictions largely from “swine flu” nomenclature [3]. Similarly, when the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly spread among humans, the world faced many food security problems due to morbidity among food workers, reduction in food production, and increases in food costs [4]. In addition, the severity of COVID-19's impact seems to have been worse in rural areas and among developing nations [5] where food security if more tenuous. Most recently, US poultry, egg, and dairy production have suffered multiple incursions of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) likely through shared environmental exposures between wildlife and livestock. In September 2023, the incursions were estimated to have cost the US poultry industry alone from $2.5–3.0 billion [6]. It is also important to note that climate change may increase threats to food security by reducing potable water [7].

The avian influenza virus epizootic in cattle is another example of a need for One Health approaches to food security. The epizootic has rapidly impacted dozens of dairy farms in at least 12 US states, threatened milk production, spilled over to infect at least five dairy workers, and restricted the interstate movement of dairy cattle [8,9]. The economic impact of this epizootic is yet unknown but has been estimated to cost US dairy farmers $100 to $200 per cow [10]. It also raises a critical concern that the H5N1 viruses might further change leading to increased morbidity and transmissibility among humans.

The interactions between humans, animals, wildlife, water, the built environment, and modern agriculture are growing increasing complex. One key to the early detection of these increasing threats is the need for increased surveillance. However, how do we gain such surveillance in a sustainable way? No single professional discipline or institution can monitor or control such complex infectious disease problems. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an increasingly important example of a complex worldwide problem (Fig. 2). The misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals and plants are the main drivers in the development of drug-resistant bacteria that were estimated to be responsible for 4.95 million deaths worldwide in 2019 [11]. In the US, food security responsibilities are distributed among six federal agencies (Fig. 3) making rapid response to complex problems difficult. For instance, the US government's response to the HPAIV infections among cattle on dairy farms has been contentious between the governmental agencies, the farms, and the veterinarians caring for the dairy cattle [12,13]. Instead of aggressively seeking to detect emerging food security threats, our and other developed world governments more often embrace a “whack a mole” response strategy (Video 1) where we wait for food security threat to emerge and then rely upon an inter-institutional and inter-disciplinary response to mitigate the complex threat. Examples include governmental reactions to both the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic where effective diagnostics and surveillance for human disease were markedly delayed and subsequently the government has been strongly criticized [14,15].

The interactions between humans, animals, wildlife, water, the built environment, and modern agriculture are growing increasing complex. One key to the early detection of these increasing threats is the need for increased surveillance. However, how do we gain such surveillance in a sustainable way? No single professional discipline or institution can monitor or control such complex infectious disease problems. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an increasingly important example of a complex worldwide problem (Fig. 2). The misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals and plants are the main drivers in the development of drug-resistant bacteria that were estimated to be responsible for 4.95 million deaths worldwide in 2019 [11]. In the US, food security responsibilities are distributed among six federal agencies (Fig. 3) making rapid response to complex problems difficult. For instance, the US government's response to the HPAIV infections among cattle on dairy farms has been contentious between the governmental agencies, the farms, and the veterinarians caring for the dairy cattle [12,13]. Instead of aggressively seeking to detect emerging food security threats, our and other developed world governments more often embrace a “whack a mole” response strategy (Video 1) where we wait for food security threat to emerge and then rely upon an inter-institutional and inter-disciplinary response to mitigate the complex threat. Examples include governmental reactions to both the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic where effective diagnostics and surveillance for human disease were markedly delayed and subsequently the government has been strongly criticized [14,15].

During April 21–23, 2024, 124 registrants from 10 countries representing human health, animal health, agriculture, environmental, and ecosystem health met in Galveston, Texas to share research knowledge (Fig. 4). As a One Health approach to food security has been the frequent focus of previous scientific meetings, a stated goal of this Symposium was “To move from One Health rhetoric to forging new One Health research collaborations.” The Symposiums objectives were:• To promote a transdisciplinary, ‘One Health’ research approach focusing on food security in tackling complex problems that plague food production, human (worker and consumer) health, animal health, and environmental health.

• To share research knowledge regarding complex problems affecting food security and testing potential solutions concerning these complex problems.

• To build community and new collaborations between diverse professionals and their numerous institutions that work in the area of food safety, recognizing that food security cannot be addressed by a single organizational entity.

• To recognize and promote excellence among junior professionals working in research areas amenable to One Health approaches.

Fig. 2 One complex food security problem is the spread of antimicrobial resistance bacteria between, people, animals, and the environment. (Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-biology2/chapter/antibiotics/) (This was approved by Lumen Learning).

Fig. 2

Fig. 3 This rather simple graphic seeks to illustrate that US federal food security responsibilities are complex and sometimes dysfunctional. Currently, these six federal agencies share US food security responsibilties (US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Where overlaps in jurisdictions occur, there is frequent poor cooperation and frustration causing consumers as well as agriculture businesses to suffer (graphic by Professor Gray).

Fig. 3

Fig. 4 Photographs from the April 21–23 Symposium (top left and clockwise) Dr. Heather Fowler speaks about Pork Board research activities, Dr. Jamie Jonker describes the avian influenza outbreak in US cattle, Dr. Juergen Richt speaks African Swine Fever controls, Dr. Mark Ackermann asks a speaker a question, young scholars from UTMB pose for a photograph at the poster session, and Dr. Teck-Hock Toh presents One Health research work from SEGi University in Sarawak, Malaysia (Photographs by Professor Gray).

Fig. 4

The Symposium agenda (Supplemental Table 1) demonstrates the uniqueness of the Symposium. Scientists from multiple agricultural industries, academia, and the US government met for nearly two days to discuss some of the most complex problems in food security. In a challenging, opening session, Professor James Roth of 10.13039/100009227 Iowa State University explained how growing human populations are suffering complex food challenges that require new technology, stronger cooperation between sectors, One Health approaches, and increased funding support for preventing the re-emerging and emerging infectious diseases. Next, we heard from leaders in agricultural industry research. These included scientists from the beef, dairy, poultry, pork, and green leafy vegetable industries. They shared how their industries are embracing a One Health approach and continuing striving for excellence. In following sessions, researchers from diverse research areas and multiple countries showcased their research work. It was clear that plant health, aquaculture, microbiome, environmental sampling, defense strategies against specific food pathogens, wildlife monitoring, and microbial threat modeling are all playing important roles in food security research.

The Symposium agenda (Supplemental Table 1) demonstrates the uniqueness of the Symposium. Scientists from multiple agricultural industries, academia, and the US government met for nearly two days to discuss some of the most complex problems in food security. In a challenging, opening session, Professor James Roth of 10.13039/100009227 Iowa State University explained how growing human populations are suffering complex food challenges that require new technology, stronger cooperation between sectors, One Health approaches, and increased funding support for preventing the re-emerging and emerging infectious diseases. Next, we heard from leaders in agricultural industry research. These included scientists from the beef, dairy, poultry, pork, and green leafy vegetable industries. They shared how their industries are embracing a One Health approach and continuing striving for excellence. In following sessions, researchers from diverse research areas and multiple countries showcased their research work. It was clear that plant health, aquaculture, microbiome, environmental sampling, defense strategies against specific food pathogens, wildlife monitoring, and microbial threat modeling are all playing important roles in food security research.

Some of the most important food security problems involve microbial threats. Often viruses, bacteria and other pathogens cause outbreaks in humans, animals, or plants and directly or indirectly negatively impact multiple sectors. Research scientists from governmental agencies and multiple universities discussed current threats and control measures for avian influenza A viruses, African swine fever virus, coronaviruses, Mycobacterium bovis, as well as Brucella, Salmonella, Vibrio and Campylobacter species. Often, employing a One Health approach was emphasized in countering food-related pathogen threats. In the Symposium's fourth session, other food security topics such as employing animal vaccines against tick-borne disease to protect both animals and humans, the importance of protecting food workers, and an example of graduate training for One Health researchers were discussed. Additionally, the Symposium fervently engaged young One Health researchers by providing recognition and financial awards for the 10 best scientific abstracts and six most compelling poster presentations. It was clear that numerous young scientists greatly valued discussing their work with some of the world's leading food security scientists.

The final session of ‘Promoting One Health Food Security Research in the Future’ involved discussions about how we might build upon Symposium activities by finding ways to more formally support One Health training and research opportunities. There was considerable enthusiasm about the creating Centers of Excellence in One Health Training and Research where interdisciplinary professionals would unite in research efforts to approach complex food security problems. There was also great enthusiasm about holding periodic future such Symposiums for longer periods of time and in attracting larger scientific audiences.

After the Symposium, numerous Symposium attendees completed evaluations documenting their confidence that the meeting objectives had been met, that the presentation topics were unique and relevant, and that the Symposium was valuable to delegates for exchanging of views, research ideas and collaborations. Many expressed their appreciation of the networking that occurred apart from the scientific session and their desire to attend future such Symposia.

This special issue of the One Health journal seeks to captures some of the most important reports from among the 30 oral and 44 poster Symposium presentations. We trust it will be a permanent record of the thinking of more than 120 research professionals and trainees who gathered in this unique setting to share their knowledge and research aspirations.

The following are the supplementary data related to this article.Video 1

In general, rather than conducting surveillance for and seeking to mitigate emerging food security threats, when the nature of the threat is complex, the US government often seeks to respond to the novel threat after it has been discovered. This “Whack-a-Mole” response strategy could be improved upon if US governmental agencies conducted surveillance in a unified One Health manner. Video extracted from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoP1E9J4jpg&feature=youtu.be The authors will seek permission to use these graphic).

Video 1

Supplemental Table 1

The Symposium Agenda.

Supplemental Table 1

Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100890.

Funding

The Symposium was supported by funding from 10.13039/100005825 USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Award Number:2024-67015-41529 ), Elsevier’s journal One Health, Pork Checkoff, Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases (CEEZAD), MDPI’s Journal Veterinary Sciences, and the One Health Commission.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Gregory C. Gray: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Conceptualization. Thang Nguyen-Tien: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft.

Declaration of competing interest

None.

Data availability

No data was used for the research described in the article.

Acknowledgements

We thank the following individuals for their service on the International Symposium on One Health Research: Improving Food Security and Resilience planning committee:Unlabelled TableMark R. Ackermann DVM, PhD, DACVP
Center Director, USDA/ARS-National Animal Disease Center, Ames, Iowa, USA	Guy H. Loneragan, BVSc, PhD
Dean and Professor, School of Veterinary Medicine, Texas Tech University, Amarillo, TX, USA	
Dennis A. Bente, DVM, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, UTMB, Galveston, TX, USA	Susan McLellan, MD MPH
Professor, Department of Medicine, UTMB, Galveston, TX, USA	
Mandy A. Carr-Johnson, PhD
Sr. Executive Director, Scientific Affairs, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Littleton, Colorado, USA	Hung Nguyen-Viet, MSc, PhD
Lead, CGIAR Initiative on One Health, International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya	
Galaxia A. Cortés Hinojosa MV, MSc, PhD, CertAqVet, DACVM
Assistant Professor, Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile	Juergen A. Richt, DVM, PhD
University Distinguished Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA	
Matthew Dacso, MD, MSc, FACP
Chair ad interim, Department of Global Health and Emerging Diseases, UTMB, Galveston, TX, USA	Steven C. Ricke, MS. PhD, Director – Meat Science and Animal Biologics Discovery (MSABD) Program
Professor, Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, WI, USA	
David I. Douphrate, PhD, MPT, MBA, CPE, CSP
Associate Professor, Depart of Environmental & Occupational Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA	Anabel Rodriguez, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA|	
Heather Fowler, VMD PhD MPH DACVPM PMP
Director of Producer and Public Health, National Pork Board, Clive, AI, USA	James A. Roth, DVM, PhD
Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA	
Kathleen F. Gensheimer, MD, MPH, FIDSA
One Health Initiative Advisory Board, College Park, MD, USA	Linda J. Saif, MS, PhD
Distinguished University Professor, Ohio State University, Wooster, Ohio, USA	
Gregory C. Gray, MD, MPH, FIDSA
Professor, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, UTMB, Galveston, TX, USA	Teck Hock Toh MBBS, FRCPCH
Professor, Faculty of Medicine, SEGi University, Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia	
Denise L. B. Heard, DVM, MAM, ACPV
Vice President, Research Programs, U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, Tucker, GA, USA	Montse Torremorell, DVM, PhD
Professor & Chair College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA	
Gustavo Hernandez Vidal, DVM, MSc, PhD
Dean and Professor, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Escobedo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico	Batsukh Zayat, DVM, PhD, ScD
Professor, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia	

We additionally thank UTMB's Randy Urban, MD; Toni D'Agostino, MA, and Christy Taylor Bray, MS, CRA for their much-appreciated leadership and in planning the Symposium.
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