Health extends beyond our individual efforts. From the food we eat to the air we breathe, all of Earth’s creatures exist in a constant state of interdependence. Animals, specifically, carry greater significance for our physical well-being than most people realize. It is critical that people understand how animal & human health are affiliated so that we can better support both of them.
Nutrition
How we fuel our bodies is important. However, the quality of our food isn’t always in our control.
The vast majority of the world population consumes meat as well as other animal products (dairy, eggs, etc.) on a regular basis. This means that billions of people have the potential to be exposed to antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, or even diseases from the consumption of animals alone. Additionally, animals that suffer from various severities of malnutrition, or those that are raised in high-stress or suboptimal environments, produce foods with lower nutritional value and quality.
These are genuine risks regardless of whether the animal is wild or farm-raised. While farms offer more direct control over the animals’ environment, care and space are often compromised due to commercialism and the prioritization of quantity over quality. On the other hand, wild animals are less likely to be filled with cheap feed, fillers, and harmful chemicals, but they may be at greater risk for caloric variability, injury, or disease. Even those who strive to follow a strictly vegan diet can unknowingly ingest crops that have been affected by inferior fertilizers sourced from a variety of possible animals.
While the quality of an animal’s life may seem irrelevant to our own personal wellness, their health affects our health. Both human and animal health stores advertise organic and free-range products as ‘healthy’ alternatives, but the best way to ensure that people are receiving optimal nutrition is to provide healthy environmental conditions for all of the animals that surround us.
Diseases
Apart from the illnesses that can be contracted from poor animal-based food products, zoonotic diseases are another cause for concern. A zoonotic disease is one that can be transmitted from animal to human via direct or indirect contact. Common zoonotic diseases include Rabies, Typhus, and the Plague. Animal-carried diseases can be especially hazardous due to factors that may complicate efforts to ensure disease containment, control, and resolution.
Infected animals may actively spread disease to other animals or humans while alive. But with some diseases, the risks do not go away with the death of the affected animal. When an infected animal passes, their carcass may still pose a threat to those around it. The harmful microorganisms may be absorbed by vegetation or consumed by scavengers, further potentiating the spread of disease.
Transmission, however, is only one of the dangers associated with these severe and even potentially lethal illnesses. Some diseases have the power to severely reduce or even wipe out entire species, potentially limiting our food production and/or inflicting damage to the homeostasis of our environment.
The Environment
Thousands of species are currently at risk of extinction; species that play a vital role in the health of our environments and therefore the health of us as individuals. For example, roughly 6 billion bats have died from White-Nose Syndrome since 2006. Consequently, the depleted bat population has seriously hindered the natural process of pollination, seed dispersal, and the population control of mosquitoes and a variety of other disease-carrying insects.
Elephants are another endangered species whose dwindling numbers (only 415,00 African Elephants remaining in the world today) negatively impact the overall health of the world we live in. These majestic creatures help to clear forests and create more space for new vegetation to germinate, develop, and thrive. The elephants also naturally reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere by increasing carbon storage in the soil through the absorption of their large fecal deposits. Overall, maintaining a rich biodiversity of species is essential to not only the health of our planet but to ourselves.
Conclusion
Ensuring the health of the animals in the world around us is more important to our health and welfare than most people realize. It requires worldwide individual, community, and even industrial collaboration and support. If we commit to supporting the health of the animals with whom we coexist and depend on, our health will be rewarded through increased quality of foods, decreased risk of disease, and a more sustainable planet. Prioritizing animal wellness is foundational to global human health.
