Animal-based food systems are unsafe: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) fosters the debate on meat consumption

• Published in: Public Health Nutrition Vol. 23; no. 17; pp. 3250 - 3255
• Main Authors: Jacob, Michelle Cristine Medeiros, Feitosa, Ivanilda Soares, Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.12.2020
• Subjects: Animal husbandry; Animal-based foods; Animals; Animals, Wild - virology; Commentary; Coronaviruses; COVID-19 - transmission; COVID-19 - virology; Cultural heritage; Developing Countries; Diet; Food; Food Insecurity; Food Microbiology; Food Safety; Food Supply; Food systems; Humans; LDCs; Meat; Meat - virology; Meat production; Nutrition; Pandemics; Public Health; SARS-CoV-2 - isolation & purification; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Sustainability; Viral diseases; Viral Zoonoses - virology; Wildlife; Zoonoses; Madagascar; Ghana; Food and nutrition security; Food safety; Food systems; Meat
• ISSN: 1368-9800; 1475-2727
• DOI: 10.1017/S1368980020002657

The current pandemic restarts a debate on permanently banning wildlife consumption in an effort to prevent further public health threats. In this commentary, we offer two ideas to enhance the discussion on foodborne zoonotic diseases in food systems. First, we focus on the probable consequences that the loss of access to wildlife could cause to the status of food and nutrition security of many people in developing countries that rely on bushmeat to subsist. Second, we argue that all animal-based food systems, especially the ones based on intensive husbandry, present food safety threats. To ban the access to bushmeat without a rational analysis of all human meat production and consumption in the global animal-based food system will not help us to prevent future outbreaks.