Fostering human animal earthling identities in Just One Health messages for multi-species food justice

Abstract

Abstract The commitment of One Health appears at first glance to be an inclusive, intersectional approach to achieving overall wellbeing for all living beings. And yet, as reflected in the call for submissions for this special edition on the dilemma of animal-source food within One Health, it rarely includes, much less centers, animal species (other than humans) in the discussion surrounding our use of their lives, milks, eggs, babies, or bodies. In this article, we are responding to the call of authors who suggest a Just One Health approach can rhetorically infuse more humility and interconnectedness in positioning humans in and among other animals who also want to live freely in safe, healthy habitats. A multi-species justice ethic (blending human and animal rights into the broader rights of ecosystems) should be incorporated as part of Just One Health’s decision-making criteria. One Health impact statement The One Health approach to public health integrates the interests, ethics, and rights of humans, animals, and global ecosystems. However, it rarely includes, much less centers, animal species (other than humans) in discussions. A Just One Health approach does this, including other species as primary stakeholders in decisions that impact them and considers animal well-being not as objects but as subjects. A potential solution is to bring animal perspectives in from the margins to the center of ethical considerations and adjust the language used to describe them. This inclusion is critical to the ongoing development of this approach.