Jahrgang 2020

Focus 4/2020: One Health

Against the backdrop of current developments surrounding COVID-19, the “One Health” approach is gaining momentum. It is based on the insight that zoonoses, i.e. diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans, can be predicted, prevented and controlled much more quickly and at a lesser cost than if the two disciplines are working separately. But the One Health concept also implies that human and animal health are intrinsically linked to the health of our environment. In other words, it is a comprehensive approach that reaches way beyond tackling infectious diseases.

Focus 3/2020: Changing times, changing diets

In its 2019 publication Food in the Anthropocene, the EAT-Lancet Commission described the link between nutritional targets and environmental sustainability. In brief, the study argues that diets and food production will need to change in order to improve health and avoid damage to the planet, emphasising that people will have to eat more fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, legumes and whole grains while reducing the consumption of ruminant meat in particular. Setting out from this, the authors presented a proposition for a global reference diet. Whereas it is undisputed that the recommendations of the Lancet Commission point in the right direction, the question remains how the world population can be urged to take precisely this course.

Focus 2/2020: Employment for rural Africa

Many people in the Global South have no option to earn an income enabling them a life beyond poverty, not to mention a decent living. The situation is particularly volatile in Africa, for the population there will double by 2050, and every year, 25 million new jobs need to be created for the surge of young people entering the labour market. These young people are more educated, more entrepreneurial, more savvy and more technical-skilled than any other generation before them. So this is a huge potential that can be put to use – provided that the existing hurdles can be cleared, and that the impacts of the corona crisis can be contained as quickly as possible.

Focus 1/2020: Water for food and agriculture

Water is the basis of all life on Earth. Without water, agriculture, and hence food production, would not be possible, and this sector accounts for more than two thirds of global freshwater consumption. However, freshwater is a scarce resource. And it is becoming ever scarcer, also because of global warming effects. Here, clever solutions are needed, solutions ensuring that the scarce resource of water is used optimally while taking the needs of all stakeholders into consideration – in line with the “Leave no one behind” principle of the Sustainable Development Goals.