Re-thinking public health: Towards a new scientific logic of routine animal health care in European industrial farming

Abstract

This study makes the case for a new scientific logic of routine animal health care in industrial farming in Europe. We argue that the social regime underpinning scientific research and development on chronic animal disease management (CADM) in Europe stifles innovation and sustains a productivist model of animal husbandry that facilitates and maintains chronic animal diseases rather than eliminating them. Drawing on documentary analysis and qualitative interviews, the study explores the science of CADM in the broiler, cattle and pig sectors of the European food industry. Our findings show that in these major sectors, research and development on CADM is largely orientated towards a logic of growth, profitability and control rather than a recognition of the interconnection between chronic animal diseases, the food industry, and people (especially consumers) as advocated by the One Health approach. The study contributes to the literature on medical humanities and science and technology studies within One Health and public health in two ways: First, we draw new focus towards chronic animal diseases that are non-transmissible to humans and argue that while these are not zoonoses, they are equally worthy of attention for managing the emergence of new pathogens and diseases. Second, we expand the conceptualisation of One Health to include chronic animal health conditions. Our argument is that public health as an outcome of the One Health approach should be a term of reference that applies to humans and nonhumans alike whether they be farmed animals, practitioners or consumers.

Living with cows, sheep and endemic disease in the North of England: Embodied care, biosocial collectivities and killability

“…It is argued that research focusing on 'chronic animal disease management' (CADM) neglects to address problems inherent to production systems (Bellet et al, 2021). Instead, it attends to producing more resilient animals, and to reactive treatments, thus contributing to the persistence of endemic conditions and the farming practices which foster them (Bellet et al, 2021; see also Buller and Roe, 2018;Holloway and Bear, 2021;Turner, 2010;Porcher, 2006;Stoddard and Hovorka, 2019). Productivist farming, and the endemic conditions it engenders, thus becomes further normalised.…”

“…Further, the persistence of ‘production’ conditions in contemporary farming has led to them becoming normalised (Bellet et al, 2021). It is argued that research focusing on ‘chronic animal disease management’ (CADM) neglects to address problems inherent to production systems (Bellet et al, 2021). Instead, it attends to producing more resilient animals, and to reactive treatments, thus contributing to the persistence of endemic conditions and the farming practices which foster them (Bellet et al, 2021; see also Buller and Roe, 2018; Holloway and Bear, 2021; Turner, 2010; Porcher, 2006; Stoddard and Hovorka, 2019).…”

“…Care for farmed animals has increasingly been expressed through the concept of ‘welfare’ (Buller and Roe, 2018). Returning to Bellet et al’s (2021) argument above, however, it has been suggested that welfare discourses can deflect attention from debating the ethics of farming animals at all (e.g. Cole, 2011).…”

Changing interventions in farm animal health and welfare: A governmentality approach to the case of lameness

“…Enticott, 2008;Hinchliffe et al, 2016), efforts to address endemic disease (e.g. Bellet et al, 2021;Shortall and Brown, 2021;Wynands et al, 2021), and debates around animal welfare (e.g. Buller and Morris, 2003;Buller and Roe, 2018;Weary and Robbins, 2019).…”

High work satisfaction despite high workload among European organic mixed livestock farmers: a mixed-method approach

“…Specialization in farming has dramatically changed agricultural practices. This development has alleviated the physically demanding work on farms but has potentially created adverse effects, e.g., on the attractiveness of farm activities (Brunori et al 2013;Dedieu and Schiavi 2019;Malanski et al 2021), social recognition of farmers (Timmermann and Félix 2015), animal health and welfare (Bellet et al 2021), and subsequently farmers' well-being and quality of life (Contzen and Häberli 2021).…”