Global Nutrition and the Intersection of Human and Animal Health

This chapter introduces the different forms of malnutrition relevant to the global One Health practitioner, their prevalence, and immediate and underlying causes. Given that the overwhelming burden of malnutrition in women and children in low- and middle-income countries is undernutrition (including underweight in women, acute (wasting) and chronic (stunting) undernutrition in children, and micronutrient deficiencies, e.g., anemia), special consideration is given to the contributions of nutritionally dense animal-source foods (ASF). Historically and today, ASF provide vital micronutrients – some of which cannot be acquired from plant-source foods. The production and consumption of ASF, however, is not without risk – this chapter situates livestock production in the context of One Health, exploring the positive and negative relationships between livestock, humans, and the environment.