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Baby pangolins on my plate: possible lessons to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic
Gabriele Volpato1, Michele F Fontefrancesco1, Paolo Gruppuso1
1University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, Piazza V. Emanuele II, I-12042, Bra/Pollenzo, Italy.
Insights
Human activities encroaching on wildlife habitats and the commodification of wild animals drive disease spillover risks. Addressing these drivers is crucial for mitigating resource mismanagement and protecting global health.
Area of Science:
- Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine research focuses on the intersection of human societies, nature, food, and health.
- Studies explore the consumption and medicinal use of wild foods and animals, including associated knowledge and beliefs.
Background:
- Research has historically overlooked the social and cultural drivers of increasing pressure on wildlife.
- Two primary factors facilitate the transmission of infectious diseases from wild animals to humans: habitat encroachment and the commodification of wildlife.
Discussion:
- Human activities like logging and mining disrupt ecosystems, increasing disease transmission risks.
- The expanding market for wild meat and live animals, particularly in tropical regions, fuels this pressure.
- Elitist consumption of bushmeat may play a significant role in these trends.
Key Insights:
- Habitat encroachment and wildlife commodification are key drivers of zoonotic disease emergence.
- Social and cultural factors, including consumption patterns, significantly influence wildlife pressure.
- The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgent need to understand these links.
Outlook:
- Ethnobiologists must adapt research agendas to address the complex drivers of wildlife mismanagement.
- New epistemological approaches are needed to effectively mitigate threats to biodiversity and human existence.
- Integrating social, cultural, and ecological perspectives is vital for future research and conservation efforts.
Abstract:
The Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (JEET), throughout its 15 years of existence, has tried to provide a respected outlet for scientific knowledge concerning the inextricable links between human societies and nature, food, and health. Ethnobiology and ethnomedicine-centred research has moved at the (partially artificial and fictitious) interface between nature and culture and has investigated human consumption of wild foods and wild animals, as well as the use of wild animals or their parts for medicinal and other purposes, along with the associated knowledge, skills, practices, and beliefs. Little attention has been paid, however, to the complex interplay of social and cultural reasons behind the increasing pressure on wildlife. The available literature suggest that there are two main drivers that enhance the necessary conditions for infectious diseases to cross the species barrier from wild animals to humans: (1) the encroachment of human activities (e.g., logging, mining, agricultural expansion) into wild areas and forests and consequent ecological disruptions; and, connected to the former, (2) the commodification of wild animals (and natural resources in general) and an expanding demand and market for wild meat and live wild animals, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical areas. In particular, a crucial role may have been played by the bushmeat-euphoria and attached elitist gastronomies and conspicuous consumption phenomena. The COVID-19 pandemic will likely require ethnobiologists to reschedule research agendas and to envision new epistemological trajectories aimed at more effectively mitigating the mismanagement of natural resources that ultimately threats our and other beings' existence.
