A claim for plant health as a key component of the one health concept

TL;DR

This paper argues that plant health is a crucial but overlooked part of the One Health concept, which connects human, animal, and environmental health.

Contribution

The paper highlights the importance of integrating plant health into the One Health framework to address global health challenges.

Findings

Plant health is essential for food security and safety, which are key to human and animal health.

Climate change and invasive species significantly impact plant health and the One Health concept.

Antimicrobial resistance in pathogens is a major threat that connects human, animal, and plant health.

Abstract

The concept of health has historically been more closely linked to the well-being of humans than to that of animals, plants or the environment. In contrast, the One Health concept, which emerged in recent decades, generally recognizes the interdependence of only three of its four components: humans, wild and domestic animals, and the environment, but plants have often been overlooked in this analysis. Because plant health has been undervalued within the One Health framework, we emphasize in this review its importance in ensuring food security and safety, two key issues in human and animal health, as highlighted in several of the United Nations SDG. Food production, marketing and consumption use a significant portion of the environment's natural resources, and plant health technology must ensure their sustainable use while safeguarding environmental health. We summarize the relationships between the four components of One Health, highlighting the development of antimicrobial resistance in human, animal and plant pathogens, and the resistance to plant protection products among plant pests, diseases and weeds. Three external drivers significantly influence plant health and One Health in the last decades: climate change, invasive alien species, and the international armed conflicts. The main reported effects of climate change on plant health include the shifts in distribution area, biology and life cycles of harmful organisms as well as plant-pest interactions. Another major factor compromising the sustainability of current plant health technology is the introduction and establishment of alien organisms affecting vegetables resulting from the increasing globalization of food trade, human labour and tourism.These challenges underscore the need to approach One Health at broader scales, beyond individual organisms or populations, as well as intensifying studies on plant health, to effectively address holistically the complex, interconnected risks affecting global health.

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•The concept of health has historically been linked to humans.•Plant Health has been undervalued within the One Health framework.•Plants have a decisive influence on human, animal and environment health.•Plant Health contributes to food security and safety, two key issues in One Health.•Antimicrobial resistance in pathogens is one of the major public health threats.

The concept of health has historically been linked to humans.

Plant Health has been undervalued within the One Health framework.

Plants have a decisive influence on human, animal and environment health.

Plant Health contributes to food security and safety, two key issues in One Health.

Antimicrobial resistance in pathogens is one of the major public health threats.

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