News

Press Release:

Three prominent scientists from different parts of the world have declared in a newly published paper entitled “All Life Protection and Our Collective Future” that climate change solutions must include changes in our food systems and in the way that we eat.  “Our global trajectory on factory farming is incompatible with the long-term survival of our species” says lead author David O. Wiebers, M.D.

Regarding human nutrition, the authors state, “For the sake of humans, non-humans and the earth, there is a fundamental and urgent need for us to rapidly evolve toward eating forms of protein that are safer for humans, including a wide range of time-honored fundamental plant-derived food sources as well as the more recently developed plant-based meat/dairy and egg alternatives and cultured meat (produced by culturing animal cells).  Additional investment in plant-based agriculture to grow crops to feed humans rather than livestock for human consumption will feed far more people while utilizing far less land and water, allowing for the preservation of vital ecosystems for innumerable species.  A recent University of Oxford study analyzed and valuated the health and climate change benefits of dietary change and concluded that a transition toward more plant-based diets that are in line with standard dietary guidelines could avoid 5.1 million human deaths per year and reduce food-related greenhouse gases by 29-70% by 2050.  Moving to totally plant-based diets could result in 8.1 million avoided deaths annually and even greater greenhouse gas emission benefits.”

 Also in the paper, which was published as a 40^th anniversary editorial in the international medical journal Neuroepidemiology, the authors introduce the concept of All Life Protection and describe why it has now become clear that protecting all life forms is key to the survival of humankind.  “As physicians, we have a sacred obligation to protect the health and wellbeing of our collective patients.  Given the profound interconnectedness of all life, it has become apparent that it is neither wise nor sufficient to approach our patients or our world from a purely human-centric point of reference.  We are running out of time to make major changes in the current trajectory of many of our practices and it will be increasingly important for us to go beyond human protection, animal protection and environmental protection and recognize the oneness of all life.  We call upon our colleagues and friends in these arenas to move beyond working in separate silos, to join forces in true interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary ways, and to help forge an All Life Protection movement, invoking a more advanced and inclusive concept that better unites both the protectors and life forms that we protect in the spirit of compassion for all life.”

The authors indicate that changes such as those they are suggesting we will need to be made in relatively short order because our current trajectory has us headed toward an irreversible downward spiral in 7-8 years.  They go on to say that in the absence of change, “the coming decades will bring with them widespread environmental and agricultural devastation, massive famine, flooding, disease and warfare with hundreds of millions of so-called climate refugees.  All of this will be experienced in most of our lifetimes and will become a dominant part of the lives of our collective children and grandchildren.   Whether or not we can stop global warming is in our hands and our collective future clearly depends upon the decisions that we are making now.”

SEE: Neuroepidemiology (DOI:10.1159/000525021)

“ ... As physicians, we have a sacred obligation to protect the health and wellbeing of our collective patients. Given the profound interconnectedness of all life, it has become apparent that it is neither wise nor sufficient to approach our patients or our world from a purely human-centric point of reference. In this regard, we would invoke the concept of All Life Protection which promotes and augments the concept of One Health [2, 24] by fundamentally emphasizing not only the health of all life forms but also the wellbeing and protection of such. We are running out of time to make major changes in the current trajectory of many of our practices and it will be increasingly important for us to go beyond human protection, animal protection, and environmental protection and recognize the oneness of all life. We call upon our colleagues and friends in these arenas to move beyond working in separate silos, to join forces in true interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary ways, and to help forge an All Life Protection movement, invoking a more advanced and inclusive concept that better unites both the protectors and life forms that we protect in the spirit of compassion for all life.

And we will need to advance our governance structures so that they are neither rewarding activities that are destructive to the planet nor heavily prioritizing economic governance over health and environmental governance. We must call on decision-makers to make One Health and All Life Protection the new norms across the various sectors while inventing and implementing equitable economic systems that have human, animal, and environmental health at their cores. Our failure to heed the wake-up call of COVID-19 and rethink our relationship with all life on this planet will not only impact negatively on human health and brain health but may ultimately engender grave limitations upon the futures of all species on earth including our own. ...”

Provided by:

 *David O. Wiebers, M.D.

Emeritus Professor of Neurology

Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

TOR Group and TOR Foundation

202-341-1277 (Direct)

*Note: Dr. Wiebers is a strong supporter of the One Health concept/approach.  November 2nd, 2021

SEE: Eminent National and Internationally Recognized Physician Neurologists Endorse One Health Approach for Brain Health