For a long time, conversations around sustainability have been compartmentalized. Climate change is discussed in one space, public health in another, and animal welfare is often pushed to the margins. But increasingly, global institutions like the United Nations have acknowledged that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is not about progress in isolation but about building linkages across systems. Nowhere is this more evident than in the relationship between food systems, animal welfare, and climate change.
A growing body of research, along with on-ground experience, has made it clear that the health of humans, animals, and the environment cannot be separated. The One Health framework, which has gained traction in India as well, is built on this very understanding. It recognizes that human health is deeply connected to the health of animals and the ecosystems we inhabit. Yet, despite this, our policies and public conversations continue to approach these issues in silos, often missing the larger picture.
In India, food systems are still largely viewed through the lens of production and food security. Sectors like dairy and poultry are celebrated for their scale and economic contribution, but far less attention is given to the conditions in which animals are raised and the long-term consequences of these systems. In many cases, animals are kept in environments that compromise their health and immunity. This is not only an ethical concern but also a public health risk. Scientific literature has repeatedly pointed out that a significant proportion of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in nature, meaning they originate in animals and spill over to humans. The way animals are treated, therefore, has direct implications for human health outcomes.
The environmental dimension of this relationship is equally critical. Reports by institutions such as the Food and Agriculture Organization have highlighted the role of livestock in contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, particularly through enteric fermentation. Methane emissions from ruminants are a major contributor to global warming, yet food systems are still not central to climate conversations in the way they should be. At the same time, the EAT-Lancet Commission’s work on sustainable diets has drawn attention to how current food systems are failing on multiple fronts, contributing both to environmental degradation and to poor human health, including rising levels of non-communicable diseases.
In the Indian context, these concerns are further intensified by water stress and changing climatic conditions. Livestock production is resource-intensive, particularly in terms of water use. As climate change leads to erratic rainfall patterns and increasing scarcity, the sustainability of these systems becomes even more fragile. These environmental changes also affect animal health, leading to increased vulnerability to disease and reduced productivity. What follows is a chain reaction where unhealthy animals, raised in strained environments, contribute to both lower quality food and greater public health risks.This interconnectedness creates a cycle that is difficult to ignore. Poor environmental conditions affect animal health, compromised animal health affects human well-being, and all of this feeds back into a system that is already under pressure from climate change. Despite this, interventions are often designed in isolation, addressing one part of the problem without engaging with the whole.
What is needed is a fundamental shift in how we understand and engage with food systems. They cannot be treated simply as mechanisms of production. They are complex systems that sit at the intersection of ethics, ecology, and public health. Addressing one dimension without the others will continue to produce limited and short-term results.Recognising animal welfare as central to this conversation is an important starting point. It is not a separate or secondary issue, but one that underpins both environmental sustainability and human health. Improving the conditions in which animals are raised, reducing dependence on intensive systems, and rethinking consumption patterns are all part of a broader transition that is urgently needed.
If the goal is to truly move toward sustainable development, then these connections can no longer be overlooked. The challenge is not just to reform individual sectors, but to rethink the relationships between them. Food systems, animal welfare, and climate change are not separate crises. They are part of the same reality, and responding to them requires a way of thinking that is just as interconnected.
