Summary :
What is the One Health concept ?
¤ Definition and fundamental principles
The “One Health” approach is a global framework that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems. It recognizes that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the environment in general (including ecosystems) are closely interconnected and interdependent. This definition was established in 2021 by the One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP).
¤ Origins of the concept and growing international momentum
The One Health concept emerged in the early 2000s to better prevent zoonoses, that is, diseases transmitted between animals and humans, building on the work of the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Manhattan Principles (Cook et al., 2004). It has since been progressively structured at the international level, notably through the joint efforts of WHO, FAO, and OIE, and later expanded to environmental dimensions by the One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP, 2021). Today, One Health refers to an integrated approach linking human, animal, plant, and ecosystem health, widely supported by international organizations and scientific research (Destoumieux-Garzón et al., 2018; WHO/FAO/WOAH/UNEP, 2022) in order to address major global challenges such as nutrition, environmental sustainability, and public health.
This global momentum is reflected in major initiatives such as the One Health Summit 2026, under the patronage of the French President, bringing together heads of state, international organizations, scientists, and economic stakeholders in order to accelerate the coordinated implementation of the “One Health” approach and strengthen international cooperation to address health, environmental, and societal challenges in a systemic way.
¤ Why this approach is essential today
The challenges related to health are increasingly interconnected:
- the quality of our food depends on agricultural systems
- Animal health influences both food quality and environmental impact
- The ecosystem balance determines resilience to diseases and climate pressures
Improving global health therefore requires a systemic approach linking agriculture, food, and nutrition.
¤ Link between human, animal, and environmental health
Human health is closely linked to that of animals and the environment: an empirical understanding inherited from past generations, now validated by research. Zoonoses illustrate this link: diseases can be transmitted through contact or consumption of animal products. Likewise, the excessive use of veterinary antibiotics contributes to antimicrobial resistance in humans. Furthermore, the quality of agricultural soils influences plant composition, which impacts animal health and, ultimately, the nutritional quality of food consumed by humans.
Thus, global health operates within a virtuous cycle: preserving soils, plants, and animals supports balanced ecosystems, which in turn sustain human health and that of all living beings.
Concrete examples of the application of the One Health concept
¤ Prevention of zoonotic diseases
Zoonoses are diseases transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans. They can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites, and transmitted through direct contact, food, or vectors such as insects. They fully illustrate the One Health concept, as nearly 60% of emerging infectious diseases in humans originate from animals. Their emergence is driven by environmental changes, certain agricultural practices, and interactions within the food chain. Their prevention relies on a coordinated approach integrating human, animal, and ecosystem health.
¤ Combating antimicrobial resistance
The widespread and sometimes inappropriate use of antibiotics in both human and veterinary medicine leads to their dispersion into soil and water. This contamination creates an environment where bacteria are continuously exposed to antibiotics, promoting the emergence and spread of resistance on a large scale. To address this, the response combines responsible antibiotic use, the implementation of global policies, and alternatives such as vaccination or sustainable agricultural practices.
¤ Agriculture, food, and human health: the Bleu-Blanc-Cœur example
The concept of “global health” can be illustrated through polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly omega-3. These essential lipids play a role in major metabolic functions in humans: regulation of inflammation, immune support, platelet aggregation…
Their cycle begins in certain plants (grass, alfalfa, flax, rapeseed…), which synthesize them. These plants can be consumed by animals, which incorporate these precursors and transform them into long-chain fatty acids beneficial for their health. These lipids are stored in animal cells, determining the nutritional quality of products derived from these animals (meat, dairy products, eggs…). People, at the end of the chain, consume these Bleu-Blanc-Cœur certified foods, whose omega-3 content directly depends on animal feeding, contributing to essential physiological functions. Human health is therefore directly linked to the health of soils, plants, and animals, through the omega-3 continuum: plant, animal, people, a concrete illustration of the One Health concept.
For over 25 years, Bleu-Blanc-Cœur has been committed to offering widely accessible everyday foods whose nutritional quality is objectively measured and guaranteed through result-based requirements, with a public health prevention perspective. To achieve this, the collective develops specifications that define expected levels for key nutrients, for example DHA content in eggs, the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in milk, or antioxidant levels in vegetables.
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A scientific committee, in collaboration with public research institutions, verifies and validates the consistency between these nutritional requirements and the associated agricultural practices. This includes, for example, the link between hen feeding and DHA content in eggs, between grazing and the fatty acid profile of milk, or between soil microbiome management and plant antioxidant richness. These technical references then form the basis for production requirements.
Born in France, the initiative is now active in nearly 20 countries across 4 continents, through locally driven collective approaches aimed at promoting productions with measurable and proven nutritional benefits.
Nutrition, inflammation and health: extending the One Health approach
The mechanisms described above show that food quality, directly linked to agricultural practices, influences key physiological functions in humans, particularly the regulation of inflammation.
At a global level, numerous studies highlight nutritional imbalances, especially regarding essential fatty acid intake.
These interactions between nutrition and health are now the subject of extensive scientific research, particularly to better understand the role of inflammation in certain infectious or chronic diseases.
They illustrate how agricultural and food systems can contribute, alongside other factors, to the resilience of organisms facing health challenges.
Within this framework, the Bleu-Blanc-Cœur approach relies on measurable nutritional outcomes directly linked to agricultural practices, emphasizing balance and diversity of intake rather than isolated nutrients.
¤ The Bleu-Blanc-Cœur approach to One Health
Bleu-Blanc-Cœur is a collective initiative that concretely implements the principles of One Health through agricultural and food systems.
Its approach is based on aligning practices across the entire value chain in order to act simultaneously on:
- Nutrition: improving the nutritional quality of food by reintroducing essential nutrients through agricultural practices.
- Animal health: strengthening animal resilience through diversified and balanced feeding strategies.
- Climate: promoting agricultural practices that support biodiversity, soil health, and more efficient use of resources.
This approach is designed to be adaptable to different geographical contexts, taking into account agronomic, economic, and territorial realities.
¤ A pragmatic and locally adaptable model
Bleu-Blanc-Cœur follows a continuous improvement approach to agricultural systems by promoting:
- greater diversity of feed resources
- a progressive reduction in dependency on imported raw materials, when relevant local alternatives can be developed
- adaptation to the agronomic, geographic, and economic constraints of each territory
The objective is to reconcile environmental performance, nutritional quality, and economic viability, in order to provide sustainable solutions for both producers and consumers.
¤ A science- and measurement-based approach
One of the foundations of the Bleu-Blanc-Cœur approach is its focus on measurable results.
The nutritional quality of food is assessed through objective indicators, such as fatty acid profiles, establishing a direct link between agricultural practices and food composition.
This approach is supported by scientific partnerships and a growing body of research, particularly on the role of nutrition in biological mechanisms such as inflammation regulation.
¤ Environmental protection and biodiversity
Protecting the environment and biodiversity lies at the heart of the One Health concept. Healthy ecosystems provide essential functions:
- Natural disease regulation: for example, intact wetlands can limit the proliferation of mosquito vectors.
- Water and air quality: forests filter air, regulate climate, protect livestock and soil from extreme conditions, and safeguard drinking water resources.
- Pollination: essential to produce fruits, vegetables, and seeds, and therefore for our food systems.
Concrete actions such as reforestation, ecological corridors, or regenerative agriculture help maintain these services. They reduce health risks, support agricultural production, and ensure sustainable resources for future generations.
The actors involved in the implementation of One Health
The implementation of One Health relies on collaboration among multiple stakeholders:
- Farmers and producers
- Food companies and distributors
- Researchers and scientists
- Civil society and private actors
Bleu-Blanc-Cœur acts as a collective framework to coordinate these stakeholders around shared health objectives.
The success of this approach depends on breaking down silos between disciplines and fostering collective dynamics adapted to local contexts.
By reconnecting agriculture, nutrition, and health, One Health paves the way for more resilient and sustainable food systems.
The Bleu-Blanc-Cœur approach concretely demonstrates that it is possible to act simultaneously on human health, animal health, and the environment, not as separate objectives, but as components of a single coherent system, grounded in agricultural practices and measured through tangible results.