Building Towards One Health: Food Perception and Consumption in Vietnam: An Interdisciplinary and International Perspective, 2023

Our research network project, "Engaging with One Health: Translating Perceptions Regarding Aquatic and Terrestrial Animal Consumption in Vietnam," funded by a NERC Hopping Grant to the University of Stirling, addresses critical challenges at the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health in aquatic and terrestrial systems by investigating food Perception and Consumption in Vietnam from an Interdisciplinary and International Perspective.
The One Health framework is essential, as different cultures and languages shape varied perspectives on food, including aspects like quality, cultural value, sustainability, and animal welfare. In Vietnam, where the One Health concept is gaining traction in response to health challenges from rapid development, urbanization, and population growth, there's a pressing need for comprehensive data on how food perceptions integrate into public health and environmental policies. To fill this gap, our mixed-methods approach, encompassing questionnaires, observation, and fieldwork, investigates three critical aspects related to One Health: food consumption and technology, language and culture, and policy and governance. It aims to 1) understand and address complex human, animal health and environmental challenges in Vietnam, contributing to the broader goals of the One Health framework; 2)stimulate academic engagement, assessing the values driving the demand for wild and cultivated animals for food and medicine; 3) build a new interdisciplinary approach to engage with One Health network with different disciplines of academia, industries, policymakers, and stakeholders.
During our public engagement events and workshops from March 13th to 16th, 2023, we designed 15 questionnaires. The results of the questionnaire poll, the field trip to Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta, and the workshop observation form the basis of our potential funding applications and research articles. By identifying cultural and linguistic knowledge gaps around food perception, we aim to inform how these perceptions are translated into public health and environmental policies. We believe our network project will significantly contribute to the academic discourse on the critical intersection of culture, language, and One Health in the context of food consumption.