In recent years the impact that food production and consumpt

In recent years, the impact that food production and consumption have had on the environment has received increasing international attention. Some food production practices and consumption behaviours are putting the environment under a great stress, contributing to climate change. The food sector accounts for around 30% of the world\'s total Ticarcillin sodium consumption and accounts for around 22% of total greenhouse gas emissions. With a world population expected to reach about 9 billion by 2050 and with continuing degradation of the planet\'s resources, how we produce and consume our food is becoming essential in the safeguarding of our planet. On May 20, 2017, a by the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) was released on sustainable diets guidelines in Europe. On the basis of an analysis published in 2016, the report found that only two countries in Europe—Germany and Sweden—include sustainable recommendations in their dietary guidelines, with Brazil and Qatar being the best countries outside Europe. Others such as the UK and USA provide advice on sustainable diets, but do not have any governmental support policies.
In the past decade, flooding took place in 50 of 53 countries in the WHO European region, with the most severe floods in Romania, Russia, Turkey, and the UK. It is projected that flooding could affect 250 000–400 000 additional people across Europe by the 2080s with the UK and central Europe among the most severely affected. More than 1000 people were killed by floods and 5·6 million more affected in Europe in the past 10 years alone. As climate change progresses, flooding events are expected to increase in frequency and intensity due to rising sea levels and more frequent and extreme precipitation events, and increased urbanisation will expose more people to flooding events. The characteristics of floods and their impact on human health have been examined in epidemiological studies from both high-income and low-income countries. Immediate effects of flooding are usually due to drowning, injuries, infections, chemical hazards, and disruption to health services, but the longer term effects are less well understood. In high-income countries, floods cause few deaths; however, mental health problems are estimated to account for 80% of all disability adjusted life-years attributable to floods in the UK. A systematic mapping review suggested a shortage of research into the mental health effects of fluvial (river) flooding, compared with coastal flooding or tsunami-related or hurricane-related flooding. Therefore, improvement of the understanding of longer-term health effects of flooding and effective methods to mitigate these effects are needed. In their study in Alice Munro and colleagues address this knowledge gap by using a subset of the data from the UK National Study of Flooding and Health to investigate whether evacuation or displacement were associated with poorer mental health than flooding without evacuation or displacement. Munro and colleagues report a significant association between displacement after the 2013–14 floods and the prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder 1 year after the event. They also found that an increased amount of warning received was protective.
Threats to human health consequent upon global environmental change (eg, climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, loss of biodiversity, nitrogen loading, and persistent organic pollutants) are increasing. Climate change is partly attributable to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. Extreme weather events and short-term variations in climatic conditions have direct effects on human health, such as heat-related deaths, physical injury, and mental health effects. Lifecycles of water, food, and vector-borne pathogens are also affected by climatic factors via ecological and biological processes. Despite an increase, there is still little collaboration between the health and meteorological sectors to assist risk management decisions. Climate services for health is an emerging discipline with an objective to help health professionals better understand the effect of climate and weather conditions on health, and ultimately, to anticipate disease risk consequent upon climate change. Eventually, this holistic process will enable targeting of interventions for more efficient and effective prevention and treatment to reduce risk of disease transmission.