VCM 694: One Welfare

Course Description

This course explores One Welfare, as an integrative framework that recognizes the fundamental interconnectedness among animal health, welfare & human health & well-being, as well as environmental sustainability. This course explores how improvements in one domain generate positive cascading effects across others, and conversely, how neglect in any area undermines the whole system. Rather than treating these domains as separate silos, students will develop systems-level thinking to understand complex, real-world welfare challenges. The course emphasizes evidence-based problem-solving grounded in policy, ethics, science, and practice—examined through a global lens that honors diverse cultural, economic, and environmental contexts.

Course Goals

Apply the One Welfare framework to critically analyze and address complex welfare challenges at the intersection of animal welfare, human well-being, and environmental sustainability.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Define and critically evaluate the One Welfare framework using peer-reviewed literature.
• Collaborate in multidisciplinary teams to propose evidence-based solutions to global welfare challenges.
• Assess environment, societal, cultural, ethical and policy dimensions of welfare-related challenges across disciplines.
• Critically evaluate real-world case studies and propose evidence-based, context-sensitive interventions.
• Apply systems thinking tools (e.g., causal loop diagrams, stakeholder maps) to analyze links among animal welfare, human health, and environmental sustainability.

Course Topics

The following topics will be covered:

• Foundations of One Welfare Systems Thinking
• Environmental Sustainability and Ecosystem Health
• Animal Welfare Science and Measurement
• Human–Animal Relationships in Society
• Human Well-Being and Social Sustainability
• Violence, Vulnerability, and Welfare Linkages
• Zoonotic Disease and One Welfare Interfaces
• Food Systems, Biosecurity, and Global Trade
• Wildlife, Conservation, and Human Conflict Systems
• Natural Disasters and Emergency Response Systems
• Climate Change and Welfare Disruption
• Inequality and Global Welfare Gaps
• Governance and Policy Systems
• One Welfare in Practice: Farm-to-Fork Systems Audit