University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, Piazza V. Emanuele II, I-12042, Bra/Pollenzo, Italy.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2020 Apr 21;16(1):19. doi: 10.1186/s13002-020-00366-4.
The Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (JEET), throughout its 15 years of existence, has tried to provide a respected outlet for scientific knowledge concerning the inextricable links between human societies and nature, food, and health. Ethnobiology and ethnomedicine-centred research has moved at the (partially artificial and fictitious) interface between nature and culture and has investigated human consumption of wild foods and wild animals, as well as the use of wild animals or their parts for medicinal and other purposes, along with the associated knowledge, skills, practices, and beliefs. Little attention has been paid, however, to the complex interplay of social and cultural reasons behind the increasing pressure on wildlife. The available literature suggest that there are two main drivers that enhance the necessary conditions for infectious diseases to cross the species barrier from wild animals to humans: (1) the encroachment of human activities (e.g., logging, mining, agricultural expansion) into wild areas and forests and consequent ecological disruptions; and, connected to the former, (2) the commodification of wild animals (and natural resources in general) and an expanding demand and market for wild meat and live wild animals, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical areas. In particular, a crucial role may have been played by the bushmeat-euphoria and attached elitist gastronomies and conspicuous consumption phenomena. The COVID-19 pandemic will likely require ethnobiologists to reschedule research agendas and to envision new epistemological trajectories aimed at more effectively mitigating the mismanagement of natural resources that ultimately threats our and other beings' existence.
《民族生物学与民族医学杂志》（JEET）在其 15 年的历史中，一直试图为人类社会与自然、食物和健康之间不可分割的联系提供一个受尊重的科学知识出口。以民族生物学和民族医学为中心的研究一直在（部分人为和虚构的）自然与文化的界面上进行，研究了人类对野生食物和野生动物的消费，以及野生动物或其部分用于药用和其他目的的情况，以及相关的知识、技能、实践和信仰。然而，人们很少关注导致野生动物面临越来越大压力的复杂社会和文化原因之间的相互作用。现有文献表明，有两个主要驱动因素增强了传染病从野生动物传播到人类的必要条件：（1）人类活动（如伐木、采矿、农业扩张）侵入野生动物和森林地区，以及由此产生的生态破坏；（2）与前者相关联的是，野生动物（以及一般自然资源）的商品化以及对野生动物肉类和活体野生动物的需求和市场不断扩大，特别是在热带和亚热带地区。特别是，丛林肉热潮以及与之相关的精英美食和炫耀性消费现象可能发挥了关键作用。COVID-19 大流行可能需要民族生物学家重新安排研究议程，并设想新的认识论轨迹，以更有效地减轻最终威胁我们和其他生物存在的自然资源管理不善。
