Neglect in the Anthropocene: The Global Health Paradigm and Environmental Toxins

This paper explores two case studies of environmental toxins – the herbicide glyphosate and radiofrequency electromagnetic fields – and uses them to interrogate the existing global health (GH) literature in order to explore why these issues are neglected and what processes and underlying paradigms lead to this. A conceptual review of neglect in the GH literature will first introduce the roots and influence of power in GH, and the process by which health challenges become prioritised or neglected on the GH agenda. The case studies will reveal unique aspects to their neglect, including the influence of corporate interests, the assessment of risk, the adherence to ‘techno-optimism’, the role of epistemologies, and the difficulty in assessing one toxin in a multi-toxin world.
This paper will critique the current GH paradigm in light of these case studies and propose the One Health approach as a way to reimagine global health in the face of complex health issues in our shared environment and modern world.