David Waltner-Toews (born 1948 in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

) is a Canadian

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

, essayist, poet, fiction writer,

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

, and a specialist in the epidemiology of food and waterborne diseases, zoonoses and

ecosystem health Ecosystem health is a metaphor used to describe the condition of an ecosystem.Rapport, David (1998). "Defining ecosystem health." Pages 18-33 in Rapport, D.J. (ed.) (1998). ''Ecosystem Health.'' Blackwell Scientific. Ecosystem condition can vary ...

. He is best known for his work on animal and human infectious diseases in relation to complexity. He lives in

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

Early life

Waltner-Toews was born in 1948 in

. He attended the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Goshen College Goshen College is a private Mennonite liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana. It was founded in 1894 as the Elkhart Institute of Science, Industry and the Arts, and is affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. The college is accredited by the High ...

in 1971. He received a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

in 1978 and a PhD in Epidemiology at the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

in 1985.

Career

A University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Population Medicine at the

, he is the founding president of Veterinarians without Borders/ Vétérinaires sans Frontières - Canada, founding president of the Network for Ecosystem Sustainability and Health., and one of the founding members of the Community of Practice for Ecosystem Approaches to Health – Canada. Besides about 100 peer-reviewed scholarly papers and a textbook (''Ecosystem Sustainability and Health: a practical approach'', Cambridge, 2004), he has published half a dozen books of poetry, a collection of poems and recipes, an award-winning collection of short stories (''One Foot in Heaven''), a murder mystery (''Fear of Landing'') and a book about the natural history of diseases people get from animals (''The Chickens Fight Back: Pandemic Panics and Deadly Diseases that Jump from Animals to Humans''). In 2011 he collaborated with artist Diane Maclean on her exhibition ''Bird'' at Killhope

North of England Lead Mining Museum The North of England Lead Mining Museum, better known as Killhope, is an industrial museum near the village of Cowshill, County Durham, England. The museum stands on the site of the former Park Level Mine, which is being restored to show the w ...

, contributing a new poem, ''The Love Song of the Javanese Singing Cock''

Work

Waltner-Toews is best known for his initiatives to integrate human, animal, and ecosystem health in research, practice and teaching. This work, bridging natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences, has drawn considerably on the ideas of post-normal science, as developed by

Silvio Funtowicz Silvio O. Funtowicz (born 1946) is a philosopher of science active in the field of science and technology studies. He created the NUSAP, a notational system for characterising uncertainty and quality in quantitative expressions, and together with ...

and

Jerome Ravetz Jerome (Jerry) Ravetz is a philosopher of science. He is best known for his books analysing scientific knowledge from a social and ethical perspective, focussing on issues of quality. He is the co-author (with Silvio Funtowicz) of the NUSAP ...

. He has been instrumental in the development of ecohealth teaching and training manuals for North America and Europ

as well as Asi

Books

* ''The Ecosystem Approach: Complexity, Uncertainty and Managing for Sustainability (with James Kay and Nina-Marie Lister)'' * ''Ecosystem Sustainability and Health: a practical approach'' * ''Food, Sex and Salmonella: Why Our Food Is Making Us Sick'' * ''The Earth is One Body'' * ''Good Housekeeping'' * ''The Fat Lady Struck Dumb'' * ''One Foot in Heaven'' * ''Fear of Landing'' * ''The Chickens Fight Back: Pandemic Panics and Deadly Diseases that Jump from Animals to Humans'' * ''One Animal Among Many: Gaia, Goats and Garlic'' * ''The Origin of Feces: What Excrement Tells Us About Evolution, Ecology, and a Sustainable Society'' * ''Eat the Beetles! An Exploration into Our Conflicted Relationship with Insects'' * ''On Pandemics: Deadly Diseases from Bubonic Plague to Coronavirus'' * ''A Conspiracy of Chickens: a memoir''

Awards

* 2006 Winner, Best Regional Fiction – Canada West, Independent Publisher Book Awards, for ''One Foot in Heaven'' * 2007 Finalist, Canadian Science Writers' Association Book Award, for ''Chickens Fight Back'' * 2014 Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Eco-Health * 2014 Silver Medal, Independent Publisher Book Awards (Environment/ ecology/ nature) * 2014 Finalist, Canadian Science Writers' Book Award for ''The Origin of Feces'' * 2019 Covetrus International Veterinary Community Service Award “veterinarians who have exhibited exceptional acts of valour and commitment in the face of adversity to service the community.” * 2022 Appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada for his "leadership and expertise in ecosystem approaches to health, and for supporting development worldwide."

References

External links

David Waltner-Toews website

Veterinarians without Borders/ Vétérinaires sans Frontières

Network for Ecosystem Sustainability and Health
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waltner-Toews, David 1948 births Canadian mystery writers Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian male poets Canadian systems scientists Canadian epidemiologists Academic staff of the University of Guelph Canadian Mennonites Canadian veterinarians Male veterinarians Living people Canadian male non-fiction writers Mennonite writers Mennonite poets 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian poets Officers of the Order of Canada Writers from Kitchener, Ontario Writers from Winnipeg