Brian G. Bedard is a Board member with Veterinarians Without Borders North America/Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Amérique du Nord Canada.
Brian G. Bedard, the Director of Food Safety and Animal Health at Alinea International, is a veterinary epidemiologist and food safety specialist with 40 years of international development experience living and working in Africa, South East Asia, China, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia.
His professional experience has involved animal health and production, food safety, disease control and pandemic preparedness planning, sustainable agriculture, education and training, and the facilitation of sustainable agri-food value chains through public-private partnerships. Through multiple overseas postings he has managed international development programs including the World Bank Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP), the Global Program for Human and Avian Influenza (GPAI), One Health Initiatives, and food safety education and training as Executive Director of the Science and Education Foundation in the US. He currently oversees food safety and One Health programs in Southeast Asia, Africa and Central Asia for Alinea International.
#VETSVolunteerVoices aims to bring you the stories of our passionate VETS program volunteers from the field. Meet Ian Parfitt, a GIS Mapping Advisor who spent three months in Cambodia (January–April 2025) supporting organic agriculture and digital transformation with our local partner, AVSF Cambodia.
Megan Sylka, Senior Program Officer at VWB, shares how her recent visit to Kenya revealed the powerful ripple effects of the VETS program—highlighting how Community One Health Champion Shelmith Mwai is transforming her dairy farm, her family dynamics, and her community through knowledge, leadership, and collaboration.
This article examines how a One Health approach can transform food safety systems by addressing the interconnected health of people, animals, and the environment—highlighting the importance of cross-sector collaboration, innovations like Canada’s CFSIN, and global strategies to mitigate risks such as antimicrobial resistance, climate change, and zoonotic disease.
