Midland Farmer - September 2023

September 2023
Children in rural areas have
better immune systems – study
MIDLAND FARMER
23
FDI calls for food
sector support in
budget submission
Children raised in rural environments, who
spend a lot of time outdoors with some exposure
to animals, grow to have better regulated
immune systems than children living in urban
environments, a new study has found.
The research, led by APC Microbiome Ireland
(APC) and University College Cork (UCC),
shows that the early development of immune
systems is highly dependent on a child’s living
environment and lifestyle.
The immune system must learn not to overrespond
in early life in order to avoid excessive
reactions in later life that can lead to disease.
STUDY
The study focused on children in South
Africa aged from 15-35 months who were living
in both rural and urban areas.
The scientists examined how environmental
factors are linked with the presence of atopic
dermatitis (AD) or eczema.
Researchers found that the immune systems
of children living in rural areas possess several
ways of identifying and dealing with
threats.
During childhood, our bodies develop multiple
immune pathways in response to “protective
exposures”, such as time spent outdoors
and with animals, and “potentially detrimental
exposures”, including pollutants and
viruses.
The findings of the study support a body of
evidence that exposure to certain environmental
stimuli and lifestyle factors during childhood
can have significant consequences on a
person’s short- and long-term health.
The research was conducted by APC Microbiome
Ireland and UCC with the University of
Cape Town, Swiss Institute of Allergy and
Asthma Research, Stanford University and
Karolinska Institute.
Prof. Liam O’Mahony, APC principal investigator
and UCC professor of Immunology, led
the study.
“This ‘immunological window of opportunity’
plays a critical role in establishing the
limitations and reaction trajectories of our
immune system that stay with us for life and
influence the risk of immune mediated diseases,”
he said.
“These protective and detrimental early life
environmental exposures help shape our
immune response.
“Growing our understanding of the mechanisms
and role of environment on immune
development is highly important, and research
such as this can help pave the way for new
developments in early disease diagnosis and
expediting interventions for more specific and
safe modulation of immune activity,” Prof.
O’Mahony added.
Food Drink Ireland (FDI) has published its
Budget 2024 submission which calls for additional
supports for the food sector to assist its
development into a low carbon economy.
FDI, the Ibec group representing the food
and drink sector, is seeking incentives to support
investments in low carbon processes.
Paul Kelly, FDI director said: “High levels of
input cost inflation (energy and commodities)
are impacting on margins, competitiveness,
and investment decisions.
“At the same time, there is an increased
need to build resilience against high ongoing
energy costs and wider competitiveness pressures
whilst investing heavily in low carbon /
resource efficient processes and accelerating
digital transformation measures.”
For the food and drink sector to achieve its
emissions reductions targets in agriculture,
the FDI has stated it will require significant
government support.
The agriculture emission reduction target of
-25% by 2030, and a reduction target of -35%
for the industry sector by the same period
“will require significant government support
to assist the food sector in the transition to a
low carbon economy in the decades ahead”
according to the FDI director.
The FDI budget submission also calls for
Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) funding to
be extended into 2024 to “future proof the sector
from the increased costs of trade due to
Brexit” and for “measures to support the
experience economy’s competitiveness and
productivity”.
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