The substances we ingest can alternatively nourish us or cause sickness. Not long ago, I explored how food consumption impacts the risk of colorectal cancer. But what about food production?
Across the planet, we are witnessing the rise of cheap meat, largely fueled by demand from a growing affluent population that finally can afford poultry and red meat, items that were once out of reach. Roughly 45% of increased worldwide demand is taking place in nations with rising economies such as India, China, Brazil, the Philippines and Indonesia. Poultry is set to take an greater portion of that growth, projected to grow by 21% by 2034, since it is relatively cheap, culturally popular and needs less input per kilogram than red meat. In the next decade, it is projected that poultry will provide 45% of the dietary protein eaten from animal-based foods.
But this comes with costs. With limited land and tight schedules, the approach in numerous nations has been to employ antimicrobials extensively. This isn’t just to address disease but additionally as a prophylactic to avoid sickness in overpopulated environments. Furthermore, administering antimicrobials makes livestock to grow faster, even though scientists do not know exactly why. This situation means that, unlike their use for humans—where antibiotics are typically prescribed to combat infection—their use in farming is far more common and indiscriminate. Research monitoring their use estimate that 73% of all antibiotics distributed globally are used in animals raised for food.
This massive misuse is leading to a rise in antibiotic-resistant pathogens. For example, resistance to colistin, a “last-resort antibiotic”, first developed in E. coli microorganisms that subsequently infected swine. E coli was later found in swine handlers. All it takes are air travel and international transport for these pathogens to spread globally. And now, colistin-resistant bacteria have been identified not only in medical facilities in China but around the globe.
How does this impact for an individual sitting in a doctor’s office or a hospital in England or Scotland? It signifies that bacterial illnesses that were previously easily treatable—such as ear infections, UTIs or surgical site infections—become untreatable even after a dose of antibiotics. It means that operations such as C-sections, hip replacements and oncology treatments that depend on immunosuppression all become more dangerous. Although novel antimicrobials are technically possible to create, the development process is lengthy and costly. We have to preserve the arsenal we currently possess.
The remedies to this issue can only come from transforming worldwide agriculture. To be fair, the UK has achieved notable reductions in reducing antibiotics in farming. Sales of veterinary antimicrobials destined for consumption has declined by 59% over the past decade. The use of colistin is now effectively zero. The employment of highest-priority antimicrobials has fallen to under 0.5% of all animal antibiotic sales. Moreover, studies by several EU bodies suggested that after antibiotic use in farming was cut by nearly half between 2014 and 2021, antibiotic resistance in E. coli bacteria throughout Europe also started dropping.
But just concentrating on the UK or EU is a minor effort. If the large middle-income countries are included in discussions on how animal protein is farmed, we remain just as vulnerable to antibiotic resistance. The challenge is that moving towards different production practices requires additional land and duration: increasing the cost of animal protein in countries with large populations can quickly trigger public protests, political backlash and frustration. The medical necessity is evident, but this must be weighed with considerations of food security, economics and public demand.
Environmental researchers have repeatedly cautioned about the ecological impacts of the present worldwide agricultural model, whether it’s greenhouse gases, biodiversity loss, or deforestation. But these consequences often feel distant and abstract, particularly for individuals struggling with cost-of-living pressures or worried about immediate healthcare access.
Antimicrobial resistance is tangible. Almost everyone has taken antibiotics at one time or another, and we can envision what would happen if their infection-clearing effect was abruptly lost. Agriculture, health and climate are all interlinked. How pork is produced in China affects whether your child’s antibiotics work in Edinburgh. Whether a woman in Lagos recovers from a caesarean is linked to how chickens are raised in South America.
If we confront these widespread, world-spanning challenges, such as how our diet is sourced and how we use our existing drugs, we endanger something invaluable: the capacity to cure bacterial diseases that we assume will always work today.
