The substances we consume can either sustain us or cause sickness. Not long ago, I wrote about how food consumption impacts the likelihood of colorectal cancer. But what about agricultural practices?
Worldwide, we are observing the expansion of low-cost animal protein, primarily fueled by demand from a growing affluent population that finally can afford beef, pork and chicken, which were once unaffordable. Approximately 45% of global consumption growth is occurring in nations with rising economies such as China, India, Brazil, Indonesia and the Philippines. Poultry is expected to capture an increasingly large share of that expansion, projected to increase by 21% by 2034, because it is relatively cheap, culturally popular and requires less input per kilogram than red meat. By 2034, it is projected that chicken will provide 45% of the protein eaten from animal-based foods.
However this has costs. With limited land and tight schedules, the approach in many countries has been to employ antimicrobials extensively. This is not only to treat illness but additionally as a prophylactic to avoid sickness in overpopulated environments. And, administering antimicrobials causes farm animals to gain weight more rapidly, even though scientists do not know the precise reason. This situation means that, in contrast to their application in people—where antibiotics are typically given to treat illness—their use in farming is much more widespread and uncontrolled. Studies tracking their consumption suggest that 73% of all antimicrobials distributed globally are used in animals raised for food.
This massive misuse is leading to a rise in drug-resistant bacteria. For example, resistance to colistin, a “last-resort antibiotic”, first developed in E coli bacteria that then contaminated swine. E coli was afterwards detected in swine handlers. All it takes are air travel and global travel networks for these pathogens to spread globally. And now, colistin-resistant bacteria have been discovered not only in medical facilities in the Far East but across the world.
How does this impact for someone sitting in a doctor’s office or a medical center in the UK? It signifies that bacterial illnesses that were previously easily treatable—such as ear infections, UTIs or post-operative infections—become untreatable even after a course of antimicrobials. It implies that operations such as C-sections, joint surgeries and cancer therapies that depend on immunosuppression all become riskier. And while new antibiotics are technically possible to develop, the pipeline is slow and costly. We have to preserve the tools we have.
The remedies to this issue can exclusively come from transforming worldwide agriculture. To be fair, the UK has made significant progress in reducing antimicrobial use in livestock. Distribution of antibiotics for animals reared for food has dropped by 59% over the past decade. The application of colistin is now effectively zero. The employment of critically important antibiotics has fallen to less than 0.5% of all veterinary antimicrobial distribution. And, research by several EU bodies suggested that after antimicrobial consumption in farming was cut by nearly half between 2014 and 2021, antibiotic resistance in E coli throughout Europe also started dropping.
However just focusing on the United Kingdom or Europe is a minor effort. If the large middle-income countries are included in discussions on how meat is farmed, we continue to be just as vulnerable to drug-resistant infections. The difficulty is that adopting different production practices takes more space and duration: increasing the cost of animal protein in countries with large populations can rapidly cause public protests, political backlash and discontent. The health imperative is clear, but this must be weighed with concerns over food security, financial factors and public demand.
Environmental researchers have repeatedly cautioned about the environmental costs of the present worldwide agricultural model, whether it’s methane emissions, species decline, or forest clearing. But these consequences often seem long-term and theoretical, particularly for individuals facing financial strain or worried about short-term medical services.
Antimicrobial resistance is tangible. Virtually all people has used antimicrobials at some point, and we can imagine what would happen if their curative power was suddenly switched off. Agriculture, medicine and climate are all connected. How pork is farmed in Asia affects whether your child’s antibiotics are effective in Scotland. Whether a woman in Lagos recovers from a caesarean is tied to how chickens are raised in South America.
If we confront these widespread, global issues, such as how our diet is sourced and how we utilize our current medications, we risk losing something invaluable: the capacity to treat infections that we assume will always work now.
