The substances we consume can alternatively sustain us or cause sickness. Recently, I wrote about how food consumption impacts the risk of colon 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 previously out of reach. Roughly 45% of global consumption growth is taking place in nations with rising economies such as India, China, Brazil, the Philippines and Indonesia. Poultry is expected to capture an increasingly large share of that expansion, estimated to increase by 21% by 2034, since it is relatively cheap, culturally popular and requires less input per kilogram than red meat. By 2034, it is estimated that poultry will supply 45% of the protein eaten from animal-based foods.
However this comes with consequences. With limited land and tight schedules, the solution in numerous nations has been to use antibiotics at scale. This is not only to address disease but also as a preventative measure to avoid sickness in overpopulated environments. And, administering antimicrobials makes livestock to grow faster, even though researchers do not know exactly why. This situation means that, unlike their use for humans—where antibiotics are almost always prescribed to combat infection—their application in agriculture is far more common and uncontrolled. Research tracking their use suggest that 73% of all antimicrobials distributed worldwide are utilized in animals raised for food.
This massive misuse is leading to a rise in drug-resistant bacteria. For example, colistin resistance, a “last-resort antibiotic”, initially emerged in E. coli microorganisms that subsequently contaminated pigs. E coli was later detected in pig farmers. Only required are aeroplanes and international transport for these microbes to circulate worldwide. Currently, resistant strains have been discovered not only in medical facilities in China but across the world.
How does this impact for an individual waiting in a doctor’s office or a medical center in the UK? It signifies that infections that were previously easily treatable—such as ear infections, urinary tract infections or surgical site infections—become incurable even after a course of antimicrobials. It implies that operations such as caesarean sections, hip replacements and cancer therapies that rely on immune suppression all become riskier. Although novel antimicrobials are feasible to develop, the development process is lengthy and expensive. We must preserve the arsenal we have.
The remedies to this issue can only come from transforming worldwide agriculture. To be fair, the UK has made significant progress in curtailing antibiotics in farming. Sales of veterinary antimicrobials reared for food has dropped by 59% over the past decade. The use of colistin is now virtually nonexistent. The use of critically important antibiotics has dropped to less than 0.5% of all veterinary antimicrobial distribution. Moreover, studies by several EU bodies suggested that after antibiotic use in agriculture was reduced by almost 50% between 2014 and 2021, antimicrobial resistance in E. coli bacteria throughout Europe also began to decline.
However just concentrating on the United Kingdom or Europe is a minor effort. Unless the large middle-income countries are included in discussions on how animal protein is farmed, we continue to be just as vulnerable to drug-resistant infections. The difficulty is that moving towards different production practices requires more space and time: increasing the cost of animal protein in countries with large populations can quickly trigger social unrest, governmental opposition and discontent. The medical necessity is evident, but this must be weighed with concerns over food security, economics and public demand.
Climate scientists have repeatedly cautioned about the ecological impacts of the present worldwide agricultural model, whether it’s greenhouse gases, species decline, or deforestation. But these effects often feel distant and theoretical, particularly for individuals facing financial strain or worried about immediate healthcare access.
Antibiotic resistance is tangible. Virtually all people has used antimicrobials at some point, and we can imagine what would happen if their infection-clearing effect was suddenly switched off. Food production, medicine and climate are all interlinked. How pork is produced in China influences whether your offspring’s medication work in Edinburgh. Whether a woman in Lagos survives a C-section is linked to how poultry are farmed in Brazil.
If we confront these pervasive, global issues, such as how our food is produced and how we utilize our existing drugs, we endanger something precious: the ability to treat infections that we take for granted today.
