The substances we consume can either sustain us or cause sickness. Recently, I wrote about how dietary habits impacts the risk of colon cancer. However, what of food production?
Across the planet, we are observing the expansion of cheap meat, primarily fueled by consumer desire from a growing middle class that now can afford poultry and red meat, items that were once unaffordable. Roughly 45% of increased worldwide demand is occurring in upper-middle-income countries such as China, India, Brazil, Indonesia and the Philippines. Poultry is set to take an increasingly large share of that expansion, estimated to grow by 21% by 2034, because it is more affordable, culturally popular and requires fewer resources per kilogram compared with beef or pork. In the next decade, it is projected that chicken will supply 45% of the protein consumed from animal-based foods.
But this has costs. With limited land and tight schedules, the solution in many countries has been to employ antimicrobials extensively. This is not only to treat illness but also as a prophylactic to prevent disease in overpopulated environments. And, administering antimicrobials causes farm animals to grow faster, although scientists do not know exactly why. All of this means that, unlike their use for humans—where antimicrobials are typically prescribed to combat infection—their application in agriculture is far more common and uncontrolled. Studies tracking their consumption suggest that 73% of all antimicrobials sold globally are used in animals raised for food.
This enormous overuse is causing a increase in drug-resistant bacteria. For example, colistin resistance, a “last-resort antibiotic”, initially emerged in E. coli microorganisms that then contaminated swine. The bacteria was later found in pig farmers. All it takes are aeroplanes and global travel networks for these pathogens to spread globally. And now, colistin-resistant bacteria have been discovered not only in hospitals in China but around the globe.
How does this impact for an individual waiting in a GP clinic or a medical center in the UK? It signifies that infections that were previously simple to cure—such as ear infections, urinary tract infections or surgical site infections—become untreatable even after a course of antimicrobials. It implies that operations such as caesarean sections, joint surgeries and oncology treatments that rely on immune suppression all become riskier. Although novel antimicrobials are feasible to create, the pipeline is lengthy and expensive. We have to preserve the arsenal we currently possess.
The solutions to this issue can exclusively come from transforming global food production. Admittedly, the United Kingdom has made significant progress in curtailing antimicrobial use in livestock. Sales of antibiotics for animals destined for consumption has declined by 59% over the past decade. The application of colistin is now effectively zero. The employment of highest-priority antimicrobials has dropped to less than 0.5% of all animal antibiotic sales. And, studies by European agencies suggested that after antibiotic use in farming was reduced by almost 50% between 2014 and 2021, antibiotic resistance in E. coli bacteria across the bloc also began to decline.
However just focusing on the United Kingdom or Europe is a minor effort. If the major emerging economies are part of the conversation on how animal protein is farmed, we remain just as vulnerable to drug-resistant infections. The challenge is that moving towards different production practices requires more space and duration: making meat even more expensive in highly populated nations can rapidly cause social unrest, political backlash and discontent. The health imperative is evident, but this needs to be balanced with considerations of nutritional access, economics and consumer expectations.
Climate scientists have long warned about the environmental costs of the present worldwide agricultural model, whether it’s greenhouse gases, biodiversity loss, or deforestation. But these effects often feel distant and theoretical, especially for individuals facing financial strain or concerned with short-term medical services.
Antimicrobial resistance is tangible. Virtually all people has taken antibiotics at some point, and we can imagine what would occur if their curative power was suddenly switched off. Food production, health and climate are all connected. How pig meat is farmed in China affects whether your offspring’s medication are effective in Edinburgh. Whether a female patient in Lagos recovers from a C-section is linked to how poultry are raised in Brazil.
Unless we address these widespread, world-spanning challenges, such as how our food is produced and how we utilize our existing drugs, we endanger something precious: the ability to cure bacterial diseases that we assume will always work now.
