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What we consume can either sustain us or cause sickness. Recently, I discussed how dietary habits impacts the risk of colorectal cancer. But what about food production?

Worldwide, we are observing the rise of low-cost animal protein, primarily fueled by demand from a growing affluent population that now has the means to purchase poultry and red meat, items that were previously unaffordable. Roughly 45% of global consumption growth is taking place in nations with rising economies such as India, China, Brazil, the Philippines and Indonesia. Chicken is set to take an greater portion of that expansion, estimated to increase by 21% by 2034, since it is relatively cheap, culturally popular and requires fewer resources per kilogram compared with beef or pork. By 2034, it is projected that chicken will supply 45% of the dietary protein consumed from animal-based foods.

However this comes with consequences. With scarce acreage and tight schedules, the approach in many countries has been to employ antimicrobials extensively. This isn’t just to treat illness but also as a preventative measure to avoid sickness in crowded conditions. And, administering antimicrobials causes farm animals to gain weight more rapidly, although researchers aren’t sure the precise reason. This situation means that, in contrast to their use for humans—where antibiotics are almost always prescribed to combat infection—their application in agriculture is far more common and indiscriminate. Studies monitoring their consumption suggest that 73% of all antibiotics sold globally are utilized in animals raised for food.

This massive misuse is leading to a increase in drug-resistant bacteria. As an illustration, resistance to colistin, a final-line treatment, initially emerged in E coli bacteria that subsequently infected pigs. The bacteria was later found in pig farmers. All it takes are air travel and international transport for these pathogens to circulate worldwide. Currently, resistant strains have been discovered not only in medical facilities in the Far East but around the globe.

How does this impact for an individual sitting in a doctor’s office or a medical center in the UK? It means that bacterial illnesses that were once easily treatable—such as otitis, UTIs or surgical site infections—become incurable even after a course of antimicrobials. It implies that surgeries such as caesarean sections, hip replacements and cancer therapies that depend on immunosuppression all become riskier. And while new antibiotics are feasible to develop, the pipeline is slow and expensive. We have to preserve the arsenal we currently possess.

The remedies to this issue can only come from changing global food production. To be fair, the UK has achieved notable reductions in reducing antibiotics in farming. Distribution of veterinary antimicrobials reared for food has dropped by 59% since 2014. The use of colistin is now effectively zero. The employment of highest-priority antimicrobials has dropped to under 0.5% of all animal antibiotic sales. And, studies by European agencies indicated that after antibiotic use in farming was reduced by almost 50% between 2014 and 2021, antimicrobial resistance in E coli throughout Europe also started dropping.

But just concentrating on the United Kingdom or Europe is a drop in the bucket. Unless the major emerging economies are included in discussions on how animal protein is farmed, we remain just as vulnerable to drug-resistant infections. The challenge is that adopting different production practices takes additional land and duration: increasing the cost of animal protein in countries with large populations can quickly trigger social unrest, political backlash and discontent. The health imperative is evident, but this needs to be balanced with concerns over food security, economics and consumer expectations.

Climate scientists have long warned about the environmental costs of the present worldwide agricultural model, whether it’s methane emissions, biodiversity loss, or forest clearing. But these effects often seem long-term and theoretical, particularly for individuals struggling with cost-of-living pressures or worried about short-term medical services.

Antibiotic resistance is tangible. Virtually all people has taken antibiotics at one time or another, and we can imagine what would occur if their curative power was suddenly switched off. Food production, health and climate are all connected. How pork is produced in Asia affects whether your child’s antibiotics are effective in Scotland. Whether a woman in Lagos survives a caesarean is linked to how poultry are raised in South America.

Unless we confront these pervasive, world-spanning challenges, such as how our food is produced and how we utilize our existing drugs, we endanger something invaluable: the capacity to treat infections that we take for granted today.