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What we consume can alternatively nourish us or cause sickness. Recently, I discussed how food consumption impacts the likelihood of colon cancer. But what about agricultural practices?

Globally, we are observing the rise of cheap meat, largely fueled by demand from a growing middle class that now has the means to purchase poultry and red meat, items that were once unaffordable. Approximately 45% of increased worldwide demand is taking place 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 increase by 21% by 2034, since it is relatively cheap, culturally popular and needs fewer resources per kilogram than red meat. By 2034, it is projected that chicken will provide 45% of the dietary protein consumed from animal-based foods.

However this has consequences. With limited land and tight schedules, the solution in many countries has been to employ antimicrobials extensively. This isn’t just to treat illness but additionally as a prophylactic to avoid sickness in overpopulated environments. And, administering antimicrobials makes farm animals to gain weight more rapidly, although scientists aren’t sure the precise reason. All of this means that, unlike their use for humans—where antimicrobials are typically given to combat infection—their use in farming is much more widespread and indiscriminate. Research tracking their use suggest that 73% of all antimicrobials distributed worldwide are utilized in animals raised for food.

This enormous overuse is causing a rise in drug-resistant bacteria. For example, colistin resistance, a “last-resort antibiotic”, initially emerged in E. coli microorganisms that then infected pigs. The bacteria was afterwards found in pig farmers. Only required are aeroplanes and international transport for these pathogens to spread globally. Currently, resistant strains have been identified not only in medical facilities in the Far East but around the globe.

How does this impact for someone sitting in a GP clinic or a hospital in England or Scotland? It signifies that infections that were once easily treatable—such as ear infections, UTIs or surgical site infections—become untreatable even after a course of antimicrobials. It means that surgeries such as C-sections, hip replacements and cancer therapies that rely on immunosuppression all become more dangerous. Although novel antimicrobials are technically possible to develop, the development process is lengthy and costly. We have to preserve the arsenal we currently possess.

The solutions to this issue can only come from changing worldwide agriculture. To be fair, the UK has made significant progress in reducing antibiotics in farming. Distribution of antibiotics for animals reared for food has dropped by 59% since 2014. The use of this last-resort drug is now effectively zero. The use of critically important antibiotics has fallen to less than 0.5% of all veterinary antimicrobial distribution. Moreover, research by European agencies suggested that after antimicrobial consumption in agriculture was reduced by almost 50% between 2014 and 2021, antimicrobial resistance in E coli throughout Europe also began to decline.

However just focusing on the UK or EU 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: making meat even more expensive in highly populated nations can quickly trigger public protests, political backlash and discontent. The medical necessity is evident, but this must be weighed with concerns over food security, financial factors and consumer expectations.

Environmental researchers have repeatedly cautioned about the ecological impacts of the present worldwide agricultural model, whether it’s methane emissions, biodiversity loss, or deforestation. But these consequences often seem long-term and abstract, especially for people struggling with financial strain or worried about short-term medical services.

Antimicrobial resistance is concrete. Almost everyone has taken antibiotics at some point, and we can envision what would occur if their curative power was abruptly lost. Agriculture, health and climate are all connected. How pork is farmed in China affects whether your offspring’s medication work in Edinburgh. Whether a female patient in Lagos recovers from a C-section is tied to how poultry are raised in South America.

If we confront these pervasive, global issues, such as how our diet is sourced and how we use our existing drugs, we risk losing something invaluable: the capacity to cure bacterial diseases that we assume will always work now.