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What we ingest can either sustain us or cause sickness. Not long ago, I discussed how dietary habits impacts the likelihood of colon cancer. But what about agricultural practices?

Globally, we are observing the expansion of low-cost animal protein, primarily fueled by demand from a growing affluent population that now can afford beef, pork and chicken, items that were once out of reach. Approximately 45% of increased worldwide demand is taking place in upper-middle-income countries such as China, India, Brazil, Indonesia and the Philippines. Chicken is expected to capture an increasingly large share of that growth, estimated to grow by 21% by 2034, because it is relatively cheap, culturally popular and needs less input per kilogram than red meat. In the next decade, it is estimated that chicken will provide 45% of the protein eaten from animal-based foods.

However this has costs. With scarce acreage and tight schedules, the solution in numerous nations has been to use antibiotics at scale. This is not only to treat illness but additionally as a preventative measure to avoid sickness in crowded conditions. And, administering antimicrobials makes farm animals to gain weight more rapidly, although scientists aren’t sure the precise reason. This situation means that, unlike their application in people—where antibiotics are typically given to combat infection—their use in farming is far more common and indiscriminate. Research tracking their consumption estimate that 73% of all antibiotics distributed globally are used in animals raised for food.

This enormous overuse is leading to a increase in antibiotic-resistant pathogens. As an illustration, colistin resistance, a “last-resort antibiotic”, first developed in E. coli microorganisms that then contaminated swine. E coli was later found in pig farmers. Only required are aeroplanes and international transport for these microbes to spread globally. And now, resistant strains have been identified not only in hospitals in the Far East but across the world.

What does this mean for an individual waiting in a doctor’s office or a medical center in the UK? It signifies that bacterial illnesses that were previously simple to cure—such as ear infections, urinary tract infections or surgical site infections—become incurable even after a dose of antibiotics. It means that operations such as caesarean sections, joint surgeries and oncology treatments that depend on immunosuppression all become more dangerous. And while novel antimicrobials are feasible to develop, the development process is slow and costly. We must conserve the tools we currently possess.

The remedies to this problem can only come from transforming global food production. Admittedly, the United Kingdom has achieved notable reductions in curtailing antimicrobial use in livestock. Distribution 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 highest-priority antimicrobials has dropped to less than 0.5% of all animal antibiotic sales. Moreover, studies by European agencies indicated that after antimicrobial consumption in farming was reduced by almost 50% between 2014 and 2021, antibiotic resistance in E. coli bacteria across the bloc also started dropping.

But just concentrating on the United Kingdom or Europe is a drop in the bucket. Unless the large middle-income countries are part of the conversation on how animal protein is produced, we continue to be just as vulnerable to drug-resistant infections. The difficulty is that adopting alternative farming methods takes more space and duration: increasing the cost of animal protein in highly populated nations can quickly trigger public protests, political backlash and frustration. The medical necessity is evident, but this needs to be balanced with concerns over food security, economics and consumer expectations.

Environmental researchers have long warned about the ecological impacts of the current global food system, whether it’s methane emissions, biodiversity loss, or deforestation. But these consequences often feel long-term and abstract, particularly for people struggling with financial strain or concerned with immediate healthcare access.

Antibiotic resistance is tangible. Almost everyone has taken antibiotics at one time or another, and we can imagine what would occur if their infection-clearing effect was abruptly lost. Food production, health and the environment are all connected. How pig meat is produced in Asia influences whether your child’s antibiotics work in Scotland. Whether a female patient in Nigeria survives a caesarean is linked to how poultry are farmed in Brazil.

If we confront these widespread, global issues, such as how our diet is sourced and how we utilize our existing drugs, we endanger something invaluable: the ability to cure bacterial diseases that we take for granted today.