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The substances we ingest can alternatively nourish us or cause sickness. Recently, I explored how food consumption influences the risk of colorectal cancer. However, what of agricultural practices?

Worldwide, we are witnessing the expansion of cheap meat, primarily driven by consumer desire from a growing middle class that now can afford poultry and red meat, which were previously out of reach. Approximately 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 greater portion of that growth, estimated to grow by 21% by 2034, since it is more affordable, widely acceptable and needs less input per kilogram than red meat. In the next decade, it is projected that poultry will supply 45% of the dietary protein consumed from all meat sources.

But this comes with consequences. With scarce acreage and tight schedules, the solution in many countries has been to use antibiotics at scale. This is not only to address disease but additionally as a prophylactic to avoid sickness in crowded conditions. Furthermore, giving antibiotics makes farm animals to gain weight more rapidly, even though scientists do not know exactly why. This situation means that, in contrast to their application in people—where antibiotics are almost always prescribed to treat illness—their application in agriculture is far more common and indiscriminate. Research tracking their consumption suggest that 73% of all antibiotics sold globally are used in animals raised for food.

This massive misuse is leading to a increase in drug-resistant bacteria. For example, colistin resistance, a “last-resort antibiotic”, initially emerged in E coli bacteria that subsequently infected swine. E coli was afterwards detected in swine handlers. Only required are aeroplanes and global travel networks for these microbes to spread globally. Currently, colistin-resistant bacteria have been discovered not only in hospitals in China but across the world.

How does this impact for someone sitting in a doctor’s office or a medical center in England or Scotland? It means that infections that were once simple to cure—such as otitis, urinary tract infections or surgical site infections—become incurable even after a dose of antibiotics. It means that surgeries such as C-sections, hip replacements and cancer therapies that rely on immune suppression all become more dangerous. And while novel antimicrobials are feasible to develop, the development process is slow and costly. We have to conserve the arsenal we have.

The solutions to this issue can exclusively come from changing global food production. To be fair, the United Kingdom has achieved notable reductions in reducing antimicrobial use in livestock. Sales of veterinary antimicrobials reared for food has declined by 59% over the past decade. The use of colistin is now virtually nonexistent. The use of critically important antibiotics has fallen to less than 0.5% of all veterinary antimicrobial distribution. And, research by several EU bodies suggested that after antibiotic use in farming was cut by nearly half between 2014 and 2021, antimicrobial resistance in E. coli bacteria across the bloc also began to decline.

But just focusing on the UK or EU is a minor effort. If the major emerging economies are part of the conversation on how animal protein is produced, we remain just as susceptible to antibiotic resistance. The challenge is that moving towards different production practices takes more space and duration: increasing the cost of animal protein in countries with large populations can quickly trigger social unrest, governmental opposition and discontent. The health imperative is evident, but this needs to be balanced with considerations of food security, financial factors and consumer expectations.

Climate scientists have repeatedly cautioned about the environmental costs of the present worldwide agricultural model, whether it’s methane emissions, species decline, or deforestation. But these effects often feel long-term and theoretical, particularly for individuals struggling with financial strain or worried about short-term medical services.

Antimicrobial resistance is tangible. Virtually all people has used antimicrobials at some point, and we can envision what would happen if their infection-clearing effect was suddenly switched off. Food production, medicine and climate are all connected. How pig meat is produced in China influences whether your child’s antibiotics work in Scotland. Whether a woman in Lagos survives a caesarean is linked to how chickens are farmed in South America.

If we address these widespread, global issues, such as how our food is produced and how we use our current medications, we risk losing something invaluable: the ability to treat infections that we take for granted today.