With a huge unregulated livestock sector, India’s antibiotic use in animals is estimated to increase by 82 per cent by 2030
In his 1945 Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Alexander Fleming, the developer of Penicillin, had warned, “The time may come when Penicillin (would) be bought by anyone in the shops. There is the danger that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug, make them resistant.”
Before we started using antibiotics in the 1940s, a lot of things had the possibility of turning fatal: Right from giving birth, to getting a small scratch, from undergoing a surgery to sexually transmitted infections. Antibiotics helped us stop infections caused by bacteria. But in less than eight decades, humanity is faced with what Fleming described as antibiotic or antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared AMR as one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity and “the biggest threat to modern medicine.” By 2050, AMR will take more than 10 million lives and the cumulative cost to the global economy will be $100 trillion, says a study titled ‘Antimicrobial resistance in the environment: The Indian scenario’ published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research in 2019.
Antimicrobials (including antibiotics and antivirals) are medicines used for treatment and prevention of infections in humans and animals. AMR occurs when the bacteria and viruses mutate over time and no longer respond to the medicines, thus, making them ineffective in treatment of the disease. This kills more people than cancer and road accidents combined. The big question is, what is contributing to such a high rate of antibiotic resistance deaths? We may find answers in a sector that uses more antibiotics than any other industry, and that is animal farming.
Animal Farming and AMR: India is the fourth-largest consumer of antibiotics in animal farming, according to a report by the Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy. With a huge unregulated livestock sector, India’s antibiotic use in animals is estimated to increase by 82 per cent by 2030. With a rapid growth and demand for dairy, meat and poultry, the Indian livestock industry continues to turn towards antimicrobial agents for increased production. Studies published in the Veterinary World have found antibiotic-resistant bacteria in cow and buffalo milk samples taken from across India. Additionally, shrimp exports from India (which is the second-largest fish producing country globally) are banned in four countries, and the European Union continues to hold its concern over the use of antibiotics in Indian shrimps.
Animals farmed for consumption are raised in cramped and unhygienic conditions, needing excessive antibiotics to prevent and/or treat infections arising out of their living conditions. As antibiotics are regularly used to prevent infections, the bacteria infecting these animals develop a resistance to the drug and are capable of reproduction. Antibiotics are also routinely administered to “fatten up” the animals before slaughter.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that by 2030 the amount of antimicrobials used in farmed animals will be 1,05,596 tonnes or 9,57,95,079 kg. According to ‘Global Trends in Antimicrobial Use in Food Animals’, published in PNAS, one kg of beef uses 45 mg of antimicrobials and one kg of chicken uses 148 mg of antimicrobials.
Researchers from ETH Zurich, Free University of Brussels, and the Princeton Environmental Institute suggest that countries like India should restrict the use of antibiotics in farm animals.
Another source of AMR could be linked to livestock discard. A study from Netherlands says that more than one-third of the samples collected from pig and cattle faeces contained more than one antibiotic or its residue. Given improper disposal of animal waste and overcrowded shelters, one can speculate that the situation in India would be worse. In other words, animal farming is making us sick.
Battling AMR by going plant-based: The most effective way to counter antibiotic resistance through farmed animals is to go plant-based. People can include more vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans and legumes in their diet.
For those who find it challenging to give up meat, there are several plant-based meat substitutes available in the market that have great taste and
texture like tofu, tempeh, seitan and texturised vegetable protein, mushrooms, jackfruit, eggplant, beets, and cauliflower.
By going plant-based, people are also sparing an animal’s life and the cruelty they undergo at the slaughter house. Moreover, shifting to a plant-based diet helps reduce the risk of developing any chronic or degenerative disease that can put people at an additional risk during the current or future pandemic.
(The writer is the Executive Director of the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations)
