Antibiotic Stewardship in Livestock: Protecting Future Medicine

Reducing antibiotic use in livestock is essential for preserving antibiotic effectiveness in human medicine, with welfare and health benefits for animals in better-managed systems.

Key Facts

Over 70% of global antibiotic use occurs in food animal production
Colistin, a last-resort human antibiotic, is widely used in Asian livestock production
The UK reduced farm antibiotic use by 55% between 2014 and 2020
Prophylactic group treatment maintains unhealthy animals in poor conditions rather than fixing underlying welfare problems
Higher welfare systems consistently use fewer antibiotics due to better animal health

Welfare Considerations

Antibiotic overuse in livestock is both a welfare and public health crisis. Prophylactic antibiotics mask and perpetuate welfare problems — crowding, poor ventilation, barren environments — rather than addressing them. When antibiotics become ineffective from resistance, animals suffer longer from untreated infections. Reducing antibiotic use requires concurrent improvements in housing, ventilation, nutrition, and management. The link between high welfare and low antibiotic use is now well-established.

What You Can Do

Choose antibiotic-free or low-antibiotic certified products where available
Support political action on farm antibiotic reduction targets
Engage with food companies on antibiotic stewardship in supply chains
Reduce meat consumption to lower overall antibiotic pressure on farming systems
Support organisations monitoring and publishing farm antibiotic use data