Antibiotic Stewardship in Animal Agriculture and Welfare

Overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture drives resistance that threatens both human and animal health, while antibiotic-dependent farming systems mask welfare problems that better husbandry could address.

Key Facts

An estimated 73% of global antibiotic use occurs in livestock, far exceeding human clinical use
Sub-therapeutic antibiotic use as growth promoters has been banned in the EU since 2006 but continues in other regions
Antibiotic resistance reduces the effectiveness of treatments for animal disease, creating welfare consequences
Farms with good welfare conditions — lower stress, better husbandry — use significantly less antibiotics
The WHO classifies antibiotic resistance as one of the greatest threats to global health

Welfare Considerations

Antibiotic overuse in animal agriculture creates a vicious cycle: poor welfare conditions increase disease susceptibility, requiring antibiotic treatment, which masks the welfare-compromising conditions rather than addressing them. High-welfare farms consistently demonstrate lower antibiotic use, showing that improved conditions reduce disease burden. From a welfare perspective, antibiotic stewardship requires addressing the root causes of disease — overcrowding, stress, barren environments — rather than treating repeated outbreaks. Consumer demand for low-antibiotic products incentivizes the husbandry improvements that simultaneously improve welfare and reduce resistance risk.

What You Can Do

Choose animal products from producers with documented reduced or no-routine-antibiotic use policies
Support international campaigns for a global ban on sub-therapeutic antibiotic use in livestock
Advocate for antibiotic use transparency requirements in food labeling and certification
Reduce animal product consumption to decrease overall antibiotic use in the food system