By Michael Lucibella
After decades of growth, the use of antimicrobials—including antibiotics—in livestock peaked in 2013 and then dropped by nearly a third by 2020, finds a major new study led by UCL researchers. The decline is positive, as overusing antimicrobials in animals can create drug-resistant bacteria, which can lead to human harm. However, despite this trend, the study also found that richer developed countries continue to drive demand for antimicrobial-heavy products by importing large quantities of foods and products from emerging economies that still use farms with high-levels of antimicrobials.
The research, published in Nature Sustainability, is the most detailed analysis yet of how antimicrobials are used in farming and manufacturing worldwide—and how international trade spreads that impact. It looked at data from 2010 to 2020 to calculate each country's "antimicrobial footprint," similar to a carbon footprint, showing how much is used to make the products we consume.