India, the world’s largest milk producer and among the top five producers of poultry, fish, and eggs, is now facing a silent but growing public health crisis. The widespread and unregulated use of antibiotics in livestock farming is fuelling the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)—a ticking time bomb that could render modern medicine ineffective.
Originally flagged as a US and European concern, AMR is now deeply rooted in India’s agricultural systems. Poultry and dairy farms across the country routinely administer antibiotics not only to treat diseases but to promote faster growth and compensate for poor hygiene and overcrowded conditions.
A 2023 study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) revealed that over 40% of tested chicken meat from Delhi-NCR markets contained residues of medically important antibiotics like ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin—both critical to human health.
How Antibiotic Resistance Travels from Farm to You?
You don’t need to eat meat to be affected. Here’s how antibiotic-resistant bacteria reach people—veg or non-veg:
1. Animal Waste to Soil to Crops: In India, untreated animal excreta is commonly used as manure. This waste carries resistant bacteria, which can contaminate vegetables and fruits.
2. Water Contamination: Leaching of waste into rivers and groundwater spreads AMR. Ganga basin studies by IITs have found traces of high antibiotic levels near animal farming belts.
3. Airborne Pathogens: Recent research (Banerjee et al., 2022, IJERPH) in Punjab and Haryana’s poultry belt found air samples around broiler farms carrying multidrug-resistant MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus).
Just living near high-density livestock zones can increase risk. In Europe, residents near pig farms were found colonised by MRSA despite having no direct animal contact (Monaco et al., 2013). Similar observations are now being made in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, India’s poultry hubs.
A Threat to India’s Medical Future
India is already the AMR epicentre in Asia. According to ICMR’s 2024 AMR surveillance report, over 65% of Klebsiella pneumoniae strains—common in ICU infections—were resistant to carbapenems, our last-resort antibiotics.
If we lose antibiotics, simple infections could again become fatal. Surgeries, cancer treatments, and even childbirth could become dangerously risky. And we may lose all this not because of medical misuse, but to ensure cheaper chicken or faster-growing buffalo calves.
What Has the World Done?
In the 1970s, Sweden banned antibiotic growth promoters in food animals. The EU followed suit in 2006. Yet in India, Colistin—an antibiotic banned for humans in several countries—is still found in animal feed (Down To Earth, 2020). Colistin is a last-resort drug for multidrug-resistant infections.
Though the FSSAI issued guidelines in 2018 to restrict the use of antibiotics in food animals, enforcement remains weak. A 2022 study by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) found non-compliance in over 70% of tested poultry farms, where antibiotics like doxycycline and tylosin were freely used.
Is It Really Worth It?
Contrary to popular belief, the financial gain from antibiotic feed additives is minimal. A 2020 analysis by the National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology showed that the average economic gain per broiler from growth-promoting antibiotics was less than ₹15.
Given that this marginal gain risks billions of rupees in future healthcare costs and human lives, continuing this practice is economically and ethically indefensible.
Expert Voices
Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan, founder of the One Health Trust, warns:
“India is uniquely vulnerable due to its triple burden: high infectious disease rates, widespread antibiotic use in humans and animals, and poor sanitation.”
A 2023 WHO South-East Asia report emphasised that non-therapeutic antibiotic use in agriculture is one of the top drivers of AMR in the region.
Impact on Children
School-age children are among the most vulnerable. A 2021 study by PGIMER Chandigarh detected resistant E. coli strains in schoolchildren from rural Punjab—despite them being vegetarian. The likely source? Contaminated water and vegetables irrigated with animal waste.
And yet, in 2022, there were reports of government procurement of untested meat for mid-day meal schemes, risking mass exposure to superbugs in schools.
What India Needs Now?
1. Ban Non-Therapeutic Use of Antibiotics: As the EU has done, India must legally ban the use of antibiotics solely for growth promotion in animals.
2. Stricter Farm Regulation: All commercial farms must be brought under the purview of the National AMR Surveillance Programme.
3. Promote Probiotic and Herbal Alternatives: Indian veterinary researchers have shown Ashwagandha and turmeric extracts can act as immune boosters in livestock—without creating resistant bacteria.
4. Public Disclosure: Meat, dairy, and egg producers must be made to declare antibiotic use, just as we mandate labeling for packaged foods.
Protecting Our “Wonder Drugs”
Antibiotics revolutionised medicine. Losing them would be a civilisational setback. The situation demands more than voluntary codes and half-hearted enforcement. It requires legal action, public pressure, and a shift in how we produce food.
We cannot afford to trade our children’s future for cheaper meat today.
References
• ICMR-AMRSN Annual Report 2024: https://main.icmr.nic.in
• Centre for Science and Environment, 2023: Report on antibiotic residues in Indian poultry
• Banerjee et al., 2022, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• FSSAI Guidelines, 2018: “Antibiotic Residues in Foods of Animal Origin”
• Down To Earth, 2020: “Why is India still using Colistin in poultry feed?”
• WHO South-East Asia Region: AMR Policy Paper, 2023
• Ramanan Laxminarayan et al., 2023: One Health Trust India Policy Brief
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