Nadja Mikulic

Animal welfare should become a priority and not a luxury in our food system. In light of the current Covid-19 crisis, we have to admit that our own health is reliant on the health of animals, as this pandemic is believed to have its origin at a “wet” marked in Wuhan, China.

“Wet” markets are know to sell live and slaughtered wild animals for human consumption. Animals are kept in cramped and dirty conditions and researcher concluded that it is very likely that the coronavirus jumped from animals sold at the market to humans. The list of diseases that have jumped from animals to humans (“zoonotic diseases”) includes HIV, Ebola, Zika, SARS, MERS and bird flu. The current and former crises should make it clear that our health is linked with animal health, a “One Health” approach, which recognized that the health of humans, animals and ecosystems are interconnected [1]. We should also be aware that health does not only implies physical, but also mental status of a living being [2]. Animals also feel stressed, especially in places, where they are caged and stacked on top of each other. Professor Andrew Cunningham of the Zoological Society of London points out that the immune system of stressed animals are suppressed and by excreting whatever pathogens they have in them creates an ideal mixing bowl for disease emergence [3]. When a pathogen challenges a healthy immune system, the body responds with inflammation to fight it. In a stressed animal, the hormone cortisol is released and this causes the normal inflammatory response to change into a more limited activation of white blood cells, which allows new pathogens to survive and multiply. Therefore, there is an urgent need for China to restructure its animal industries for global food safety.

Antibiotic Resistance in livestock farming

Moreover, there is room for improvement not only in China but also generally in the treatment of health problems on farms. Infectious diseases are also encouraged by crowded and stressful conditions in domestic livestock farming. Infection by Campylobacter for example can spread to humans and cause food poisoning. In livestock farming, transportation, intensive farming practices, overcrowding, genetic selection for thigh productivity and painful husbandry practices can lead to poor welfare of animals. Another threat is antibiotic resistance in disease-causing bacteria often caused by over-use and mis-use of antibiotics in intensive farming. Around half of the world’s antibiotic production is used in farm animals and this leads to additional burdens of health systems and treatment failures [4]. It is common in the European Union (EU) for animals to be fed antibiotics not to cure disease but to suppress infections that are likely to arise. This is particularly common where animals are often kept in overcrowded and stressful conditions and antibiotic use enables to stave off diseases in conditions, which are often disease inducing. If the antibiotic is closely related to an antibiotic used in human medicine, cross-resistance occurs and disease-causing bacteria become resistant to the drug used in humans [5]. In the US, antibiotics are also often administered to promote growth. The Centers of Disease Control explains, “When animals are given antibiotics for growth promotion or increased feed efficiency, bacteria are exposed to low doses of these drugs over a long period of time. This is inappropriate antibiotic use and can lead to the development of resistant bacteria”. The use of antibiotics for growth promotion has been outlawed in the EU and antibiotics we use are licensed veterinary medicines that have marketing authorization through a strict process overseen by independent European scientific and technical experts following strict EU regulatory process [5].

“In Europe as in the world as a whole, antimicrobial resistance is now a real threat to public health, resulting in longer, more complicated courses of treatment, a greater risk of death and extra costs for healthcare systems”. Eurobarometer report, Antimicrobial Resistance, April 2010

The figure illustrates how antibiotic resistance develops. All animals carry bacteria in their intestines and antibiotics given to animals kill most of these bacteria. However, some resistant bacteria survive and multiply. These resistant bacteria can spread to animal products, produce through contaminated water or soil, prepared food through contaminated surfaces or the environment through animal feces. Humans can get sick with resistant infections from contaminated food or environment and the impact can be either a mild illness or a severe illness even leading to death.

The European Commission proposed ending the preventative use and Compassion in world farming suggests several approaches to prevent disease without a prophylactic use of antibiotics with the objective to reform intensive farming, including extensive production systems (high-quality and organic systems), reducing stress, good weaning practice, keeping stock densities low, reducing journey times for live animals and breeding for natural robustness and disease-resistance [6]. Some EU countries (including the Scandinavian countries) support this, whereas other countries, such as the UK and Italy oppose it. Higher welfare farming systems, like organic farming, do not rely on antibiotics and antibiotics are only given as a treatment in ill animals. In this system it is important to keep the animals healthy by looking after them and giving them space and enrichment to ensure their well being.

Antibiotic usage – Yes or No?

Despite all above mentioned negative effects of antibiotic use, it is also important to understand that using antibiotic for prevention or control necessitates lower doses than a treatment dose and this can prevent severe illness and reduce the need for higher-dose treatments later. Additionally, it improves bio-security, hygiene and this leads to positive welfare steps, which reduce stress and thus, susceptibility to infection. The need to use antibiotics also differ from region to region and depends on factors such as animal species, disease status in the region, climate conditions, vaccination programs and the organization of food animal production sector in question [7]. Overall, someone can argue that this uses fewer antibiotics overall and improves the welfare of the animal by reducing the need of antibiotic use rather than by reducing the amount and time span of necessary antibiotic treatment in case of properly diagnosed bacterial infection. There should be no conflict between the responsible use of antibiotics and good animal welfare. However, antibiotics should not be the first choice for preventing disease and new technologies and new tools for prevention of disease should be investigated, like vaccinations, nutritional additives and facility design. The use of antibiotics and development of policy in this area should be based on scientific knowledge and understanding epidemiology of resistance, which is complex and more research is needed on the evolution and dynamics of antibiotic resistance for decision-making.

Despite the scientific evidence supporting in increased controls over antibiotic usage in animals, progress to date is slow. Countries need clear political will to bring a necessary shift in attitudes for antibiotics to be used as sparingly as possible, supported by changes in livestock production, improved education in relation to the use of antibiotics and investment into research. Farming systems that improve welfare of animals we use for food is vital for our own well being. Given the enormous number of viruses that exist and our global connectivity, future spillovers are inevitable and we can reduce the chances of this by learning from the current situation.

“We need to talk about meat”

Possibly the most notable improvement in farm animal welfare has come from changes in housing systems that prevented animals from meeting the five freedoms proposed by Brambell Committee in 1965. These five freedoms include the ability to stand up, lie down, turn around, groom themselves and stretch their limbs and they have been phased out in some parts of the world, either by laws or guidelines or via welfare assurance programs. However, combating one of these welfare issues has involved trade-offs and often solving one welfare problem can cause other welfare problems. In literature this has been referred to as “welfare dilemmas” [8]. It is important that a mean will be found to implement more sustainable livestock production systems, as the environmental impact of current systems is too high.

Luckily, there is an increasing recognition that global food security require a transition to sustainable diets and farming practices. This “less and better” approach to meat eating can support farmers without being more expensive for consumers. However, there are still many people, who are not aware of impacts of meat-rich diets for health and environment.

References:

1. One Health Global Network, http://www.onehealthglobal.net/what-is-one-health/, accessed on 20.04.2020
2. World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/frequently-asked-questions, accessed on 20.04.2020
3. The Guardian, Coronavirus: “Nature is sending us a message”, says UN environemtn chief, 25.03.2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/25/coronavirus-nature-is-sending-us-a-message-says-un-environment-chief?utm_source=SFT+staff&utm_campaign=fc3a2f9eb3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_08_30_10_19_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e1f06cae79-fc3a2f9eb3-105179485, accessed on 20.04.2020
4. World Health Organization, on World Health Day, under the theme “Combat drug resistance”, 7 April, 2011
5. European Medicines Agency (EMA), veterinary medicines regulatory information
6. Compassion in world farming, Antibiotics in animal farming, Public health and animal welfare, November 2011, https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/3758863/Antibiotics-in-Animal-Farming-Public-Health-and-Animal-Welfare.pdf, accessed on 20.04.2020
7. Federation of veterinarians of Europe, Relationship between animal welfare and the use of antibiotics in food animals, Adopted at the FVE General Assembly of 3 June 2016
8. Dawkins, M.S. and Layton, R. (2012) Breeding for better welfare, genetic goals for broiler chickens and their parents. Animal Welfare 21, 147-155.

Figure 67.1 – Source: Centers for Disease Controls (CDC), How antibiotic resistance spreads