The urgent case for antibiotic-free animals
-
0:01 - 0:04There was a time
when simple infections were deadly, -
0:04 - 0:07but now, thanks to the wide
availability of antibiotics, -
0:07 - 0:10this is merely a relic of the past.
-
0:10 - 0:12But actually, I should say "was,"
-
0:12 - 0:16because nowadays,
we're using antibiotics so much -
0:16 - 0:19that the bacteria
that cause these infections -
0:19 - 0:20are becoming resistant.
-
0:21 - 0:24And that should really scare
the hell out of all of us. -
0:24 - 0:28If we do not change our behavior
and wean ourselves off antibiotics, -
0:28 - 0:32the UN predicts that by 2050,
-
0:32 - 0:36antimicrobial resistance
will become our single biggest killer. -
0:37 - 0:39So we must start to act.
-
0:40 - 0:42But "where to begin"
is an interesting question, -
0:42 - 0:45because we humans are not
the only ones using antibiotics. -
0:45 - 0:50Worldwide, 50 to 80 percent
of all antibiotics are used by animals. -
0:51 - 0:53Not all of these are critical
for human health, -
0:53 - 0:56but if we do not get it
under control right now, -
0:56 - 1:00we're looking at a very scary future
for humans and animals alike. -
1:01 - 1:04To begin, let's talk
about how we ended up here. -
1:04 - 1:10The first large-scale use of antibiotics
was in the early '50s of the last century. -
1:10 - 1:13In the Western world,
prosperity was increasing -
1:13 - 1:15and people wanted to eat
more animal protein. -
1:16 - 1:19When animals were sick,
you could now treat them with antibiotics -
1:19 - 1:21so they did not die and kept growing.
-
1:21 - 1:22But soon, it was discovered
-
1:22 - 1:26that adding small and regular amounts
of antibiotics to the feed -
1:26 - 1:27kept the animals healthy,
-
1:27 - 1:29made them grow faster
-
1:29 - 1:31and caused them to need less feed.
-
1:31 - 1:33So these antibiotics worked well --
-
1:33 - 1:35really well, actually.
-
1:35 - 1:37And with increasing animal production,
-
1:37 - 1:40also antibiotic use skyrocketed worldwide.
-
1:41 - 1:44Unfortunately,
so did antibiotic resistance. -
1:45 - 1:49The reason your doctor tells you
to finish the entire bottle of antibiotics -
1:49 - 1:53is if you shorten your dose,
you will not kill all of the bugs. -
1:53 - 1:57And the ones that stick around
build up the antibiotic resistance. -
1:58 - 2:02It's the same problem with giving animals
small and regular doses of antibiotics: -
2:02 - 2:05some bad bugs die but not all of them.
-
2:05 - 2:07Spread that across an entire industry,
-
2:07 - 2:10and you can understand
that we accidentally build up -
2:10 - 2:13a large reservoir
of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. -
2:15 - 2:17But I hate to break it to you --
-
2:17 - 2:19the problem doesn't stop there.
-
2:19 - 2:22You know who else takes antibiotics?
-
2:22 - 2:24Fluffy, your cat, and Rover, your dog.
-
2:24 - 2:25(Laughter)
-
2:25 - 2:28Pets rank even amongst
the heaviest users of all, -
2:28 - 2:30and they use antibiotics
-
2:30 - 2:32that are much more critical
for human health. -
2:33 - 2:37Combine this with how close
we live with our companion animals -
2:37 - 2:39and you understand the risk
-
2:39 - 2:43of you picking up antibiotic-resistant
bacteria from your own pet. -
2:45 - 2:48But how do these
antibiotic-resistant bacteria -
2:48 - 2:50in farm animals affect you?
-
2:50 - 2:53Let me give you an example
we have, actually, data on. -
2:54 - 2:58The levels of antibiotic-resistant
salmonella in pigs in Europe -
2:58 - 3:01against different types of antibiotics
-
3:01 - 3:04range from less than a percent
to as high [as] 60 percent. -
3:05 - 3:07Which means that in most cases,
-
3:07 - 3:10this antibiotic will not work anymore
to kill this salmonella. -
3:11 - 3:13And there was a high correlation
-
3:13 - 3:16between antibiotic-resistant
salmonella in the pig -
3:16 - 3:18and in the final product.
-
3:18 - 3:20Whether that is pork chop,
-
3:20 - 3:21spare ribs or minced meat.
-
3:22 - 3:25Now, luckily, typically
less than one percent -
3:25 - 3:28of all raw meat, fish or eggs
-
3:28 - 3:29will contain salmonella.
-
3:30 - 3:33And this only poses a risk
when not treated well. -
3:34 - 3:38Still, there are over 100,000
human salmonella cases in the EU -
3:38 - 3:41and more than a million cases in the US.
-
3:42 - 3:45In the US, leading
to 23,000 hospitalizations -
3:45 - 3:48and 450 people dead each year.
-
3:49 - 3:52With antibiotic-resistant
salmonella on the rise, -
3:52 - 3:54this death toll is likely to increase.
-
3:55 - 3:58But it's not only
about consuming yourself. -
3:58 - 4:01This year, more
than 100 people got infected -
4:01 - 4:04with a multidrug-resistant salmonella
-
4:04 - 4:07after feeding pig ears,
as a treat, to their dog. -
4:08 - 4:12So we really must cut back
on antibiotic use in animal production. -
4:12 - 4:14And luckily, this is starting to happen.
-
4:15 - 4:17The EU was the first region to ban
-
4:17 - 4:20putting antibiotics
in low doses in the feed. -
4:20 - 4:23From '99 on, in several steps,
-
4:23 - 4:26the amount of different types
of antibiotics allowed was reduced, -
4:26 - 4:29and in 2006, a complete ban
went into place. -
4:29 - 4:31Antibiotics were only allowed
-
4:31 - 4:34when a veterinarian determined
the animal was sick. -
4:34 - 4:35Sounds great, right?
-
4:35 - 4:37Problem solved.
-
4:37 - 4:38No, wait, not so fast.
-
4:39 - 4:41As soon as the reduction program started,
-
4:41 - 4:43it was very quickly discovered
-
4:43 - 4:46that antibiotics had been
the perfect blanket -
4:46 - 4:48to cover up a lot of bad farm practices.
-
4:48 - 4:50More and more animals became sick
-
4:50 - 4:53and needed to be
cured with ... antibiotics. -
4:53 - 4:56So instead of the total amount going down,
-
4:56 - 4:57it actually increased.
-
4:58 - 5:00Surely, that was not the way to go.
-
5:00 - 5:03But luckily, that was not
the end of the story. -
5:03 - 5:06The whole European agricultural sector
started on a journey, -
5:06 - 5:09and I think it's a journey
anybody can learn from. -
5:10 - 5:12This is also the time
I personally entered the scene. -
5:12 - 5:15I joined a large European feed compounder.
-
5:15 - 5:20A feed compounder makes a total diet
for a farmer to feed to his animals -
5:20 - 5:22and often also provides the advice
-
5:22 - 5:24on how to raise the animals
in the best way. -
5:25 - 5:27I was really motivated
to work together with my colleagues, -
5:27 - 5:30veterinarians and, of course, the farmers
-
5:30 - 5:34to figure out how to keep the animals
healthy and antibiotic-free. -
5:34 - 5:37Now there are three major things
that need to happen -
5:37 - 5:38for antibiotic-free production.
-
5:38 - 5:40Let me walk you through the playbook.
-
5:40 - 5:43To start -- and it sounds very obvious --
-
5:43 - 5:45that our hygiene is the place to start.
-
5:45 - 5:48Better cleaning of the stable
and the drinking-water lines -
5:48 - 5:52making it harder for the disease
to come in and spread across the stable. -
5:52 - 5:54That's all very important,
-
5:54 - 5:56but the part I was personally
most interested in -
5:56 - 5:58was better feeding for the animals,
-
5:58 - 5:59better nutrition.
-
6:00 - 6:02Feeding a well-balanced diet is important.
-
6:02 - 6:03Think about it this way:
-
6:03 - 6:07when you yourself do not eat
enough fiber, you do not feel well. -
6:07 - 6:10Part of the food you consume
is not digested by yourself -
6:10 - 6:13but fermented in your large
intestine by bacteria. -
6:13 - 6:17So you're feeding those microbes
with part of your diet. -
6:18 - 6:21Initially, most young animals
were fed low-fiber, -
6:21 - 6:23high-starch and protein,
-
6:23 - 6:26very finely ground
and highly digestible diets. -
6:27 - 6:30Like being yourself on a diet
of hamburger buns, -
6:30 - 6:32rice, waffles and protein bars.
-
6:33 - 6:37We changed this to a lower-protein,
-
6:37 - 6:39higher-fiber, coarser type of diet.
-
6:40 - 6:44Like being on a diet of whole grains,
salad with meat or beans. -
6:44 - 6:47This shifted the bacterial flora
in the animals' guts -
6:47 - 6:49to the more beneficial ones
-
6:49 - 6:52and reduced the chance
that pathogens would flourish. -
6:52 - 6:54You might be surprised
-
6:54 - 6:57but not only diet composition,
also diet structure plays a role. -
6:57 - 7:00Simply the fact
that the same diet is coarser -
7:00 - 7:03will lead to a better-developed
digestive tract, -
7:03 - 7:04and thus, a healthier animal.
-
7:06 - 7:10But the best part was that farmers
started to buy this actually, too. -
7:10 - 7:12Unlike some other parts of the world,
-
7:12 - 7:16Western European farmers mainly still make
their independent buying decisions: -
7:16 - 7:19who to buy the feed from
and sell their animals to. -
7:19 - 7:21So what you're actually selling in the end
-
7:21 - 7:24reflects the actual local need
of these farmers. -
7:24 - 7:25For example,
-
7:26 - 7:27the protein content in piglet diets
-
7:27 - 7:30in countries that are much more vigilant
in reducing antibiotics, -
7:30 - 7:33like, for example,
Germany and the Netherlands, -
7:33 - 7:35were already 10 to 15 percent lower
-
7:35 - 7:38than in a country like the UK,
which was slower to pick this up. -
7:40 - 7:43But, like with better hygiene,
better nutrition helps -
7:43 - 7:46but will not totally prevent you
from becoming sick. -
7:46 - 7:47So more is needed.
-
7:48 - 7:50And that's why we turned
to the microbiome. -
7:51 - 7:53Making the water with the feed more acidic
-
7:53 - 7:55helps to create an environment
-
7:55 - 7:57that benefits the more beneficial bacteria
-
7:57 - 7:59and inhibits the pathogens.
-
8:00 - 8:01Like fermented food,
-
8:01 - 8:04whether it's yogurt, sauerkraut or salami,
-
8:04 - 8:06they'll all spoil less quickly, too.
-
8:07 - 8:09Now, with modern techniques,
-
8:09 - 8:11like the ones based on DNA testing,
-
8:11 - 8:15we can see that there are many more
different microorganisms present. -
8:15 - 8:18And this ecosystem,
which we call the microbiome, -
8:18 - 8:20is much more complex.
-
8:21 - 8:25Turns out there are about eight times
more microorganisms in your gut -
8:25 - 8:27as tissue cells in your body.
-
8:28 - 8:30And for animals, the impact is no less.
-
8:31 - 8:35So if we want to work
without antibiotics in animal production, -
8:35 - 8:38we have to make the animals
much more robust. -
8:38 - 8:39So that when a disease strikes,
-
8:40 - 8:41the animals are much more resilient.
-
8:42 - 8:45And this three-pronged
nutribiosis approach -
8:45 - 8:48involving the host, nutrition
and the microbiome -
8:48 - 8:50is the way to do it.
-
8:50 - 8:54Now the practice of raising animals
on an antibiotic-containing -
8:54 - 8:58or antibiotic-use-provoking diet
is a bit cheaper at farm level. -
8:59 - 9:03But in the end, we are talking about
a few percent at the consumer level. -
9:03 - 9:04That's actually quite affordable
-
9:04 - 9:08for the middle- and high-income
part of the world population. -
9:08 - 9:10And a very small price to pay
-
9:10 - 9:13when our own health
or our loved ones' health is at stake. -
9:14 - 9:16So what do you think,
what direction do we take? -
9:17 - 9:21Do we allow antimicrobial resistance
to become our biggest killer, -
9:21 - 9:24at huge financial
and a special personal cost? -
9:25 - 9:29Or do we, besides reducing
human antibiotic consumption, -
9:30 - 9:33truly start embracing
antibiotic-free animal production? -
9:33 - 9:36For me, the choice is very obvious.
-
9:36 - 9:38But to make this happen,
-
9:38 - 9:39we have to set reduction targets
-
9:39 - 9:42and make sure that they're followed
all around the world. -
9:42 - 9:44Because farmers compete with each other.
-
9:44 - 9:46And at a country level,
-
9:46 - 9:48trading block or the global market,
-
9:48 - 9:50costs are very important.
-
9:50 - 9:51And also, we have to be realistic.
-
9:51 - 9:53Farmers need to have the possibilities
-
9:53 - 9:57to invest more in better
management and better feed -
9:57 - 9:59in order to achieve this reduction.
-
9:59 - 10:03And besides legal limits,
the market can play a role, -
10:03 - 10:06by offering antibiotic-reduced
or antibiotic-free products. -
10:07 - 10:09And with growing consumer awareness,
-
10:09 - 10:12these market forces
will increase in power. -
10:13 - 10:16Now everything I've been talking about
seems to be great for us. -
10:16 - 10:18But what about the animals?
-
10:18 - 10:20Now, guess what,
their lives get better, too. -
10:20 - 10:23Better health, less stress, happier life.
-
10:24 - 10:25So now you know.
-
10:25 - 10:30We have the knowledge
how to produce meat, eggs and milk -
10:30 - 10:34without or with very low
amounts of antibiotics, -
10:34 - 10:36and I'll argue it's a small price to pay
-
10:36 - 10:39to avoid a future
in which bacterial infections -
10:39 - 10:42again become our biggest killer.
-
10:42 - 10:43Thank you.
-
10:43 - 10:46(Applause)
- Title:
- The urgent case for antibiotic-free animals
- Speaker:
- Leon Marchal
- Description:
-
The UN predicts that antimicrobial resistance will be our biggest killer by 2050. "That should really scare the hell out of all of us," says bioprocess engineer Leon Marchal. He's working on an urgently needed solution: transforming the massive, global animal feed industry. Learn why the overuse of antibiotics in animal products, from livestock feed to everyday pet treats, has skyrocketed worldwide -- and how we can take common-sense measures to stave off a potential epidemic.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 10:59
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for The urgent case for antibiotic-free animals | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for The urgent case for antibiotic-free animals | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for The urgent case for antibiotic-free animals | ||
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for The urgent case for antibiotic-free animals | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The urgent case for antibiotic-free animals | ||
Erin Gregory approved English subtitles for The urgent case for antibiotic-free animals | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for The urgent case for antibiotic-free animals | ||
Krystian Aparta accepted English subtitles for The urgent case for antibiotic-free animals |