The Cost Of Flying Too High With Antibiotics

In Greek mythology, Icarus was a boy with big dreams and even bigger wings. His father, Daedalus, a brilliant inventor, had crafted these wings from feathers and wax to escape their imprisonment on Crete. The wings promised freedom and flight—a gift so rare it was thought to belong only to the gods. But with great gifts come great warnings: Daedalus cautioned Icarus not to fly too high or too low, urging him to find balance.

At first, Icarus obeyed. He flapped alongside his father, exhilarated by the rush of wind beneath his wings. But soon, the thrill of freedom consumed him. Laughing, he soared higher and higher, ignoring his father’s shouts. The sun’s heat melted the wax holding his wings together, and one by one, the feathers fell away. Icarus tumbled from the sky, plunging into the sea below.

Much like Icarus’s wings, antibiotics have been a miraculous gift to humanity, transforming medicine and saving countless lives. Yet, like Icarus, we have pushed this gift too far, soaring too close to danger. The reckless misuse of antibiotics—particularly in farms—threatens to undo decades of medical progress and propel us into a global health catastrophe: antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The link between AMR and livestocks

India, with one of the largest livestock populations in the world, exemplifies this problem. The country accounts for 3% of global antibiotic use in food animals, a figure projected to rise by 82% by 2030. Poultry farming is a key driver of this increase, with antibiotics being mixed directly into animal feed to accelerate growth and prevent disease. 

A staggering 148 mg of antibiotics are used to produce just 1 kg of chicken globally, far more than the 45 mg needed for beef. While antibiotic-free chicken is the ideal choice, experts suggest that a safe limit for antibiotic use in chicken production would be 2 mg per 1 kg. This figure highlights just how excessive current practices are.

 

On farms across India, antibiotics meant to save lives are being repurposed as shortcuts for production. Chickens that once took three months to grow now reach market size in just four weeks. 

According to Dr. Sudheer Korukonda, an Assistant Professor in Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Tirupati, “Farmers, operating on razor-thin margins, use antibiotics as a safety net, fearing that even a small percentage of sick animals could devastate their earnings. Many mix antibiotics into feed as a precaution, unaware—or unmindful—of the larger consequences.”​

Why is this a problem?

Those consequences of indiscriminate use of antibiotics across farms are profound. Every dose of antibiotics overused or misused creates antibiotic resistant bacteria that do not stay confined to farms. 

These bacteria spread through contaminated meat, water runoff, and even the soil, eventually entering the human food chain. A study in northern India found that 100% of E. coli bacteria sampled from poultry farms were multidrug-resistant, showing significant resistance to last-resort antibiotics like cephalosporins and carbapenems.

Not just in farms

The misuse extends beyond poultry. In aquaculture, farmers mix antibiotics directly into water to prevent infections in artificial ponds. “The farmers who engage in this practice are usually educated and are aware of the consequences of using antibiotics. They however still overuse the antibiotics which seep into the surrounding soil, potentially causing resistance in microbes that aren’t even part of our food chain.” Korukonda says. “This reckless use has led to rejections of Indian shrimp exports by countries like the U.S. and EU, where stricter regulations demand cleaner, residue-free products.”

The dairy industry isn’t exempt either. Mastitis, a common infection in dairy cattle, drives widespread antibiotic use, often without veterinary guidance. A study found that many farmers are unaware of withdrawal periods—the time required for antibiotics to leave an animal’s system—leading to residues in milk. Some farmers falsely believe that boiling milk eliminates these residues, perpetuating the risks​.

The challenges

Even those supplying antibiotics recognize the extent of the problem but remain indifferent. One supplier bluntly remarked, “The antibiotics are already in our system. There’s nothing we can really do about it.” He doubted that writing articles or raising awareness would help, believing such efforts wouldn’t reach the farmers responsible for using antibiotics. While his perspective highlights the challenges of grassroots change, it also underscores the urgent need for better education and outreach and enforcement of stricter policies and regulations.

Efforts to address this crisis exist but remain inadequate. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has set maximum residue limits for over 100 antibiotics in food products, yet the unregulated use of antibiotics in animal feed remains a glaring loophole. 

Dr. Vijay Pal Singh, a specialist in biology of animals involved in research, an animal welfare expert and a food safety expert, points out, “The feed going to animals is unregulated, but once it’s on our plates, it’s considered food, and falls under regulation. By then, it’s too late.” Such gaps in oversight allow resistant bacteria to proliferate unchecked​.

The way forward

The impact of AMR is already evident. Resistant infections lead to longer hospital stays, higher healthcare costs, and untreatable diseases. The World Health Organization’s list of Critically Important Antimicrobials includes many drugs routinely used in Indian farming, despite warnings to reserve them for human medicine.

Changing this trajectory requires a concerted effort. Farmers need better education and access to veterinary services to understand the risks of antibiotic misuse. Policymakers must enforce stricter regulations on the sale and use of critical antibiotics in agriculture. Alternatives like probiotics, prebiotics, and vaccination programs must be made accessible and affordable. Meanwhile, consumers have a role to play by demanding antibiotic-free products and supporting sustainable farming practices.

Much like Icarus, humanity risks flying too close to the sun with its misuse of antibiotics. The miraculous gift that once saved lives now threatens to endanger them. By taking decisive action today, we can prevent this crisis and ensure that the antibiotics we rely on remain effective for generations to come. 

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Edited by Parth Sharma.
Image by Gayatri Sharma.