Are antibiotics turning livestock into superbug factories?

Almost 80% of all antibiotics in the United

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States aren’t taken by people. They’re given to cows, pigs, and chickens to make them grow more quickly or as a cheap alternative to keeping them healthy. These drugs could give rise to superbugs—bacteria that can’t be treated with modern medicine—and things are only getting worse. In 2013, more than 131,000 tons of antibiotics were used in food animals worldwide; by 2030, it will be more than 200,000 tons.

In a paper published today in Science, epidemiologist Thomas Van Boeckel of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and colleagues outline the growing threat—and what can be done about it. Van Boeckel spoke to us about his team’s work. This interview has been edited for clarity and length                                                                                                                                                   http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/09/are-antibiotics-turning-livestock-superbug-factories.