Interesting to notice how europe banned antibiotics while China and US are doing nothing about it:
In fact, Denmark has used antibiotics to prevent infections in pig farming[1] up until at least the summer of 2016[2]. As such, some farms have 88% of their pig population infected with MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)[3], and over 10,000 Danes have been infected with pig-MRSA.[4]
(all sources in Swedish) [1]http://www.expressen.se/gt/darfor-ar-det-danska-griskottet-s... [2] http://www.lantbruk.com/lantbruk/tuffare-regler-kring-antibi... [3] http://www.svt.se/nyheter/danska-bonder-kan-sprida-antibioti... [4] http://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/tusentals-danskar-smittade...
I just don't want anyone thinking MRSA stands for anything it doesn't.
https://www.statnews.com/2017/01/03/fda-livestock-antibiotic...
It's not a particularly aggressive action but it probably clears the 'nothing' bar.
There's really three reasons to use antibiotics in livestock:
1. Growth promotion 2. Prophylaxis 3. Treating disease.
The ban hits #1. #3 really doesn't deserve to be banned - it's a legitimate use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. #2 is where there's still a problem, because the use of antibiotics as a preventative runs the gamut from a perfectly legitimate veterinary intervention to an egregious misuse of antibiotics depending on the circumstance.
China doesn't really care about the environment. Their top priority is growth in order to avoid social unrest, and for feeding all the people they need all the food they can get - and if antibiotics makes farming more productive, they'll do it.
The US, on the other hand, has the problem that Big Ag is a powerful lobby. And Trump, given his total lack of understanding on climate and environmental issues, won't do anything to change that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons's_paradox is the same basic idea.
Meat demand as price drops may end up in pet food or 'corn' flakes, but the usage does not really matter. In competitive markets producers tend to make a fixed percentage of sales as profits. Thus, increasing total sales tends to also increase industry profits.
This is how every rich country went through industrialization. Not because they were all immoral, but because they were poor.
The good news is that China is somehow doing this in fast forward. Each Chinese year seems to be 3 years in a regular economy, and their enormous push for solar power is (I hope) just one sign of what's to come.
Percentage-wise?
Second, while the European bans are doing good things, it's far from perfect: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2016/10/eu-report... . Use of fluoroquinolones, macrolides and polymixins (including colistin) rose - Europe is weirdly fond of it.