Animal husbandry – the small and large-scale production of meat, eggs and dairy – involves a range of practices, in which concerns about the health of humans and animals meet economic and productivity needs and goals. These dilemmas clearly emerge in the various use of additives and medicines, and in particular antibiotics. The current interest in the use of antibiotics is intertwined with rising concerns about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in East-Africa and across the globe. AMR is an effect of complex interrelations between human, animal and environmental health, and is therefore called a One health issue.
Antimicrobial resistance not only spreads through close contact between humans and animals, poor hygiene and poorly prepared foods, but also through resistant bacteria in animal faeces polluting water and soil, and is thus both a health and an environmental problem. Especially (but not only) intensive farming of animals has contributed considerably to the spreading of AMR, as a large bulk of antibiotics is being used as growth enhancers or as prophylactic measures in meat and milk production. Social science studies have shown that effective actions to control AMR must be based on solid knowledge about the local worlds in which these medicines circulate and are being consumed, by people and their animals, including social and economic practices, cultural perceptions and norms, and local economies.
The aim of this thematic cluster is to gain insights to the social, cultural, moral, economic and material dynamics that influence the use of additives and medicines, including antibiotics, among farmers engaged in animal husbandry (this could be factors such as poverty, food security, perceptions of health and disease risks and antibiotic availability). Focusing on contemporary conditions for, and experiences of, rural lives, this thematic cluster aims to contribute to the growing scholarship of anthropological perspectives on health and the environment in animal husbandry in general, and antimicrobial resistance in particular.
Potential topics and questions within the thematic cluster on antibiotics in animal husbandry:
- What, how and why do (small or large-scale) farmers and pastoralists use which kinds of additives and antibiotics in a given site or area?
- How are decisions about care, health and productivity, including use of antibiotics, in animal husbandry made, and which considerations and concerns are involved?
- In what formal and informal relations or networks, e.g. with Agrovets and veterinarians, colleagues, family and friends, are these negotiations done, and where do they take place?
- Has the reduction in agricultural extension services provided by governments led to the increase in self-treatment of farm animals?
- How do farmers/pastoralists identify, and adapt to, disease risk in humans, animals and environment?
- What do farmers/pastoralists know about AMR and the effects of antibiotic use?
- How are antibiotics traded, circulated and distributed in the chosen setting, and what are the roles of veterinarians, agrovets, companies, NGOs and other actors?
- How are antibiotics regulated and monitored in the chosen setting, and what are the position and roles of health authorities, veterinary associations, and other relevant actors.
If you want to discuss this topic, please get in touch with: Heidi.Fjeld@medisin.uio.no or mangeshop@gmail.com.