Data

Global antibiotic use in livestock under reduction scenarios

About this data

Source
Van Boeckel et al. (2017)processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
November 11, 2017
Date range
2030–2030
Unit
tonnes

Sources and processing

Van Boeckel et al. – Reducing antimicrobial use in food animals

Boeker et al. (2017) project global antibiotic use under business-as-usual antibiotic concentrations and projected meat consumption.

The authors also project a number of potential reduction scenarios:

  • a global limit of 50 milligrams of antibiotic use per kilogram of meat production.
  • a limit of 50 milligrams of antibiotic use per kilogram of meat production for OECD countries & China.
  • global per capita meat consumption of 40 grams per day (the equivalent of an average burger patty)
  • global per capita meat consumption of 165 grams per day (the projected EU average in 2030)

Projected global antibiotic use for livestock are shown for each of these potential reduction scenarios.

Retrieved on
November 11, 2017
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
Van Boeckel, T. P., Glennon, E. E., Chen, D., Gilbert, M., Robinson, T. P., Grenfell, B. T., Laxminarayan, R. (2017). Reducing antimicrobial use in food animals. Science, 357, 1350-1352.

Boeker et al. (2017) project global antibiotic use under business-as-usual antibiotic concentrations and projected meat consumption.

The authors also project a number of potential reduction scenarios:

  • a global limit of 50 milligrams of antibiotic use per kilogram of meat production.
  • a limit of 50 milligrams of antibiotic use per kilogram of meat production for OECD countries & China.
  • global per capita meat consumption of 40 grams per day (the equivalent of an average burger patty)
  • global per capita meat consumption of 165 grams per day (the projected EU average in 2030)

Projected global antibiotic use for livestock are shown for each of these potential reduction scenarios.

Retrieved on
November 11, 2017
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
Van Boeckel, T. P., Glennon, E. E., Chen, D., Gilbert, M., Robinson, T. P., Grenfell, B. T., Laxminarayan, R. (2017). Reducing antimicrobial use in food animals. Science, 357, 1350-1352.

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“Data Page: Global antibiotic use in livestock under reduction scenarios”. Our World in Data (2026). Data adapted from Van Boeckel et al.. Retrieved from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260511-092124/grapher/reduction-global-antibiotic-use.html [online resource] (archived on May 11, 2026).

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In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

Van Boeckel et al. (2017) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

Van Boeckel et al. (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. “Global antibiotic use in livestock under reduction scenarios” [dataset]. Van Boeckel et al., “Reducing antimicrobial use in food animals” [original data]. Retrieved May 11, 2026 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260511-092124/grapher/reduction-global-antibiotic-use.html (archived on May 11, 2026).

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