The Antibiotic Crisis Exposes a Debate Brazil Avoids: The Living Conditions of the Animals That Sustain Its Protein Industry

The European Union’s suspension of Brazilian meat imports over antimicrobial policies has sparked a major trade debate. Beyond economic losses, this crisis exposes a critical, overlooked question: how high stocking density, stress, and poor welfare conditions force industrial animal agriculture to rely on antibiotics, and why real reform must put animal health and transparency first.