The first case of antibiotic resistance in agriculture was reported in 1963 in the UK, where a resistant strain of Salmonella Typhimurium was discovered. Since then, the doses of antibiotics used in Europe to treat livestock have increased by more than 10 and even 20 times, confirming the seriousness of the problem of antibiotic resistance observed not only in animals, but also in humans.
Resistant strains of bacteria reached the human body through the meat consumed, as well as other crops that grew on farmland fertilised with animal faeces. These in turn contained residues of undigested antibiotics that contaminated the environment.