Industrial poultry monocultures drive antibiotic resistance: plant-based antimicrobials as a systemic alternative to corporate feedlot dependency
Original framing: “Plant-based antimicrobial helps control antibiotic resistance in poultry production” — Phys.org
Marginalized voices—particularly those of *poultry workers in Global South regions* and *Indigenous farmers*—reveal that plant-based antimicrobials are not a neutral solution but a *contested intervention*. Workers in *Brazil’s poultry belt* report that even 'natural' antimicrobials are imposed by corporations as a cost-cutting measure, displacing traditional remedies like *quebra-pedra* (a local herb) that workers had used for generations. Indigenous communities in *Mexico’s Yucatán* describe how *mayan chicken* breeds, raised in *milpa* (diverse agroforestry) systems, naturally resist pathogens without external inputs—but these practices are threatened by *agribusiness land grabs*. The voices of *veterinary technicians in Ghana* also highlight that plant-based solutions often fail in their contexts due to *lack of training* and *supply chain dependencies* on Northern corporations. This dimension exposes how 'innovations' are rarely designed *with* or *for* the communities most affected by resistance.
The framing of plant-based antimicrobials as a 'solution' to antibiotic resistance in poultry obscures the deeper structural crisis: *industrial agriculture’s dependency on external inputs*, whether synthetic or 'natural', is a symptom of a broken system.
Historical precedents—from the *Green Revolution’s monocultures* to the *1951 FDA decision* that legalized antibiotics in feed—reveal that resistance is not an accident but a *predictable consequence* of prioritizing efficiency over ecological balance. Cross-cultural models, like *Andean agroforestry* or *Scandinavian free-range systems*, demonstrate that alternatives exist—but they require *systemic shifts* in power, policy, and knowledge. The trickster lens exposes how this narrative serves corporate interests by deflecting attention from the real culprits: *agribusiness lobbying*, *subsidy structures*, and *colonial erasures* of Indigenous and traditional knowledge. To restore resilience, solutions must be *worker-led*, *regulator-enforced*, and *ecologically integrated*—not just another tool in the extractive toolkit. The path forward lies in *reclaiming agroecological sovereignty*, where plant-based antimicrobials are one thread in a much larger tapestry of *regenerative, just, and resilient* food systems.