Even though disease is just as existent today than ever before, alternatives to antibiotics need to be developed in order to prevent super bugs from developing. Bacteria are able to develop immunity to these antibiotics and even pass on these immunity genes. The immune species can then travel between animals and sometimes even to humans (zoonotic). Bacteria that develop the immunity can be spread to humans, and some are harmful to humans. The past 35 years has seen a move to stop the use of antimicrobial growth promotants in animal feed.

There is also a concern of antibiotics in the environment. This would come from undigested antibiotics passing through animals via urine and feces. Some commonly used antibiotics can survive in the environment for up to a year.

Probiotics are an alternative currently being investigated. Probiotics are “good” bacteria that are fed to animals to exert a positive effect on the animal. Probiotics prevent “bad” bacteria from attaching to the gut wall and causing disease to the animal. They compete with “bad” bacteria for nutrients and gut space, so as long as the “good” bacteria dominate, the animal will remain healthy. This will result in increased growth rate, improved digestibility, improved feed consumption and improved feed utilization efficiency.

Prebiotics are another alternative. These feeds are not digestible and provide a suitable environment for good bacteria to live and grow. This will work to maintain the already established good bacteria in the gut and help to keep the animal healthy.

Other alternatives to antibiotics include enzymes (to improve nutrient and feed utilization), diet acidification (a low pH will create an environment in the feed unfavorable to bacteria), liquid and fermented feed (will create an acidic environment in the intestine, which is unfavorable to bacteria), minerals, nutraceuticals (derived from food, but not considered food), novel antibodies (obtained from chicken eggs), and vaccinations.