Virtually everyone has taken antibiotics. They can be lifesavers-and they can be useless. What are they? How are they used? And what happens as the effectiveness of antibiotics continues to decline? Antibiotics: What Everyone Needs to Know examines the personal and societal implications of our planet's most important-and frequently misused-medications. In a question-and-answer format, it unpacks the most complicated aspects of this issue, including: How antibiotics are used (and overused) in humans, plants, and livestock; the causes and consequences of bacterial resistance to antibiotics; how the globalized world enables antibiotic resistance to spread quickly; and the difficult decisions ahead for both medical care and the food system. Grounded in the latest scientific research and crafted for general readers, Antibiotics: What Everyone Needs to Know offers a clear-eyed overview of where we are, and what the future holds, as antibiotics lose their power.