A poor environmental management and the deterioration of health and hygiene conditions (lack of awareness and attention to hygienic standards, to measures for preventing transmission of infection, and to appropriate use of antimicrobial therapies) facilitate the selection, release and diffusion of resistant pathogens in the environment, which can very easily contaminate the food chain. Antimicrobial resistance is a major problem worldwide, involving many sectors: medicine, veterinary medicine, breeding, agriculture, economy and commerce. In addition, the expanding globalization and increasing movements of both goods and people across countries and continents have drastically exacerbated the situation. In this difficult context, professionals of both the food and health sectors have an important role to play and their active participation is essential, together with that of citizens and patients themselves. For this very reason, national programs to combat antimicrobial resistance are needed, with a special focus on surveillance, antimicrobial stewardship, training of professionals and citizens, all the while assuring the availability of economic resources to achieve these goals. The "One Health" initiative is intended to strengthen the link between different scientific disciplines, such as human and veterinary medicine, since the phenomenon of antimicrobial resistance may be further aggravated by microbial transmission from animals to humans, directly or indirectly through the consumption of food. The aim of this narrative review is to give an overview of what is known about antimicrobial resistance related to food chain, to illustrate its extent and epidemiology in Italy, in Europe and globally, and to discuss the measures required to fight antimicrobial resistance including good practices on the use of antibiotics.