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A recent formal request from a dozen health advocacy and farm worker coalitions is urging the EPA to discontinue authorizing the use of antimicrobial agents on food crops across the US, pointing to superbug proliferation and health risks to farm laborers.

Farming Industry Sprays Millions of Pounds of Antibiotic Pesticides

The farming industry uses around 8 million pounds of antibiotic and antifungal pesticides on American food crops every year, with several of these substances restricted in other nations.

“Annually the public are at elevated threat from harmful bacteria and illnesses because human medicines are sprayed on crops,” commented a public health advocate.

Superbug Threat Presents Serious Public Health Dangers

The widespread application of antibiotics, which are vital for addressing infections, as pesticides on produce threatens public health because it can cause superbug bacteria. In the same way, frequent use of antifungal agent pesticides can lead to fungal infections that are harder to treat with currently available medical drugs.

• Treatment-resistant infections impact about 2.8 million Americans and result in about thousands of mortalities per year.
• Public health organizations have associated “medically important antimicrobials” permitted for agricultural spraying to antibiotic resistance, greater chance of pathogenic diseases and increased risk of MRSA.

Environmental and Public Health Effects

Furthermore, eating antibiotic residues on food can disrupt the human gut microbiome and elevate the chance of long-term illnesses. These chemicals also pollute drinking water supplies, and are considered to harm pollinators. Frequently low-income and Hispanic field workers are most exposed.

Frequently Used Antibiotic Pesticides and Industry Methods

Growers spray antibiotics because they destroy bacteria that can harm or wipe out crops. Among the popular antimicrobial treatments is streptomycin, which is frequently used in healthcare. Estimates indicate up to 125,000 pounds have been applied on US crops in a one year.

Citrus Industry Lobbying and Regulatory Action

The legal appeal coincides with the Environmental Protection Agency faces urging to widen the utilization of human antibiotics. The bacterial citrus greening disease, spread by the vector, is severely affecting citrus orchards in southeastern US.

“I appreciate their critical situation because they’re in dire straits, but from a public health point of view this is absolutely a no-brainer – it should not be allowed,” the advocate stated. “The bottom line is the massive problems generated by spraying medical drugs on produce significantly surpass the farming challenges.”

Alternative Methods and Future Prospects

Specialists recommend straightforward agricultural steps that should be tried before antibiotics, such as wider crop placement, cultivating more robust strains of crops and detecting sick crops and promptly eliminating them to prevent the diseases from transmitting.

The petition provides the regulator about 5 years to answer. In the past, the organization prohibited chloropyrifos in reaction to a similar regulatory appeal, but a legal authority reversed the regulatory action.

The organization can implement a prohibition, or has to give a reason why it will not. If the regulator, or a later leadership, declines to take action, then the coalitions can take legal action. The legal battle could take more than a decade.

“We’re playing the prolonged effort,” the advocate concluded.