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A newly filed legal petition from a dozen health advocacy and agricultural labor coalitions is calling for the US environmental regulator to discontinue allowing the spraying of antibiotics on food crops across the US, citing superbug development and health risks to farm laborers.

Agricultural Sector Sprays Millions of Pounds of Antimicrobial Pesticides

The farming industry applies about substantial volumes of antimicrobial and fungicidal pesticides on American plants annually, with a number of these agents restricted in international markets.

“Each year the public are at greater risk from toxic pathogens and infections because human medicines are sprayed on produce,” said an environmental health director.

Antibiotic Resistance Poses Serious Public Health Dangers

The widespread application of antimicrobial drugs, which are essential for addressing medical conditions, as agricultural chemicals on fruits and vegetables threatens population health because it can cause drug-resistant microbes. Likewise, excessive application of antifungal agent treatments can create mycoses that are less treatable with present-day medicines.

• Treatment-resistant illnesses impact about 2.8 million individuals and cause about thousands of mortalities per year.
• Regulatory bodies have connected “medically important antibiotics” approved for agricultural spraying to drug resistance, higher likelihood of pathogenic diseases and higher probability of MRSA.

Ecological and Public Health Consequences

Meanwhile, eating chemical remnants on food can disrupt the digestive system and increase the likelihood of chronic diseases. These chemicals also contaminate water sources, and are believed to harm pollinators. Typically economically disadvantaged and Latino agricultural laborers are most exposed.

Frequently Used Agricultural Antimicrobials and Industry Practices

Agricultural operations spray antibiotics because they destroy bacteria that can ruin or destroy crops. Among the most frequently used agricultural drugs is streptomycin, which is commonly used in healthcare. Data indicate approximately 125,000 pounds have been used on American produce in a one year.

Agricultural Sector Lobbying and Government Response

The legal appeal comes as the EPA experiences urging to expand the use of human antibiotics. The citrus plant illness, transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, is devastating orange groves in Florida.

“I appreciate their desperation because they’re in difficult circumstances, but from a societal standpoint this is certainly a no-brainer – it should not be allowed,” Donley stated. “The fundamental issue is the massive issues generated by spraying human medicine on edible plants far outweigh the agricultural problems.”

Other Methods and Long-term Outlook

Advocates propose straightforward agricultural steps that should be implemented first, such as increasing plant spacing, developing more disease-resistant types of crops and detecting infected plants and quickly removing them to stop the pathogens from spreading.

The formal request gives the EPA about five years to act. Previously, the regulator banned chloropyrifos in answer to a comparable formal request, but a legal authority reversed the regulatory action.

The regulator can enact a ban, or must give a explanation why it won’t. If the EPA, or a later leadership, declines to take action, then the organizations can file a lawsuit. The procedure could take more than a decade.

“We are engaged in the long game,” Donley stated.