🔗 Share this article

A newly filed legal petition from multiple public health and farm worker groups is urging the EPA to discontinue allowing the spraying of antimicrobial agents on food crops across the United States, citing antibiotic-resistant development and health risks to agricultural workers.

Agricultural Industry Applies Substantial Amounts of Antimicrobial Pesticides

The farming industry applies around 8 million pounds of antimicrobial and fungicidal pesticides on US produce each year, with several of these agents prohibited in foreign countries.

“Every year the public are at increased risk from dangerous pathogens and diseases because medical antibiotics are sprayed on crops,” commented an environmental health director.

Superbug Threat Creates Major Health Dangers

The excessive use of antimicrobial drugs, which are critical for addressing human disease, as agricultural chemicals on produce jeopardizes public health because it can cause superbug bacteria. Likewise, overuse of antifungal agent pesticides can lead to fungal infections that are harder to treat with existing medicines.

• Treatment-resistant illnesses affect about 2.8 million people and lead to about thirty-five thousand deaths annually.
• Health agencies have linked “therapeutically critical antimicrobials” permitted for agricultural spraying to antibiotic resistance, increased risk of staph infections and elevated threat of MRSA.

Environmental and Health Effects

Furthermore, consuming antibiotic residues on crops can alter the digestive system and elevate the likelihood of long-term illnesses. These substances also contaminate drinking water supplies, and are considered to affect pollinators. Frequently poor and minority agricultural laborers are most at risk.

Frequently Used Antibiotic Pesticides and Industry Methods

Agricultural operations use antimicrobials because they kill microbes that can ruin or destroy produce. Among the popular antimicrobial treatments is streptomycin, which is commonly used in healthcare. Figures indicate up to 125k lbs have been applied on American produce in a single year.

Citrus Industry Lobbying and Government Response

The petition coincides with the EPA experiences urging to widen the use of human antibiotics. The crop infection, spread by the insect pest, is severely affecting citrus orchards in southeastern US.

“I recognize their urgent need because they’re in difficult circumstances, but from a societal standpoint this is definitely a no-brainer – it should not be allowed,” the expert stated. “The fundamental issue is the significant problems caused by using pharmaceuticals on edible plants greatly exceed the farming challenges.”

Other Methods and Future Outlook

Experts suggest simple agricultural measures that should be tried before antibiotics, such as wider crop placement, developing more disease-resistant strains of crops and identifying sick crops and quickly removing them to stop the diseases from transmitting.

The formal request provides the EPA about half a decade to answer. Previously, the regulator prohibited chloropyrifos in response to a parallel formal request, but a court blocked the agency's prohibition.

The agency can enact a prohibition, or must give a justification why it refuses to. If the regulator, or a later leadership, declines to take action, then the organizations can sue. The legal battle could require many years.

“We are pursuing the extended strategy,” Donley concluded.