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A recent legal petition from multiple public health and farm worker groups is demanding the EPA to stop allowing the use of antimicrobial agents on edible plants across the United States, citing superbug development and health risks to farm laborers.

Farming Industry Applies Large Quantities of Antibiotic Crop Treatments

The agricultural sector sprays about 8 million pounds of antimicrobial and fungicidal chemicals on American food crops annually, with several of these agents restricted in international markets.

“Annually US citizens are at greater threat from toxic bacteria and diseases because human medicines are used on crops,” said a public health advocate.

Superbug Threat Poses Serious Public Health Risks

The excessive use of antimicrobial drugs, which are essential for treating human disease, as crop treatments on fruits and vegetables threatens population health because it can result in antibiotic-resistant pathogens. In the same way, excessive application of antifungal agent pesticides can lead to fungal infections that are more resistant with present-day pharmaceuticals.

• Antibiotic-resistant illnesses impact about 2.8m people and result in about 35,000 deaths per year.
• Regulatory bodies have associated “clinically significant antimicrobials” authorized for crop application to treatment failure, greater chance of bacterial illnesses and elevated threat of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Environmental and Public Health Consequences

Additionally, ingesting drug traces on food can disturb the digestive system and raise the risk of persistent conditions. These agents also contaminate aquatic systems, and are believed to harm bees. Typically economically disadvantaged and Hispanic field workers are most at risk.

Frequently Used Agricultural Antimicrobials and Agricultural Practices

Farms spray antibiotics because they kill pathogens that can damage or kill crops. Among the most frequently used antibiotic pesticides is streptomycin, which is commonly used in clinical treatment. Figures indicate approximately 125,000 pounds have been used on domestic plants in a annual period.

Agricultural Sector Lobbying and Regulatory Response

The legal appeal comes as the EPA experiences demands to widen the application of pharmaceutical drugs. The crop infection, carried by the insect pest, is devastating orange groves in Florida.

“I appreciate their urgent need because they’re in difficult circumstances, but from a public health perspective this is absolutely a obvious choice – it cannot happen,” the advocate said. “The bottom line is the massive issues caused by applying pharmaceuticals on produce significantly surpass the agricultural problems.”

Other Methods and Future Outlook

Specialists suggest basic crop management actions that should be tried before antibiotics, such as increasing plant spacing, developing more disease-resistant types of produce and locating sick crops and quickly removing them to stop the infections from propagating.

The legal appeal gives the Environmental Protection Agency about 5 years to answer. Previously, the regulator banned chloropyrifos in answer to a parallel formal request, but a court reversed the agency's prohibition.

The agency can impose a prohibition, or has to give a justification why it will not. If the EPA, or a subsequent government, does not act, then the coalitions can take legal action. The process could require many years.

“We’re playing the extended strategy,” Donley stated.