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A recent regulatory appeal from twelve health advocacy and agricultural labor groups is calling for the US environmental regulator to stop permitting the spraying of antibiotics on produce across the United States, citing superbug proliferation and health risks to farm laborers.

Agricultural Industry Uses Millions of Pounds of Antimicrobial Pesticides

The farming industry sprays about 8 million pounds of antimicrobial and fungicidal treatments on US plants every year, with a number of these agents banned in other nations.

“Each year the public are at increased threat from dangerous microbes and diseases because human medicines are applied on produce,” commented a public health advocate.

Superbug Threat Poses Major Public Health Risks

The excessive use of antibiotics, which are essential for combating medical conditions, as pesticides on crops endangers population health because it can result in antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Similarly, excessive application of antifungal agent pesticides can lead to mycoses that are harder to treat with existing medical drugs.

• Antibiotic-resistant infections impact about 2.8 million people and result in about thousands of fatalities per year.
• Regulatory bodies have connected “therapeutically critical antimicrobials” permitted for pesticide use to drug resistance, greater chance of bacterial illnesses and increased risk of antibiotic-resistant staph.

Environmental and Health Effects

Additionally, ingesting antibiotic residues on food can disrupt the intestinal flora and increase the risk of persistent conditions. These agents also contaminate water sources, and are considered to damage insects. Frequently poor and Hispanic farm workers are most at risk.

Frequently Used Agricultural Antimicrobials and Agricultural Practices

Growers apply antimicrobials because they eliminate pathogens that can harm or wipe out produce. One of the most frequently used antimicrobial treatments is streptomycin, which is frequently used in clinical treatment. Data indicate approximately 125k lbs have been applied on domestic plants in a single year.

Citrus Industry Pressure and Regulatory Action

The formal request is filed as the EPA faces pressure to expand the utilization of pharmaceutical drugs. The crop infection, transmitted by the vector, is severely affecting orange groves in Florida.

“I understand their critical situation because they’re in serious trouble, but from a societal perspective this is absolutely a no-brainer – it should not be allowed,” Donley commented. “The fundamental issue is the massive problems caused by using human medicine on edible plants greatly exceed the agricultural problems.”

Other Solutions and Long-term Prospects

Specialists propose basic crop management steps that should be tested before antibiotics, such as increasing plant spacing, developing more disease-resistant types of plants and locating infected plants and promptly eliminating them to stop the infections from spreading.

The formal request provides the EPA about five years to act. Several years ago, the agency outlawed chloropyrifos in response to a similar formal request, but a legal authority overturned the regulatory action.

The organization can enact a prohibition, or is required to give a reason why it won’t. If the EPA, or a later leadership, fails to respond, then the groups can take legal action. The process could take more than a decade.

“We are pursuing the prolonged effort,” the advocate remarked.