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A recent legal petition from a dozen public health and agricultural labor organizations is demanding the US environmental regulator to stop allowing the spraying of antibiotics on food crops across the America, highlighting antibiotic-resistant spread and illnesses to agricultural workers.

Farming Industry Applies Millions of Pounds of Antimicrobial Crop Treatments

The farming industry sprays approximately 8 million pounds of antimicrobial and fungicidal chemicals on American plants every year, with several of these chemicals prohibited in international markets.

“Annually US citizens are at elevated danger from dangerous bacteria and illnesses because medical antibiotics are used on produce,” said a public health advocate.

Superbug Threat Creates Serious Health Dangers

The overuse of antibiotics, which are critical for combating human disease, as pesticides on produce threatens public health because it can lead to superbug bacteria. Likewise, overuse of antifungal pesticides can cause mycoses that are less treatable with currently available medical drugs.

• Drug-resistant infections sicken about 2.8m Americans and result in about thousands of deaths each year.
• Regulatory bodies have associated “therapeutically critical antimicrobials” approved for pesticide use to drug resistance, higher likelihood of bacterial illnesses and higher probability of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Environmental and Public Health Consequences

Meanwhile, ingesting drug traces on food can alter the digestive system and increase the likelihood of long-term illnesses. These chemicals also contaminate aquatic systems, and are believed to harm pollinators. Often poor and Latino farm workers are most vulnerable.

Frequently Used Agricultural Antimicrobials and Industry Methods

Growers spray antibiotics because they destroy microbes that can harm or wipe out produce. One of the most frequently used antimicrobial treatments is a medical drug, which is often used in clinical treatment. Estimates indicate as much as 125,000 pounds have been sprayed on domestic plants in a annual period.

Citrus Industry Lobbying and Regulatory Response

The legal appeal comes as the regulator experiences demands to widen the utilization of pharmaceutical drugs. The bacterial citrus greening disease, spread by the vector, is devastating citrus orchards in the state of Florida.

“I appreciate their critical situation because they’re in serious trouble, but from a public health standpoint this is certainly a obvious choice – it should not be allowed,” the advocate said. “The bottom line is the significant issues created by using medical drugs on edible plants greatly exceed the farming challenges.”

Alternative Solutions and Future Outlook

Advocates suggest straightforward crop management actions that should be tested initially, such as increasing plant spacing, cultivating more disease-resistant strains of crops and locating diseased trees and quickly removing them to halt the pathogens from transmitting.

The legal appeal gives the Environmental Protection Agency about 5 years to answer. Previously, the organization prohibited chloropyrifos in reaction to a parallel formal request, but a court overturned the regulatory action.

The agency can impose a prohibition, or has to give a reason why it refuses to. If the EPA, or a future administration, fails to respond, then the coalitions can take legal action. The procedure could require over ten years.

“We’re playing the extended strategy,” the expert concluded.