EPA Pressured to Halt Spraying of Antibiotics on American Agricultural Produce Amid Resistance Fears

A recent regulatory appeal from multiple public health and farm worker coalitions is calling for the US environmental regulator to stop permitting the spraying of antibiotics on food crops across the America, highlighting superbug spread and health risks to farm laborers.

Agricultural Sector Applies Substantial Amounts of Antibiotic Crop Treatments

The crop production uses around 8m lbs of antibiotic and antifungal pesticides on US plants annually, with a number of these substances banned in foreign countries.

“Annually US citizens are at greater risk from harmful microbes and infections because pharmaceutical drugs are applied on produce,” said a public health advocate.

Superbug Threat Creates Major Public Health Threats

The widespread application of antibiotics, which are essential for addressing human disease, as pesticides on produce jeopardizes public health because it can cause drug-resistant microbes. Likewise, overuse of antifungal treatments can lead to fungal diseases that are harder to treat with existing medicines.

• Antibiotic-resistant diseases sicken about millions of people and cause about thousands of fatalities annually.
• Public health organizations have linked “medically important antibiotics” authorized for pesticide use to treatment failure, higher likelihood of bacterial illnesses and increased risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Ecological and Public Health Impacts

Furthermore, ingesting drug traces on food can disturb the digestive system and raise the chance of chronic diseases. These agents also pollute drinking water supplies, and are thought to damage bees. Often poor and minority farm workers are most exposed.

Common Agricultural Antimicrobials and Agricultural Practices

Growers apply antimicrobials because they kill microbes that can harm or destroy crops. One of the most frequently used antimicrobial treatments is a common antibiotic, which is often used in clinical treatment. Estimates indicate up to 125,000 pounds have been used on domestic plants in a annual period.

Agricultural Sector Pressure and Government Response

The formal request comes as the EPA faces demands to widen the application of medical antimicrobials. The citrus plant illness, spread by the vector, is destroying citrus orchards in the state of Florida.

“I recognize their urgent need because they’re in dire straits, but from a societal perspective this is absolutely a clear decision – it must not occur,” the expert said. “The key point is the enormous problems generated by applying human medicine on edible plants greatly exceed the farming challenges.”

Other Methods and Future Prospects

Advocates propose basic crop management steps that should be implemented first, such as increasing plant spacing, breeding more disease-resistant types of plants and detecting infected plants and quickly removing them to stop the pathogens from transmitting.

The formal request provides the regulator about half a decade to answer. In the past, the organization prohibited a chemical in reaction to a comparable regulatory appeal, but a legal authority overturned the EPA’s ban.

The agency can implement a prohibition, or must give a reason why it won’t. If the regulator, or a subsequent government, declines to take action, then the groups can sue. The legal battle could require more than a decade.

“We’re playing the long game,” the expert concluded.