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A recent legal petition from a dozen health advocacy and farm worker groups is calling for the Environmental Protection Agency to cease allowing the use of antibiotics on food crops across the US, citing superbug development and health risks to agricultural workers.

Farming Industry Uses Substantial Amounts of Antimicrobial Pesticides

The farming industry uses around 8m lbs of antibiotic and antifungal treatments on US plants annually, with a number of these agents restricted in international markets.

“Each year US citizens are at increased risk from harmful pathogens and infections because human medicines are applied on plants,” said an environmental health director.

Antibiotic Resistance Poses Significant Public Health Risks

The widespread application of antibiotics, which are vital for treating medical conditions, as pesticides on crops threatens population health because it can lead to superbug bacteria. Similarly, excessive application of antifungal treatments can cause fungal diseases that are harder to treat with present-day pharmaceuticals.

• Treatment-resistant illnesses impact about 2.8m people and lead to about 35,000 fatalities per year.
• Health agencies have associated “medically important antimicrobials” permitted for crop application to antibiotic resistance, greater chance of staph infections and increased risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Environmental and Public Health Consequences

Meanwhile, eating antibiotic residues on crops can disturb the intestinal flora and elevate the likelihood of long-term illnesses. These substances also contaminate water sources, and are thought to affect bees. Often low-income and minority agricultural laborers are most exposed.

Common Antibiotic Pesticides and Industry Practices

Agricultural operations spray antibiotics because they destroy bacteria that can ruin or destroy produce. One of the most frequently used antibiotic pesticides is a medical drug, which is frequently used in medical care. Figures indicate approximately 125,000 pounds have been sprayed on American produce in a single year.

Agricultural Sector Pressure and Government Action

The petition comes as the EPA experiences pressure to increase the application of medical antimicrobials. The crop infection, spread by the insect pest, is destroying citrus orchards in southeastern US.

“I recognize their desperation because they’re in dire straits, but from a societal perspective this is certainly a clear decision – it cannot happen,” the expert commented. “The key point is the massive challenges caused by applying human medicine on edible plants greatly exceed the agricultural problems.”

Other Methods and Future Outlook

Advocates propose straightforward farming measures that should be implemented first, such as wider crop placement, breeding more robust strains of crops and detecting infected plants and promptly eliminating them to prevent the infections from propagating.

The legal appeal provides the Environmental Protection Agency about five years to act. In the past, the regulator outlawed a chemical in response to a parallel formal request, but a legal authority blocked the EPA’s ban.

The organization can impose a ban, or must give a explanation why it refuses to. If the Environmental Protection Agency, or a future administration, declines to take action, then the groups can sue. The procedure could require over ten years.

“We are pursuing the prolonged effort,” Donley concluded.