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A recent legal petition from twelve health advocacy and agricultural labor organizations is urging the EPA to stop allowing the spraying of antibiotics on edible plants across the United States, pointing to antibiotic-resistant proliferation and health risks to farm laborers.

Farming Industry Sprays Millions of Pounds of Antimicrobial Pesticides

The farming industry uses around 8m lbs of antimicrobial and fungicidal treatments on US produce each year, with several of these chemicals restricted in foreign countries.

“Every year Americans are at increased risk from toxic bacteria and infections because human medicines are sprayed on produce,” said an environmental health director.

Antibiotic Resistance Poses Major Health Risks

The widespread application of antibiotics, which are vital for combating human disease, as crop treatments on produce endangers population health because it can lead to superbug bacteria. Likewise, overuse of antifungal agent treatments can cause fungal diseases that are harder to treat with existing medical drugs.

• Treatment-resistant infections impact about millions of individuals and cause about thousands of fatalities each year.
• Public health organizations have associated “clinically significant antibiotics” permitted for crop application to treatment failure, greater chance of pathogenic diseases and increased risk of MRSA.

Ecological and Public Health Consequences

Meanwhile, ingesting antibiotic residues on crops can disturb the human gut microbiome and elevate the risk of chronic diseases. These substances also contaminate aquatic systems, and are thought to harm insects. Often poor and Hispanic field workers are most exposed.

Common Agricultural Antimicrobials and Industry Methods

Farms apply antimicrobials because they kill pathogens that can harm or destroy crops. One of the popular antibiotic pesticides is streptomycin, which is commonly used in medical care. Estimates indicate as much as significant quantities have been used on domestic plants in a single year.

Citrus Industry Pressure and Government Action

The petition is filed as the regulator faces demands to increase the utilization of human antibiotics. The crop infection, spread by the vector, is severely affecting fruit farms in the state of Florida.

“I understand their urgent need because they’re in dire straits, but from a broader point of view this is definitely a clear decision – it must not occur,” the expert stated. “The key point is the significant problems generated by using human medicine on edible plants far outweigh the agricultural problems.”

Alternative Approaches and Long-term Prospects

Specialists recommend simple crop management actions that should be tried initially, such as wider crop placement, breeding more robust strains of produce and detecting diseased trees and rapidly extracting them to halt the infections from transmitting.

The formal request allows the EPA about 5 years to respond. In the past, the agency prohibited a chemical in reaction to a similar regulatory appeal, but a court blocked the regulatory action.

The organization can enact a ban, or is required to give a justification why it will not. If the Environmental Protection Agency, or a subsequent government, fails to respond, then the organizations can sue. The process could last more than a decade.

“We are engaged in the prolonged effort,” Donley stated.