EPA Urged to Prohibit Application of Antimicrobial Drugs on American Food Crops Amidst Superbug Concerns

A newly filed regulatory appeal from a dozen public health and agricultural labor coalitions is calling for the US environmental regulator to stop authorizing the application of antibiotics on produce across the United States, citing antibiotic-resistant spread and health risks to farm laborers.

Farming Industry Sprays Substantial Amounts of Antimicrobial Pesticides

The agricultural sector uses about 8m lbs of antibiotic and antifungal treatments on US food crops every year, with a number of these agents restricted in foreign countries.

“Every year Americans are at increased danger from toxic microbes and infections because pharmaceutical drugs are used on produce,” commented Nathan Donley.

Superbug Threat Poses Major Public Health Threats

The widespread application of antibiotics, which are essential for addressing infections, as agricultural chemicals on produce threatens population health because it can lead to superbug bacteria. Similarly, frequent use of antifungal pesticides can cause mycoses that are less treatable with existing medical drugs.

• Antibiotic-resistant diseases impact about 2.8m Americans and result in about thirty-five thousand fatalities per year.
• Regulatory bodies have linked “clinically significant antimicrobials” permitted for agricultural spraying to treatment failure, greater chance of bacterial illnesses and elevated threat of antibiotic-resistant staph.

Environmental and Public Health Effects

Furthermore, ingesting antibiotic residues on food can disrupt the digestive system and increase the chance of long-term illnesses. These agents also taint drinking water supplies, and are considered to damage insects. Often low-income and minority farm workers are most at risk.

Frequently Used Antibiotic Pesticides and Industry Methods

Farms spray antimicrobials because they eliminate bacteria that can ruin or destroy produce. Among the most common antibiotic pesticides is streptomycin, which is frequently used in medical care. Figures indicate approximately 125k lbs have been sprayed on domestic plants in a single year.

Citrus Industry Lobbying and Government Action

The petition comes as the regulator faces demands to widen the application of pharmaceutical drugs. The citrus plant illness, carried by the vector, is destroying orange groves in southeastern US.

“I understand their desperation because they’re in serious trouble, but from a public health perspective this is absolutely a no-brainer – it cannot happen,” the advocate said. “The bottom line is the significant problems created by using medical drugs on food crops greatly exceed the farming challenges.”

Other Methods and Long-term Prospects

Specialists recommend basic farming measures that should be tried initially, such as wider crop placement, developing more disease-resistant strains of crops and detecting diseased trees and rapidly extracting them to stop the diseases from transmitting.

The formal request provides the Environmental Protection Agency about 5 years to respond. Several years ago, the agency prohibited chloropyrifos in reaction to a comparable legal petition, but a legal authority blocked the EPA’s ban.

The organization can implement a restriction, or has to give a justification why it will not. If the regulator, or a subsequent government, fails to respond, then the organizations can file a lawsuit. The process could require over ten years.

“We are engaged in the prolonged effort,” the expert remarked.