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A fresh regulatory appeal from a dozen health advocacy and farm worker organizations is urging the US environmental regulator to discontinue allowing the spraying of antibiotics on food crops across the United States, citing superbug spread and illnesses to farm laborers.

Farming Industry Applies Substantial Amounts of Antimicrobial Crop Treatments

The farming industry sprays around substantial volumes of antibiotic and antifungal treatments on American plants each year, with a number of these chemicals restricted in international markets.

“Every year US citizens are at increased risk from toxic pathogens and infections because human medicines are sprayed on produce,” commented Nathan Donley.

Superbug Threat Presents Serious Health Risks

The widespread application of antibiotics, which are essential for addressing human disease, as pesticides on fruits and vegetables threatens population health because it can cause drug-resistant microbes. Likewise, excessive application of antifungal pesticides can create mycoses that are more resistant with present-day medical drugs.

• Antibiotic-resistant illnesses affect about millions of individuals and result in about thousands of fatalities per year.
• Public health organizations have associated “therapeutically critical antimicrobials” approved for crop application to treatment failure, greater chance of pathogenic diseases and increased risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Environmental and Public Health Impacts

Meanwhile, eating drug traces on produce can disrupt the human gut microbiome and elevate the chance of long-term illnesses. These substances also pollute water sources, and are believed to affect bees. Often economically disadvantaged and Latino farm workers are most exposed.

Frequently Used Agricultural Antimicrobials and Industry Practices

Agricultural operations use antibiotics because they kill microbes that can ruin or destroy crops. One of the most frequently used antimicrobial treatments is a medical drug, which is often used in clinical treatment. Figures indicate approximately 125k lbs have been applied on US crops in a one year.

Citrus Industry Pressure and Regulatory Action

The petition comes as the Environmental Protection Agency experiences pressure to expand the application of human antibiotics. The citrus plant illness, spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, is severely affecting orange groves in southeastern US.

“I understand their critical situation because they’re in serious trouble, but from a broader point of view this is certainly a clear decision – it should not be allowed,” the advocate stated. “The key point is the massive challenges caused by using medical drugs on food crops significantly surpass the crop issues.”

Alternative Solutions and Future Prospects

Experts suggest basic agricultural steps that should be tried first, such as increasing plant spacing, breeding more hardy varieties of produce and locating infected plants and rapidly extracting them to prevent the infections from spreading.

The formal request provides the Environmental Protection Agency about 5 years to respond. Previously, the agency outlawed a chemical in response to a similar formal request, but a court reversed the agency's prohibition.

The organization can impose a restriction, or must give a explanation why it refuses to. If the regulator, or a subsequent government, does not act, then the coalitions can file a lawsuit. The legal battle could last more than a decade.

“We are pursuing the prolonged effort,” the advocate stated.