🔗 Share this article

A recent regulatory appeal from twelve health advocacy and agricultural labor organizations is calling for the EPA to discontinue permitting the use of antibiotics on produce across the US, citing antibiotic-resistant spread and health risks to agricultural workers.

Agricultural Sector Applies Substantial Amounts of Antimicrobial Crop Treatments

The crop production uses about 8m lbs of antibiotic and antifungal chemicals on American produce annually, with a number of these substances prohibited in foreign countries.

“Each year Americans are at increased risk from harmful bacteria and infections because medical antibiotics are sprayed on plants,” stated Nathan Donley.

Antibiotic Resistance Presents Significant Public Health Threats

The widespread application of antibiotics, which are critical for combating human disease, as agricultural chemicals on crops endangers community well-being because it can result in superbug bacteria. In the same way, excessive application of antifungal agent pesticides can lead to fungal infections that are less treatable with currently available medical drugs.

• Drug-resistant diseases affect about millions of Americans and result in about 35,000 deaths annually.
• Health agencies have associated “clinically significant antimicrobials” approved for crop application to treatment failure, higher likelihood of bacterial illnesses and elevated threat of MRSA.

Ecological and Public Health Effects

Meanwhile, consuming chemical remnants on produce can disrupt the digestive system and increase the chance of persistent conditions. These chemicals also contaminate aquatic systems, and are thought to damage pollinators. Typically low-income and Latino farm workers are most exposed.

Frequently Used Antibiotic Pesticides and Industry Practices

Agricultural operations apply antibiotics because they destroy microbes that can ruin or destroy crops. One of the popular agricultural drugs is streptomycin, which is frequently used in clinical treatment. Estimates indicate as much as 125,000 pounds have been applied on American produce in a annual period.

Citrus Industry Influence and Government Response

The petition is filed as the regulator experiences urging to increase the use of medical antimicrobials. The crop infection, spread by the insect pest, is destroying fruit farms in Florida.

“I understand their urgent need because they’re in difficult circumstances, but from a broader point of view this is certainly a no-brainer – it cannot happen,” the expert commented. “The key point is the significant challenges caused by using pharmaceuticals on edible plants significantly surpass the crop issues.”

Alternative Methods and Long-term Prospects

Experts suggest simple farming steps that should be tried first, such as increasing plant spacing, cultivating more robust strains of plants and detecting sick crops and quickly removing them to halt the infections from spreading.

The legal appeal allows the regulator about 5 years to answer. In the past, the agency prohibited chloropyrifos in reaction to a similar formal request, but a court reversed the regulatory action.

The agency can impose a ban, or has to give a reason why it refuses to. If the Environmental Protection Agency, or a future administration, fails to respond, then the groups can file a lawsuit. The procedure could take more than a decade.

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