A newly filed legal petition from twelve public health and farm worker organizations is calling for the EPA to cease authorizing the spraying of antimicrobial agents on produce across the United States, highlighting superbug development and health risks to agricultural workers.
Farming Industry Applies Large Quantities of Antimicrobial Crop Treatments
The crop production sprays around 8m lbs of antimicrobial and fungicidal treatments on US plants annually, with a number of these agents restricted in other nations.
“Every year the public are at increased risk from dangerous pathogens and infections because medical antibiotics are sprayed on produce,” said an environmental health director.
Antibiotic Resistance Poses Serious Health Threats
The overuse of antibiotics, which are critical for treating infections, as agricultural chemicals on produce jeopardizes population health because it can result in antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Likewise, frequent use of antifungal agent treatments can lead to mycoses that are more resistant with currently available medical drugs.
- Treatment-resistant diseases sicken about 2.8m people and lead to about thousands of fatalities per year.
- Regulatory bodies have connected “medically important antimicrobials” permitted for pesticide use to antibiotic resistance, higher likelihood of bacterial illnesses and increased risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
Environmental and Public Health Consequences
Meanwhile, consuming drug traces on produce can alter the human gut microbiome and elevate the chance of long-term illnesses. These agents also contaminate water sources, and are believed to harm pollinators. Often low-income and Latino farm workers are most at risk.
Frequently Used Antibiotic Pesticides and Agricultural Methods
Farms spray antibiotics because they eliminate pathogens that can damage or kill plants. One of the popular antimicrobial treatments is streptomycin, which is often used in medical care. Estimates indicate approximately 125,000 pounds have been sprayed on American produce in a one year.
Citrus Industry Influence and Government Response
The formal request is filed as the regulator experiences pressure to widen the application of human antibiotics. The crop infection, transmitted by the insect pest, is destroying fruit farms in the state of Florida.
“I recognize their critical situation because they’re in dire straits, but from a societal standpoint this is certainly a clear decision – it should not be allowed,” the expert said. “The key point is the enormous problems created by applying medical drugs on produce greatly exceed the agricultural problems.”
Alternative Approaches and Future Outlook
Specialists recommend simple agricultural actions that should be implemented before antibiotics, such as wider crop placement, breeding more robust strains of plants and locating sick crops and promptly eliminating them to prevent the infections from spreading.
The legal appeal gives the EPA about five years to respond. Previously, the agency outlawed a chemical in reaction to a parallel formal request, but a judge blocked the agency's prohibition.
The organization can impose a prohibition, or is required to give a reason why it refuses to. If the regulator, or a subsequent government, fails to respond, then the organizations can sue. The procedure could last many years.
“We are pursuing the extended strategy,” the advocate remarked.
