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A newly filed regulatory appeal from twelve health advocacy and agricultural labor coalitions is urging the EPA to stop permitting the use of antimicrobial agents on edible plants across the United States, citing superbug proliferation and illnesses to agricultural workers.

Agricultural Industry Uses Substantial Amounts of Antibiotic Pesticides

The farming industry applies approximately 8 million pounds of antibiotic and antifungal chemicals on US produce every year, with a number of these agents prohibited in other nations.

“Annually the public are at increased danger from toxic bacteria and diseases because medical antibiotics are used on crops,” said Nathan Donley.

Superbug Threat Poses Major Health Threats

The excessive use of antibiotics, which are critical for treating human disease, as agricultural chemicals on crops endangers community well-being because it can result in superbug bacteria. Likewise, excessive application of antifungal agent treatments can cause fungal diseases that are more resistant with existing medicines.

• Treatment-resistant illnesses impact about millions of individuals and cause about 35,000 fatalities each year.
• Regulatory bodies have associated “therapeutically critical antibiotics” authorized for pesticide use to treatment failure, increased risk of bacterial illnesses and increased risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Environmental and Health Consequences

Furthermore, ingesting drug traces on produce can disturb the human gut microbiome and increase the chance of long-term illnesses. These substances also contaminate aquatic systems, and are thought to damage bees. Often low-income and Latino field workers are most at risk.

Common Agricultural Antimicrobials and Agricultural Methods

Growers apply antimicrobials because they kill pathogens that can damage or destroy plants. One of the most frequently used antimicrobial treatments is streptomycin, which is often used in medical care. Figures indicate as much as significant quantities have been sprayed on American produce in a annual period.

Citrus Industry Influence and Regulatory Response

The formal request is filed as the regulator faces pressure to increase the utilization of pharmaceutical drugs. The bacterial citrus greening disease, carried by the Asian citrus psyllid, is severely affecting orange groves in Florida.

“I appreciate their desperation because they’re in dire straits, but from a public health point of view this is certainly a obvious choice – it cannot happen,” the expert stated. “The bottom line is the significant issues caused by spraying human medicine on produce significantly surpass the farming challenges.”

Other Approaches and Future Outlook

Specialists recommend basic agricultural measures that should be tried first, such as wider crop placement, developing more disease-resistant strains of plants and locating infected plants and quickly removing them to prevent the diseases from propagating.

The petition provides the regulator about five years to answer. In the past, the regulator outlawed a chemical in reaction to a comparable formal request, but a legal authority reversed the regulatory action.

The regulator can enact a ban, or must give a reason why it will not. If the regulator, or a later leadership, fails to respond, then the groups can take legal action. The procedure could require over ten years.

“We’re playing the long game,” the expert stated.