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A newly filed formal request from a dozen public health and farm worker groups is calling for the Environmental Protection Agency to stop allowing the spraying of antimicrobial agents on produce across the America, citing antibiotic-resistant proliferation and illnesses to farm laborers.

Farming Sector Uses Large Quantities of Antimicrobial Pesticides

The crop production sprays about 8 million pounds of antimicrobial and fungicidal chemicals on US food crops every year, with many of these agents restricted in other nations.

“Every year US citizens are at greater danger from toxic pathogens and infections because pharmaceutical drugs are sprayed on crops,” stated a public health advocate.

Antibiotic Resistance Poses Serious Health Risks

The widespread application of antibiotics, which are vital for combating human disease, as pesticides on crops threatens population health because it can lead to superbug bacteria. Similarly, excessive application of antifungal treatments can cause fungal infections that are more resistant with present-day medical drugs.

• Treatment-resistant illnesses affect about 2.8m people and result in about thousands of mortalities each year.
• Public health organizations have linked “therapeutically critical antimicrobials” permitted for agricultural spraying to treatment failure, greater chance of bacterial illnesses and increased risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Ecological and Health Consequences

Furthermore, ingesting drug traces on crops can disturb the digestive system and increase the risk of chronic diseases. These substances also pollute drinking water supplies, and are considered to affect insects. Frequently low-income and Latino farm workers are most at risk.

Frequently Used Agricultural Antimicrobials and Agricultural Methods

Agricultural operations apply antimicrobials because they destroy bacteria that can harm or wipe out plants. Among the popular antibiotic pesticides is streptomycin, which is frequently used in clinical treatment. Figures indicate up to 125,000 pounds have been used on American produce in a one year.

Agricultural Sector Pressure and Regulatory Action

The formal request coincides with the EPA experiences pressure to increase the utilization of human antibiotics. The citrus plant illness, carried by the vector, is devastating citrus orchards in southeastern US.

“I recognize their urgent need because they’re in serious trouble, but from a societal perspective this is certainly a no-brainer – it must not occur,” the advocate said. “The key point is the enormous problems caused by using pharmaceuticals on food crops significantly surpass the farming challenges.”

Alternative Solutions and Long-term Outlook

Advocates propose simple crop management actions that should be implemented first, such as increasing plant spacing, breeding more robust strains of plants and locating diseased trees and promptly eliminating them to halt the diseases from propagating.

The formal request allows the EPA about 5 years to act. Previously, the agency outlawed chloropyrifos in reaction to a parallel regulatory appeal, but a court reversed the EPA’s ban.

The organization can enact a restriction, or must give a reason why it will not. If the regulator, or a future administration, fails to respond, then the coalitions can take legal action. The procedure could require over ten years.

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