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A recent formal request from twelve health advocacy and farm worker coalitions is calling for the EPA to cease allowing the use of antimicrobial agents on produce across the America, citing superbug development and health risks to farm laborers.

Farming Industry Sprays Large Quantities of Antibiotic Pesticides

The farming industry uses about 8m lbs of antibiotic and antifungal treatments on US plants every year, with several of these substances prohibited in foreign countries.

“Annually the public are at elevated threat from harmful pathogens and infections because human medicines are used on produce,” stated a public health advocate.

Superbug Threat Presents Significant Public Health Risks

The overuse of antibiotics, which are critical for combating infections, as pesticides on produce jeopardizes public health because it can lead to drug-resistant microbes. In the same way, overuse of antifungal pesticides can create mycoses that are harder to treat with existing medicines.

• Drug-resistant illnesses affect about 2.8m Americans and cause about 35,000 mortalities per year.
• Regulatory bodies have connected “therapeutically critical antibiotics” approved for pesticide use to drug resistance, greater chance of bacterial illnesses and higher probability of MRSA.

Ecological and Public Health Effects

Additionally, eating drug traces on produce can disturb the digestive system and raise the chance of chronic diseases. These substances also contaminate drinking water supplies, and are considered to harm pollinators. Frequently low-income and minority farm workers are most exposed.

Common Agricultural Antimicrobials and Industry Methods

Growers spray antibiotics because they kill bacteria that can ruin or kill produce. One of the popular antimicrobial treatments is a medical drug, which is often used in medical care. Estimates indicate approximately significant quantities have been applied on American produce in a single year.

Citrus Industry Pressure and Government Action

The petition is filed as the regulator faces demands to widen the use of pharmaceutical drugs. The crop infection, carried by the Asian citrus psyllid, is destroying citrus orchards in Florida.

“I appreciate their desperation because they’re in dire straits, but from a broader perspective this is definitely a no-brainer – it should not be allowed,” the expert stated. “The key point is the enormous issues created by spraying medical drugs on produce significantly surpass the agricultural problems.”

Alternative Solutions and Future Outlook

Experts propose basic agricultural steps that should be tried before antibiotics, such as increasing plant spacing, cultivating more disease-resistant types of produce and identifying infected plants and promptly eliminating them to stop the diseases from spreading.

The petition gives the Environmental Protection Agency about five years to respond. Previously, the agency prohibited a pesticide in response to a similar regulatory appeal, but a judge reversed the agency's prohibition.

The organization can enact a prohibition, or has to give a justification why it won’t. If the regulator, or a later leadership, fails to respond, then the groups can take legal action. The process could take over ten years.

“We are pursuing the extended strategy,” the advocate stated.