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A recent legal petition from a dozen health advocacy and farm worker groups is calling for the US environmental regulator to stop allowing the application of antimicrobial agents on edible plants across the US, citing superbug proliferation and health risks to farm laborers.

Farming Industry Uses Large Quantities of Antibiotic Pesticides

The crop production uses around 8m lbs of antimicrobial and fungicidal treatments on American food crops each year, with several of these chemicals banned in other nations.

“Each year the public are at increased danger from toxic pathogens and diseases because human medicines are used on plants,” commented a public health advocate.

Superbug Threat Presents Serious Health Dangers

The widespread application of antibiotics, which are essential for treating human disease, as agricultural chemicals on produce endangers public health because it can lead to antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Similarly, frequent use of antifungal agent treatments can cause fungal infections that are less treatable with currently available medical drugs.

• Antibiotic-resistant infections impact about 2.8m Americans and cause about 35,000 mortalities each year.
• Public health organizations have connected “therapeutically critical antimicrobials” permitted for pesticide use to drug resistance, increased risk of bacterial illnesses and elevated threat of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Ecological and Health Consequences

Furthermore, eating chemical remnants on produce can alter the digestive system and elevate the risk of chronic diseases. These substances also taint water sources, and are thought to harm bees. Typically poor and minority farm workers are most at risk.

Frequently Used Antibiotic Pesticides and Industry Practices

Growers apply antibiotics because they eliminate bacteria that can harm or destroy produce. Among the most frequently used antibiotic pesticides is a common antibiotic, which is often used in clinical treatment. Estimates indicate up to 125,000 pounds have been applied on US crops in a one year.

Agricultural Sector Lobbying and Regulatory Response

The legal appeal coincides with the regulator encounters demands to expand the use of human antibiotics. The crop infection, carried by the vector, is severely affecting citrus orchards in southeastern US.

“I appreciate their critical situation because they’re in difficult circumstances, but from a public health point of view this is definitely a obvious choice – it must not occur,” the advocate stated. “The fundamental issue is the enormous problems caused by using pharmaceuticals on produce far outweigh the crop issues.”

Other Approaches and Long-term Prospects

Advocates propose basic crop management actions that should be tested before antibiotics, such as planting crops further apart, developing more robust types of produce and identifying diseased trees and rapidly extracting them to prevent the pathogens from propagating.

The legal appeal gives the EPA about half a decade to answer. In the past, the regulator prohibited a chemical in reaction to a comparable formal request, but a legal authority reversed the agency's prohibition.

The organization can impose a ban, or must give a explanation why it will not. If the regulator, or a subsequent government, declines to take action, then the organizations can sue. The legal battle could last more than a decade.

“We are pursuing the prolonged effort,” Donley concluded.