🔗 Share this article EPA Pressured to Halt Spraying of Antibiotics on American Agricultural Produce Amidst Resistance Concerns A fresh formal request from a dozen health advocacy and agricultural labor coalitions is calling for the Environmental Protection Agency to cease allowing the application of antibiotics on produce across the America, pointing to superbug development and health risks to agricultural workers. Agricultural Sector Uses Millions of Pounds of Antimicrobial Crop Treatments The farming industry sprays about 8m lbs of antimicrobial and fungicidal pesticides on US food crops each year, with several of these agents restricted in international markets. “Every year the public are at greater threat from dangerous bacteria and diseases because medical antibiotics are sprayed on plants,” commented a public health advocate. Superbug Threat Creates Serious Public Health Threats The excessive use of antimicrobial drugs, which are essential for addressing infections, as pesticides on fruits and vegetables jeopardizes population health because it can cause drug-resistant microbes. Similarly, overuse of antifungal treatments can cause fungal infections that are less treatable with present-day medicines. Drug-resistant diseases impact about 2.8m individuals and result in about thirty-five thousand fatalities each year. Regulatory bodies have linked “medically important antimicrobials” permitted for pesticide use to treatment failure, greater chance of pathogenic diseases and increased risk of antibiotic-resistant staph. Ecological and Public Health Effects Additionally, ingesting drug traces on produce can alter the intestinal flora and increase the risk of persistent conditions. These chemicals also contaminate water sources, and are believed to harm bees. Often poor and Latino agricultural laborers are most at risk. Frequently Used Agricultural Antimicrobials and Industry Methods Growers apply antimicrobials because they eliminate microbes that can harm or kill produce. Among the most frequently used antibiotic pesticides is a common antibiotic, which is often used in clinical treatment. Estimates indicate approximately 125k lbs have been sprayed on domestic plants in a single year. Agricultural Sector Influence and Government Action The formal request comes as the EPA faces urging to expand the application of human antibiotics. The bacterial citrus greening disease, transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, is destroying orange groves in Florida. “I appreciate their urgent need because they’re in difficult circumstances, but from a societal perspective this is definitely a clear decision – it cannot happen,” the expert stated. “The bottom line is the massive problems caused by spraying medical drugs on edible plants greatly exceed the agricultural problems.” Other Methods and Long-term Outlook Advocates propose simple crop management measures that should be tried before antibiotics, such as increasing plant spacing, developing more disease-resistant varieties of plants and identifying infected plants and rapidly extracting them to prevent the diseases from spreading. The legal appeal allows the regulator about 5 years to act. In the past, the regulator banned chloropyrifos in reaction to a parallel legal petition, but a judge overturned the EPA’s ban. The agency can impose a prohibition, or is required to give a justification why it won’t. If the regulator, or a later leadership, does not act, then the coalitions can take legal action. The procedure could last many years. “We are engaged in the long game,” Donley stated.