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A recent legal petition from a dozen public health and farm worker coalitions is urging the Environmental Protection Agency to cease authorizing the use of antimicrobial agents on produce across the United States, pointing to superbug proliferation and illnesses to agricultural workers.

Agricultural Sector Applies Substantial Amounts of Antimicrobial Crop Treatments

The agricultural sector applies about 8 million pounds of antimicrobial and fungicidal pesticides on American produce every year, with many of these agents banned in international markets.

“Annually Americans are at elevated threat from harmful microbes and illnesses because pharmaceutical drugs are applied on crops,” commented Nathan Donley.

Superbug Threat Presents Major Health Dangers

The overuse of antimicrobial drugs, which are vital for treating medical conditions, as pesticides on produce jeopardizes public health because it can result in superbug bacteria. In the same way, overuse of antifungal agent pesticides can cause mycoses that are harder to treat with existing medicines.

• Antibiotic-resistant infections affect about 2.8m individuals and lead to about thousands of mortalities annually.
• Regulatory bodies have linked “clinically significant antibiotics” authorized for crop application to drug resistance, greater chance of bacterial illnesses and elevated threat of MRSA.

Environmental and Public Health Consequences

Furthermore, consuming drug traces on produce can disturb the digestive system and increase the chance of long-term illnesses. These agents also contaminate water sources, and are thought to damage insects. Typically economically disadvantaged and minority field workers are most at risk.

Common Antibiotic Pesticides and Industry Practices

Farms use antimicrobials because they eliminate pathogens that can damage or wipe out crops. One of the popular antibiotic pesticides is a medical drug, which is commonly used in healthcare. Figures indicate as much as 125,000 pounds have been sprayed on US crops in a single year.

Agricultural Sector Pressure and Government Response

The legal appeal coincides with the EPA experiences demands to increase the utilization of pharmaceutical drugs. The crop infection, carried by the insect pest, is devastating citrus orchards in Florida.

“I understand their urgent need because they’re in serious trouble, but from a societal standpoint this is definitely a obvious choice – it cannot happen,” Donley said. “The bottom line is the massive problems caused by using human medicine on edible plants greatly exceed the farming challenges.”

Alternative Methods and Long-term Prospects

Experts propose straightforward agricultural steps that should be tried initially, such as increasing plant spacing, breeding more disease-resistant strains of plants and identifying diseased trees and promptly eliminating them to halt the pathogens from spreading.

The legal appeal allows the Environmental Protection Agency about half a decade to respond. Several years ago, the regulator prohibited a pesticide in reaction to a parallel legal petition, but a legal authority overturned the regulatory action.

The organization can impose a restriction, or has to give a justification why it will not. If the Environmental Protection Agency, or a subsequent government, declines to take action, then the organizations can take legal action. The legal battle could take many years.

“We are pursuing the long game,” the advocate concluded.