Petition Urges EPA to Ban Spraying Human Antibiotics on Food Crops, Citing Superbug Risks

A coalition of a dozen public-health and farmworker organizations has filed a legal petition urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit the spraying of human antibiotics and antifungals on U.S. food crops. The groups argue that the practice likely contributes to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, harms farm workers, and threatens public-health treatments.

They say the agricultural sector applies roughly 8 million pounds of antibiotic and antifungal pesticide products to U.S. food crops each year, including compounds that are banned in other countries. One commonly used antibiotic pesticide is streptomycin; the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that up to 125,000 pounds of streptomycin were sprayed on U.S. crops in a single year.

Public-health experts warn that using antibiotics critical for human medicine as agricultural pesticides can select for resistant bacteria in the environment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates antibiotic-resistant infections sicken about 2.8 million people and cause about 35,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. The CDC has linked some "medically important antibiotics" approved by the EPA for crop use to increased antibiotic resistance, higher rates of staph infections and greater risk of MRSA.

Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show a 2017 CDC study expressing concern that expanding antibiotic use on citrus could select for antimicrobial-resistant bacteria already present in the environment.

“Each year Americans are at greater risk from dangerous bacteria and diseases because human medicines are sprayed on crops,” said Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This kind of recklessness and preventable suffering is what happens when the industry has a stranglehold on the EPA’s pesticide-approval process.”

The petition also highlights additional risks: residual antibiotics on food may disrupt the human gut microbiome and increase the risk of chronic disease; these chemicals can contaminate drinking-water supplies and are suspected of harming pollinators. The groups emphasize that low-income and Latino farm workers often face the highest exposures and greatest health risks.

Growers typically spray antibiotics to control bacterial diseases that can damage or kill crops. The petition notes that pressure to expand the use of medically important antibiotics has increased as farmers contend with devastating plant diseases such as citrus greening, spread by the Asian citrus psyllid.

Donley acknowledged the citrus industry’s difficult position but warned that wider agricultural use of medically important antibiotics would pose a far greater public-health disaster over time. He urged farmers and regulators to prioritize non-antibiotic approaches first, including wider spacing of trees, breeding and planting disease-resistant varieties, and rapid removal of infected plants.

The petition asks the EPA to respond within roughly five years. The agency can enact a ban or must provide a reasoned explanation for refusing to act. If the EPA does not act, the petitioners say they will sue — a legal process that could take many years. The groups described the effort as a long-term strategy to protect public health.