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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Environment
Tom Perkins

EPA urged to ban spraying of antibiotics on US food crops amid resistance fears

bacteria in a petri dish
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonies from a Seattle hospital patient. Antibiotic resistance in bacteria has been linked to a rise in staph infections. Photograph: Mike Siegel/AP

A new legal petition filed by a dozen public health and farm worker groups demands the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stop allowing farms to spray antibiotics on food crops in the US because they are probably causing superbugs to flourish and sickening farm workers.

The agricultural industry sprays about 8m pounds of antibiotic and antifungal pesticides on US food crops annually, many of which are banned in other countries.

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