36 pesticides permitted for use in UK but not EU, despite government promises to maintain standards post-Brexit The UK is increasingly falling behind the EU in removing chemicals that pose a risk to human health and the environment from the market. Analysis has revealed that there are now 36 pesticides [...]
by Emma Pavans de Ceccatty, Campaigner, PAN UK A private company was commissioned by Cardiff Council to carry out weed control trials in 2021. The company compared the cost and efficiency of two pesticide-free alternatives, Foamstream and acetic acid, with the commonly-used synthetic pesticide, glyphosate. Trials took place on Cardiff’s [...]
Today, 11 global civil society and Indigenous Peoples organisations representing small-scale farmers, agricultural workers, trade unions, and rights holders urged Mr. Qu Dongyu to begin his new term as Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on a positive note by ending a controversial partnership with the [...]
UK supermarkets have huge global footprints and the power to make change. They urgently need to ban bee-toxic pesticides and support growers around the world to adopt more sustainable, non-chemical alternatives. Our pollinators need us! Join us in asking Asda, Aldi, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Tesco and Waitrose [...]
The 2023 Cotton Ranking of retailers and brands reveals that just nine of the major fashion companies are doing the bare minimum to improve sustainability in the cotton sector. Much of the cotton purchased by major companies does not even meet basic certification requirements. Of the 82 largest cotton-sourcing companies [...]
New analysis of official Environment Agency data has revealed the worrying scale of chemical cocktail pollution in rivers and other freshwater sites across England. The research, which looked at the prevalence of give chemical cocktails known to have toxic impacts for wildlife, also highlights the lack of official monitoring for [...]
by Dr Stephanie Williamson, PAN UK Staff Scientist PAN Ethiopia teams meet up for week of training in Arba Minch. Credit PAN UK I recently had the privilege of visiting my hard-working, dedicated colleagues in Ethiopia to find out how our joint projects on growing cotton organically and [...]
by Emma Pavans de Ceccatty, Campaigner, PAN UK Over 3.9 million people, or 17% of households in England live in social housing. Our council estates come in all shapes and sizes, from semi-detached maisonettes to high tower blocks, housing an equally diverse range of residents. Yet, the ethnic and architectural [...]
by Professor Erik Millstone, Science Policy, University of Sussex The safety of the UK’s food supply is as important to UK citizens as availability and affordability. But we can only be confident that our food is safe if we are able to trust that farmers, food processers and traders follow [...]
This year the EU will decide on the re-approval of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, the world's most popular and controversial weed killer. Exposure to the herbicide not only poses a risk to human health and other living organisms, it also threatens biodiversity and the future of agriculture. Published [...]
by Amy Heley, The Pesticide Collaboration The government has announced that for the third year in a row, it will permit the use of the banned pesticide thiamethoxam – a type of neonicotinoid – on sugar beet in England in 2023. A single teaspoon of neonicotinoid is enough to deliver [...]
By Lauren Harley, Wildfish From the cleaning products we use, to the medicines we take and the food we eat - our everyday lives are filled with chemicals. Their use provides many benefits, but once they have fulfilled their intended purpose, chemicals don’t just disappear. Pesticides, pharmaceuticals and plasticisers (chemicals [...]
by Joan Lanfranco, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung While tension is rising amongst EU Member States on new pesticide reduction targets, the recently launched Pesticide Atlas by Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Friends of the Earth Europe and Pesticide Action Network Europe, shows that the amount of pesticides used worldwide has increased by 80% since 1990, causing harm [...]
by Josie Cohen, Head of Policy & Campaigns, PAN UK The role pesticides play in our lives is often vastly underestimated. Pesticides are present in the majority of our food and in much of our soil and water. They cover the UK’s countryside, reaching far beyond farmland thanks to their [...]
As the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Council convenes its 171st Session today, PAN UK calls upon the agency to demonstrate bold leadership on climate action by immediately rescinding its two-year-old agreement with CropLife International, the global association of the world’s biggest pesticide manufacturers. In a letter addressed to FAO Deputy [...]
by Emma Pavans de Ceccatty, Campaigner, PAN UK A report released by PAN Europe earlier this year ‘Pesticide Free Towns: A Diversity of European Approaches’ shows that many of our European neighbours have been making great progress towards banning the use of pesticides in public urban spaces. Luxembourg and France [...]
Based on official figures, PAN UK has today revealed that the proportion of bread containing two or more pesticides has almost doubled in the past year to 50%. The figure marks a major increase from government testing results over the past decade when, on average, roughly a quarter of bread [...]
PAN UK's Pesticide-Free Towns team recently headed up to Birmingham to support Bee Friendly Brum campaigners, Beth Clay and Laura Hackett, in a presentation to the Council’s Housing and Neighbourhoods Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The two campaigners joined forces in 2021 over the common goal of ending pesticide-use on council-managed [...]
by William Wilson, Barrister, Wyeside Consulting UK government proposals to dispense with all remaining EU “retained law” carried over from Brexit include plans to revoke 570 pieces of environmental legislation by the end of 2023. Every aspect of environmental legislation (water, air quality, waste, chemicals, pesticides), and laws on agriculture, [...]
by Keith Tyrell, Director, PAN UK Today – 27th September – marks the 60th Anniversary of the publication of a truly remarkable book. Silent Spring has variously been credited with kick-starting the environmental movement and waking up humanity to the fragility of the natural systems on which all life depends. It [...]
