by Emma Pavans de Ceccatty, Campaigner, PAN UK Many councils still rely on pesticides, including weedkillers, to keep our pavements, parks, playgrounds, housing estates and many other urban spaces ‘clean and tidy’ and free of ‘weeds’. Yet over 80 councils across the UK have either entirely stopped using these chemicals, [...]
British shoppers are unknowingly buying supermarket chicken that is linked to the poisoning of people and rare tropical animals in the Amazon in a “hidden scandal”, according to the Soil Association’s new ‘Stop Poison Poultry’ campaign. Vital Latin American ecosystems are falling victim to the toxic chemicals sprayed on soya [...]
With one month to go until London local elections, new information* reveals that local authorities are using twenty-two potentially harmful chemicals to remove weeds on the capital’s streets, parks and playgrounds. Based on answers to a series of Freedom of Information requests, the list includes seven pesticides with links to [...]
by Patricia Bischof, Breast Cancer UK Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in the UK – with 56,000 new cases every year. The causes of breast cancer are not fully understood. Studies have identified numerous factors which can increase or decrease breast cancer risk, including those associated with genetics, [...]
The UK Government has today announced that it has approved an application by the British sugar beet industry and National Farmers Union (NFU) to use the bee-toxic insecticide, thiamethoxam, this growing season. The announcement mirrors a January 2020 decision from the UK Government. Last year, Defra made similar concessions to [...]
A petition of 187,300 signatures by civil society and indigenous people’s organisations was delivered to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Qu Dongyu in Rome this morning. Facilitated by Pesticide Action Network (PAN), Friends of the Earth, SumOfUs, and the Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL), the [...]
by Dr Angeline Andrew (Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth) The majority of cases of motor neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are not explained by a familial trait or gene. Scientists suspect that certain chemicals in the environment are likely the culprit. Since many insecticides kill by over-stimulating the [...]
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that we are on course for global warming of more than 2°C without “deep reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions” and that a “rapid and far-reaching transition is required”. Not only do pesticides affect our health and the environment, [...]
by Ed Straw, researcher at University College Dublin We don’t really know all that much about how and where pesticides are used in the UK. You’d probably think that given the ongoing debate around pesticides the government would keep rigorous records on what’s sprayed, but this doesn’t happen in reality. The [...]
The UK government has responded to the petition calling for a ban on urban pesticides. Find the petition and the government's full response here. ADD YOUR NAME HERE Read Professor Dave Goulson's views on the UK Government's petition response below: The DEFRA response, in short, is that “we [...]
by Vicki Hird Rebugging the Planet: The remarkable things that insects (and other invertebrates) do – and why we need to love them more is my new book written to help spread the word in helping these vital creatures not just survive but thrive. Invertebrates – from beetles to worms, [...]
A new report released today reveals that waterbodies across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are being devastated by agricultural waste (pesticides and fertilisers), raw sewage and pollution from abandoned mines. That’s despite 88% of people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland agreeing freshwater habitats are a “national treasure”. In England, only 14% of [...]
by Professor Parthiba Basu A reduction in the volume of pesticide consumption in certain countries is often cited as a success of anti-pesticide use campaigns. The pesticide industry also cites such declines as evidence for positive and pro-environment progress. It is true that the use of pesticides (insecticides, herbicides and fungicides) [...]
In a German nationwide monitoring programme, a consortium of scientists led by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) has shown that the governmental thresholds for pesticides are generally too high and that even these excessively high levels are still exceeded in over 80% of water bodies. Loss of biodiversity [...]
by Dr Harry Siviter A doctor will always ask if you are on any other medication before they write you a prescription. This is because pharmaceuticals can interact with each other and potentially disrupt treatment, or even harm the patient. But when agrochemicals, such as pesticides, are licensed for use [...]
by Prof Dr Josef Settele The fight against global warming and for sustainable development can only succeed if all political decisions take the issues of climate protection, biodiversity and social justice into account equally. This is the core message in the recent peer-reviewed workshop report, Biodiversity and Climate Change, by [...]
by Dr Julie Schneider (CHEM Trust) and Dr Francesca Bevan (Marine Conservation Society) Chemical pollution is a big concern for aquatic wildlife in the UK. Agricultural pesticides and road runoff, household and industrial wastewater, as well as leachates from landfills and past industrial sites, all end up as mixtures of [...]
by Tari Gunstone and Dr Aditi Dubey Soils are incredibly biodiverse ecosystems, containing millions of organisms that provide essential services for our survival. Thanks to the busy work of these unsung heroes, we are fed, have filtered water and recycled waste, and our planet’s temperature is regulated. Unfortunately, soils are [...]
Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and its partners support over a million cotton farmers in India. Recently BCI India approached PAN UK and asked for training on the basics of agroecology to help farmers to produce a healthy crop with reduced pesticide use. Over 270 staff and implementing partners from BCI [...]
by Josie Cohen, Brighton & Hove resident and Head of Policy & Campaigns, PAN UK We were disappointed to read recent articles by The Guardian, Sunday Times and Daily Mail attacking Brighton & Hove City Council for their ban on urban pesticides. These articles completely ignore the human health benefits of [...]
