We were delighted to be featured on Countryfile this week talking about the support British farmers need to move away from pesticides. PAN UK has been working to reduce pesticide-related harms in the UK for more than three decades and it’s great to see this agenda getting more attention. For [...]
by Josie Cohen (Head of Policy and Campaigns) PAN UK continues to work intensely on Brexit to make sure our pesticide standards aren’t weakened as a result of the UK’s exit from the EU. Over the past two weeks, our focus has been on what are called ‘Statutory Instruments’ (SIs). [...]
It’s not the first time we’ve heard about declining insect numbers in recent years, but last week a global scientific study, the first of its kind, shocked even those working in the field to the core. The study – as outlined in an article published in The Guardian - found [...]
by Josie Cohen, Head of Policy & Campaigns (26th October, 2018) The Agriculture Bill currently going through parliament is the first chance the UK has had since 1947 to fundamentally reshape how we grow our food. It offers us the opportunity to usher in a new era of sustainable agriculture which better protects both human health and our natural environment. From PAN UK’s [...]
by Keith Tyrell, Director, PAN UK On Friday, 10th August, a jury in California came to a momentous judgement: it agreed with a school groundsman’s claim that his rare form of cancer was caused by exposure to the herbicide known as Roundup. The case has huge implications for glyphosate – the [...]
In 2015, the Center for International Environmental Law published a report ‘Lowest Common Denominator’ which examined how a proposed EU-US trade deal could weaken European standards of protection from toxic pesticides. The report analyses recommendations from pesticide industry lobby groups – CropLife America (CPA) and the European Crop Protection Association [...]
Great result for pollinators as ban on bee-toxic pesticides made permanent Today’s news that the European Commission has extended – and made permanent – the existing ban on three bee-toxic neonicotinoids is warmly welcomed by Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK). After spending more than a decade warning of the [...]
Today (Tuesday 27th February) DEFRA launched a consultation entitled 'Health and Harmony - The future of farming, food and the environment in a green Brexit'. The government has labelled the ten-week consultation period a once-in-a-generation opportunity for farmers, landowners and food producers to shape the future of English farming and the environment. [...]
In January 2018, the UK government launched A Green Future: Our 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment (hereafter referred to as ‘the Plan’). The Plan lays out a range of goals and policies designed to ‘help the natural world regain and retain health’ and restates the government’s commitment [...]
11th January 2018 PAN UK welcomes the government's 25 Year Environment Plan and in particular the commitment to support farmers working hard to protect the environment. However, in terms of pesticides, the plan launched today is unfortunately light on detail and includes no new, concrete commitments. While PAN UK welcomes [...]
Update - 27th November - Glyphosate license renewed for a further five years PAN UK is disappointed to report that the controversial weed killer, glyphosate, has been given approval for use in the EU for a further five years. What is even more disappointing is that the new approval comes [...]
by Vicki Hird, Independent Campaign Strategist and Farming Campaign Coordinator, Sustain With Article 50 triggered and a White Paper on the Great Repeal Bill published, we have a slightly better sense of where Britain intends to go in terms of Brexit negotiations and on the transposing, or not, of European laws [...]
PAN UK and IEEP have published a new report examining the effectiveness of the UK’s approach to managing pesticide risks and reviewing innovative policy measures used by other countries. The report finds that, between 2000 and 2013, the overall crop area being treated with herbicides, insecticides and fungicides and the [...]
Brexit has major implications for UK agriculture. PAN UK is calling on the government to take this opportunity to create a new agricultural system that works for farmers and the environment by replacing the flawed common agricultural policy with a new system that rewards farmers for looking after our environment; [...]
