by Dr Stephanie Williamson, Staff Scientist, PAN UK (9th August 2018) Agroecological approaches to farming are receiving increasing attention, both at international policy level and in some countries’ national programmes. PAN UK’s Agroecology web section gives readers a brief description of agroecology. It also provides case studies in coffee, pineapples [...]
by Prof Michael Eddleston and Dr Leah Utyasheva Highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) not only harm our health and environment and pollute our food and water.1 They also cause over 150,000 suicide deaths globally each year. Out of the 800 000 individuals who die from suicide worldwide each year - one death every [...]
As the Better Cotton Initiative General Assembly opens, PAN UK publishes a revised version of its report on global pesticide use in cotton. The revised report includes new data on the United States Cotton sector’s pesticide use provided by Cotton Incorporated, and includes a reanalysis of official US government data. [...]
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 [...]
by Colin Toogood, Campaigns Manager at Bhopal Medical Appeal Over the past few years, plans have been afoot for the world’s largest chemical companies to merge into giant, new mega-corporations. Among the markets they seek to control, through these manoeuvres, is the supply of food where sterile crops grown in [...]
by Josie Cohen, Head of Policy and Campaigns (January 2018) In November 2017, EU member States narrowly voted for a five-year reauthorisation of glyphosate, the world’s most widely used weedkiller. While this is far from the fifteen-year license the agrochemical industry was pushing for, the result was a major disappointment [...]
Project success as 200 Ethiopian farmers become the first to produce certified organic cotton in the country Since 2013, with financial support from TRAID and in collaboration with PAN-Ethiopia, our project in southern Ethiopia has provided training for over 2000 smallholder cotton farmers. Training in our Farmer Field Schools demonstrates [...]
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 [...]
A review of pesticide use in global cotton production - 10th October 2017 (PLEASE FIND OUR REVISED ISSUE FOR JUNE 2018 HERE) A new report published today by PAN UK, with support from the C&A Foundation, investigates the current rate of pesticide use in cotton, and examines its trends [...]
by Sam Claydon, Communications Officer, PAN UK (19th September 2017) PAN UK is working with partners and colleagues in Ethiopia to teach smallholder cotton farmers how to manage their fields using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods in order to move away from an over-reliance on pesticides. In a lucky turn [...]
by Stephanie Williamson, Staff Scientist, PAN UK I’ve recently returned from an exciting ten days in Costa Rica, working with our partners at the Regional Institute for Research on Toxic Substances (IRET) at the National University. The aim of my visit was to share findings from our project on Phasing [...]
Since 2013 we have been working to support cotton farmers in Southern Ethiopia to adopt safer and more sustainable methods of growing pesticide-free cotton. We now have 2000 smallholder farmers achieving average yields over 100% higher than before. An organic cotton producers’ cooperative is selling Grade A organic cotton [...]
by Dr Meriel Watts, Senior Science Advisor of PAN Asia Pacific (PANAP) PAN UK recently attended the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions Conferences of Parties (Triple COPs), held in Geneva in May 2017. These conventions are international initiatives attempting to establish basic regulatory measures for pesticides at the global [...]
by Nick Mole, Policy Officer, PAN UK It's National Gardening Week, a time for people to get out in their gardens, enjoy the spring weather and get those ornamental beds looking good in time for summer. But, there are some things that have no place in a garden. You're probably [...]
Today’s opinion from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) – that glyphosate does not present an unacceptable risk to human health – is not only a huge disappointment, but also a complete abandonment of the precautionary principle. It puts the health and wellbeing of millions of EU citizens at risk. It [...]
A new report from the United Nations has, once again, highlighted the fact that while there is no shortage of international and national legislation, people and the environment are still being failed in terms of protection from hazardous pesticides. Quotes from the report: Hazardous pesticides are in excessive use, inflicting [...]
A new publication by PUBLIC EYE (Switzerland), PAN ASIA PACIFIC (PANAP) and PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK UK (PAN UK): Adverse health effects caused by paraquat – A bibliography of documented evidence Paraquat is now banned in over 40 countries, including the European Union and Switzerland, Syngenta’s home country, because of its adverse health [...]
