UK supermarkets are not doing enough to protect human health, wildlife or the environment from pesticides. Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) continue to be used within the global supply chains of all of the UK’s largest ten supermarkets, including carcinogens and hormone disruptors, bee-toxins and water contaminants. Since the launch of our previous ranking in 2021, PAN UK has been advising supermarkets on how to reduce pesticide-related harms.
In 2024, we once again surveyed and ranked the UK’s top ten supermarkets on their efforts to tackle pesticides. We found that some supermarkets are doing much better than others but they could all be doing more to reduce pesticide-related harms.
The ranking in more detail:
PAN UK’s ranking is based on an assessment of how each supermarket is doing on six key topics related to pesticides. Take a look at our Pesticide Scorecard below to see how your supermarket ranked on these specific areas.
Topics we reviewed
Click on the icons below for more detail on the six topics in the ranking.
How do the supermarkets compare?
Click on the logos below for more detail on how each supermarket is doing on pesticides.
Why are we running this campaign?
Pesticides can drive irreversible harms to both human health and the environment. The evidence linking pesticides to diseases such as cancer and Parkinson’s increases year-on-year. Meanwhile, recent studies have named pesticides as one of the key drivers of biodiversity losses which have placed one million species at risk of extinction.
The evidence clearly shows that we urgently need to reduce our pesticide use and UK supermarkets have a key role to play. With their sprawling supply chains and powerful influence over how food is produced, they are uniquely positioned to drive a wholesale shift away from pesticides and towards non-chemical alternatives, not just in the UK but globally.
PAN UK is keen to continue working directly with UK supermarkets to help them implement the kind of changes we so urgently need to move towards a healthier and more sustainable future.