In our current world where A.I. is taking over and data is king; it comes as a surprise that the UK does not have accurate data on the pesticides that are being pumped into our environment. Having said that, it doesn’t come as a surprise to those of us who [...]
by Dr Alicja Witwicka For a while now researchers have been warning governments, farmers and the public about the harm that pesticides cause to pollinating insects. And many have listened, some of the most toxic insecticides, called neonicotinoids, have been under strict restrictions within the EU and other parts of [...]
A coalition of 25 health, farming, trade, human rights and environmental organisations from around the world, including Parkinson's UK, The Wildlife Trust, the Central American Institute of Research on Toxic Substances (IRET), Trade Justice Movement and the Landworkers’ Alliance have signed an open letter calling on Sainsbury's to ban paraquat. [...]
Fidra are an environmental charity working to prevent pollution and other harms to the environment through science-based solutions and collaborative systemic change. For almost a decade, Fidra has been investigating the impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), from their use in everyday consumer products such as food packaging and [...]
A new report reveals the widespread use of Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) in coffee-producing countries. These include chemicals linked to cancer, neurotoxicity, reproductive harm, endocrine disruption, and catastrophic biodiversity loss. Poison in Your Coffee brings together scientific literature, government data and field research across Brazil, Vietnam, Kenya, Colombia, and other major [...]
Farmworkers around the world are being put at risk due to the use of paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide (weedkiller). We’re calling on the UK’s second largest supermarket, Sainsbury’s, to end the use of paraquat in its global supply chains. Paraquat is responsible for poisoning thousands of farmworkers around the world. Repeated long-term exposure to [...]
by Sarah Compson, Head of Policy & Campaigns, PAN UK As someone with a high cake drive, I tend to be drawn to activities and events that might lead to the likes of a lemon drizzle, and that’s exactly how I first got involved with community weeding. The premise is [...]
By Catherine Whitehead, Senior Officer for Strategy - Connecting Children With Nature, Natural England School grounds have the potential to be far more than maintained outdoor spaces. When well-managed they can provide nature-rich environments that support wildlife, climate resilience, pupils wellbeing and learning, and local communities for years to come. [...]
by Jago Wadley, International Advocacy Manager This week, PAN UK will apply for membership of the new Global Alliance on Highly Hazardous Pesticides (GAHHPs). We encourage all relevant actors in agriculture and food systems to join this important new initiative and contribute to its success. Applications can be made via [...]
by Nick Mole, Policy Manager, PAN UK Earlier this year, CropLife, the trade body that represents the UK pesticide industry, published a report that exposed their goals to protect profits and resist regulations that might impact their sales. As proposed under the new UK-EU SPS agreement, the UK’s farmers, food [...]
Analysis of official government data – launched today by PAN UK – reveals that the amount of glyphosate being applied to UK crops has risen from 200 metric tonnes per year in 1990 to more than 2,200 tonnes in 2024. Major increases have been seen on a wide range of [...]
By Professor Steve Ormerod, Cardiff School of Biosciences / Water Research Institute Anyone interested in pets or pesticides will have noticed that chemicals used in some veterinary flea or tick treatments occur as pollutants in streams, rivers and ponds. Focus has centred on imidacloprid (neonicotinoid) and fipronil (phenylpyrazole) - applied [...]
As Parliament prepares to debate the Water Reform Bill, PAN UK joins over 40 organisations - representing more than 9 million supporters collectively – calling on the UK Government to deliver urgent changes. Just 14% of English rivers are in Good Ecological Condition. Most water-dependent habitats in England’s protected [...]
A new study published in Frontiers in Agronomy, has found that training farmers in agroecological practices helps to protect them from the harmful impacts of Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs). It also increases their income. Over 700 vegetable farmers in Ethiopia’s Lake Ziway region took part in a programme to promote agroecology [...]
Powerful commercial actors and the actions they take, affect us all, every day of our lives – many are undermining our health, our choices as individuals and the sustainability of the planet. They shape what we see, eat, and do. There is overwhelming evidence that the actions of many commercial [...]
An inflatable pesticides container the size of a 5-story apartment block calls for the phase out of Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) outside the venue of the COP30 climate negotiations in Belem, Brazil. It aims to highlight their role in heating the planet and poisoning the future. [...]
The results of Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count are in. The sunniest spring and hottest summer ever recorded in the UK provided good weather conditions for butterflies after 2024’s record-breaking lows. However, the results from the Big Butterfly Count show that it was definitely not a bumper summer for our beleaguered [...]
by Kyle Morrison, University of New South Wales In freshwater and marine ecosystems around the world, pesticides are silently shifting the ways in which fish socialise and interact. A recent study has analysed data from 37 experiments that tested the impacts of 31 different pesticides on 11 different fish species. [...]
PAN UK is delighted with this week’s reset deal which commits the UK to following EU existing and future pesticide standards. While far from perfect, the EU’s pesticide standards are the strongest in the world in terms of protecting human health and the environment, and the UK played a seminal [...]
PAN UK will shortly join colleagues from PAN International in Geneva, Switzerland, for the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions – the ‘BRS COPS’ – where important decisions on a range of hazardous pesticides are on the table. The Stockholm Convention is focused on persistent [...]
