A typical English Sunday roast may be prepared with vegetables and soft fruit treated with a cocktail of more than 100 pesticides, according to a new report by Greenpeace. The environmental group analysed data from the Fera pesticide usage survey for 2024 and found that 102 different pesticides – including seven banned in the EU – had been used on seven categories of vegetables and soft fruit commonly served as part of the traditional meal.
The report highlights specific concerns for popular roast dinner components. Potatoes may have been sprayed with benthiavalicarb, a fungicide banned elsewhere in Europe due to cancer risk, and metribuzin, a herbicide classified as an endocrine disruptor. Carrots could contain traces of the insecticide spirotetramat, which has expired EU approval and is harmful to bees and fish. Peas are often treated with S-metolachlor, a herbicide linked to groundwater contamination and risks to mammals. Strawberries, meanwhile, may have been doused with clofentezine, dimethomorph and mepanipyrim – all banned in the EU for their potential effects on human and animal hormones.
Greenpeace said crops were not only sprayed with a range of chemicals but often dosed repeatedly. The group warned that the widespread use of pesticides is devastating wildlife, with stark declines in birds, butterflies and hedgehogs. 'Our countryside is being drenched in pesticides, with devastating consequences for bees, birds, butterflies, rivers and the soil,' said senior campaigner Nina Schrank. She added that fields are 'falling silent' while agrochemical companies profit and farmers remain trapped in a cycle of chemical dependency.
The campaign group is calling for a 50% cut in pesticide use, impact and toxicity by 2030, alongside a realignment with EU standards and a ban on imports of food grown with unlicensed pesticides. Guy Singh-Watson, founder of organic vegetable box company Riverford, described UK farming as stuck on a 'chemical treadmill'. He argued that 'there is no such thing as a safe chemical pesticide' and that current safety testing fails to account for the long-term effects of repeated exposure to multiple chemicals.
The National Farmers' Union said many of the substances are 'plant protection products' used only when necessary and are 'among the most highly regulated chemical products in the world', warning that crop yields could fall by up to 50% without them. A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said strict limits are placed on pesticide residues in food, set after rigorous risk assessments, and apply to both domestic and imported produce.
