British potatoes may have been sprayed with benthiavalicarb, a fungicide banned in the European Union due to its carcinogenic properties. This alarming finding comes from a new report by Greenpeace, which reveals that the ingredients of a typical English roast dinner could be 'drenched' in a cocktail of 102 pesticides.
Greenpeace Report Highlights Pesticide Cocktail
Published on Thursday, the Greenpeace report analysed data from the Fera pesticide usage survey for 2024. It found that 102 different pesticides, including seven banned in the EU, were used on seven categories of vegetables and soft fruit commonly found in a traditional Sunday roast.
According to the report, roast potatoes may have been treated with benthiavalicarb, a fungicide prohibited across Europe because it causes cancer. Additionally, they might have been exposed to metribuzin, a herbicide banned for being an endocrine disruptor. Carrots could have been sprayed with spirotetramat, an insecticide whose EU approval has expired and is toxic to bees and fish. Peas are often treated with S-metolachlor, a herbicide that poses risks to mammals and contributes to groundwater contamination. Strawberries may have been doused with clofentezine, dimethomorph, and mepanipyrim, all banned in the EU as endocrine disruptors with potential harmful effects on human and animal hormones.
Repeated Dosing and Environmental Impact
Greenpeace found that not only were crops sprayed with a range of pesticides, but many were dosed repeatedly. Nina Schrank, a senior campaigner at Greenpeace UK, stated: 'Our countryside is being drenched in pesticides, with devastating consequences for bees, birds, butterflies, rivers and the soil. Fields that once hummed with wildlife are falling silent while agrochemical giants rake in enormous profits and farmers are trapped in a costly cycle of chemical dependency.'
The report emphasises the extensive use of pesticides is devastating the natural world. It points to stark declines in birds, butterflies, and hedgehogs as evidence. Since World War II, pesticide use has become standard practice to eliminate weeds, insects, and fungi that hinder efficient agricultural production. However, Greenpeace warns that what we consider a weed may be a wildflower providing shelter or food for numerous creatures. The insects that eat crops are themselves food for other animals, and non-target species are also impacted, leading to unintended consequences for entire ecosystems.
Calls for Action and Government Response
The UK government's pesticides national action plan targets a 10% reduction in pesticide use by 2030. Greenpeace, however, argues for a 50% cut in use, impact, and toxicity by the same deadline. The campaign group calls for the UK to realign with EU standards as a baseline, ban imports of food grown with unlicensed pesticides, and increase organic agriculture to at least 10%.
The National Farmers' Union, which prefers the term 'plant protection products,' argues that many of these chemicals are used only when necessary and are among the most highly regulated chemical products in the world. They warn that crop yields could fall by up to 50% without them.
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: 'We place strict limits on pesticide residue levels in food, which are set after rigorous risk assessments to make sure levels are safe for consumers. These limits apply to both food produced domestically and imported from other countries. Our UK national action plan, published last year, sets out how we will support farmers, growers and other land managers to increase their use of sustainable practices to reduce potential harm from pesticides, while controlling pests and pesticide resistance effectively and protecting food security.'
