A new trade deal with the EU could lead to restrictions on the use of the controversial herbicide glyphosate on food crops in the UK.
This full-spectrum herbicide, which kills almost any plant it touches, is often applied just before harvest to dry wheat, oats, and other grain and legume crops to make them easier to handle.
The practice will be banned in Europe from 2023 due to concerns about the chemical’s impact on human health. Now, a wide-ranging new trade deal with the EU could force the UK to follow suit.
Officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are negotiating with EU countries over the terms of a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, which aims to make trade with the EU “easier, cheaper and more predictable”.
Environmental groups say governments should use this opportunity to end pre-harvest use of glyphosate. “Phasing out glyphosate as a pre-harvest desiccant, in line with EU-wide restrictions, will reduce concerns for public health and nature, while promoting closer trade with Europe’s neighbours,” the Soil Association, Nature-Friendly Farming Network, Greenpeace, Wildlife Trusts and others said in an open letter to Defra on Wednesday.
The World Health Organization classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 2015, and in the United States, glyphosate is at the center of more than 17,000 lawsuits alleging it causes cancer and other health problems. An expert group concluded in March that “glyphosate and GBH (glyphosate herbicides) cause genetic damage, oxidative stress, and hormonal disturbances.”
“Regulators around the world should treat glyphosate and GBH as dangerous goods, as some countries have begun to do,” the experts said. “Government agencies should act without delay to limit their use or, if legally required, eliminate them, to protect public health.”
However, the herbicide remains widely used, with 41% of UK grain tested between 2016 and 2023 containing residue. In 2024, 28% of UK bread samples tested contained glyphosate.
Cathy Cliff, campaign co-ordinator at the Soil Association, said: “Experts are increasingly warning that there is no ‘safe dose’ for glyphosate, meaning the chemical needs to be removed from food. Evidence of the harms associated with glyphosate has increased rapidly over the past decade and we are calling on governments to take action. It’s time to reduce the chemical from our food and fields.”
Defra did not comment on talks with the EU when asked by the Guardian on Tuesday, but changes to the glyphosate regime appear likely. UK farmers and businesses have been told to expect changes to “pesticides and their respective maximum residue levels” and “changes to the approval of active substances for pesticides and biocides”.
Farmers probably don’t have to worry too much. Despite restrictions on glyphosate, regulations on pesticide use in the EU remain permissive. A report by the European Food Safety Authority on Tuesday found that 41.6% of fruit and vegetables sold in the EU contained pesticide residues.
The talks come before the UK’s glyphosate license expires in November, sparking a concerted push by the chemical industry to renew the license.
According to Farmers Weekly, the Glyphosate Renewal Group, a coalition that includes Bayer, Syngenta, NuFarm and others, has made a number of complaints to officials at the Health and Safety Executive, the government agency responsible for approving pesticides. We are also working to request an exception to the SPS Agreement that would allow continued use as a pre-harvest desiccant.
Research commissioned by organic food retailer Riverford, which is campaigning to end pre-harvest spraying, shows that awareness of the use of glyphosate in the UK food system is low, despite concerns about the health effects of exposure to the chemical in food.
The poll of 2,000 adults found that 79% have never heard of glyphosate, but 83% are concerned about long-term exposure to chemical residues in food and 66% are “outraged” at its use in the UK food system.
A Defra spokesperson said: “Like all pesticides, glyphosate is subject to strict regulations.”
