Greenpeace UK’s new report, Our Poisoned Land, which warns that intensive pesticide and fertiliser use is not only posing serious risks to human health, The report highlights that a typical British roast dinner, followed by strawberries for dessert uses a cocktail of more than 100 pesticides. Greenpeace investigators examined FERA Pesticide Usage Survey data from 2024 covering vegetables commonly eaten as part of a traditional Sunday roast. These include onions, leeks, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, peas, swede and turnips – alongside strawberries as a classic British dessert.
Their analysis found:
- 102 unique pesticidesused across seven food categories
- Onions and leeks treated with 43 different pesticides
- Strawberries treated with 42
- Carrots and parsnips treated with 40
- Field potatoes treated with 31
- Peas treated with 29
- Swede and turnips treated with 20
- Stored potatoes treated with 5
Seven of the 102 pesticides being used are already banned in the EU due to their links to cancer and endocrine disruption in humans, as well as posing high risk to the health of bees, birds, mammals and aquatic ecosystems. All crops received multiple pesticide applications with many sprayed dozens of times.
Of the nine most commonly used pesticides, eight are classified as Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) – meaning they are toxic to humans, wildlife, or both and three are classified as forever chemicals (PFAS). Many are linked to harm to bees and other pollinators, severe damage to aquatic ecosystems, persistence in the environment and accumulation in the food chain as well as cancer and endocrine disruption in humans.
Full report at: OurPoisonedLand_text_v4.pdf
