science
UK-EU Trade Negotiations May Align Glyphosate Regulations as Licence Nears Expiry
UK officials are negotiating a new trade agreement with the EU that may align pesticide rules, potentially phasing out glyphosate as a pre-harvest desiccant on cereal and pulse crops. Environmental groups urged the government to adopt EU restrictions to address health and environmental concerns. The UK's glyphosate licence expires in November amid industry lobbying for renewal.
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Officials from the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are negotiating with EU counterparts on a new trade agreement aimed at making trade with the bloc easier, cheaper and more predictable, a move that could lead to restrictions on the use of glyphosate as a pre-harvest desiccant on food crops.
The Soil Association, the Nature Friendly Farming Network, Greenpeace, the Wildlife Trusts and others sent an open letter to Defra on Wednesday stating that phasing out glyphosate as a pre-harvest desiccant, in line with restrictions across the EU, would alleviate concerns over public health and nature while facilitating closer trade with European neighbors.
The use of glyphosate as a pre-harvest desiccant on cereal and pulse crops has been banned in Europe since 2023.
Glyphosate is a full-spectrum herbicide that kills almost every plant it touches and is often sprayed on wheat, oats and other cereal and pulse crops immediately before harvest to desiccate them and make them easier to handle. The World Health Organization classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans in 2015.
Glyphosate has been at the center of more than 17,000 lawsuits in the US alleging it causes cancer and other health problems.
A group of experts concluded in March that glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides cause genetic damage, oxidative stress and hormonal disruption. The experts stated that regulatory agencies in countries around the world should treat glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides as hazardous, as some countries have started to do.
