Campaigners are calling for a ban on using the weedkiller glyphosate to dry crops at harvest time, citing concerns about its impact on human health. Because who doesn't love a side of chemical with their morning toast?
Some farmers argue the chemical is necessary, but the Soil Association warns that using it as a drying agent leaves residues in foods such as bread, breakfast cereals and beer. The government's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will soon launch a consultation on whether to allow its use on crops beyond December 2026, when the current licence expires.
Use of glyphosate as a pre-harvest drying agent was banned in the EU in 2023, and campaigners now want the UK to follow suit. The chemical is still licensed for other uses on the continent. On Wednesday, the Soil Association launched a campaign to end its use as a pre-harvest desiccant in the UK, ahead of the HSE's consultation later this year.
Farmer and Riverford Organic Farmers founder Guy Singh-Watson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the campaign isn't seeking an outright ban on glyphosate in the UK. Instead, he wants to ban spraying it "onto crops just days before they're harvested, in the full knowledge that traces of that chemical are going to end up in our bread, in our breakfast cereals, in our beer." He called it a "relatively modern practice" and scoffed at the idea it's essential for wheat growing.
Roundup weedkiller, which contains glyphosate, was originally developed by Monsanto in the 1970s. Its patent expired in 2000, and now various manufacturers sell it. Bayer, the German bio-tech company that now owns Monsanto, has previously said no regulatory authority has found glyphosate carcinogenic. Singh-Watson countered that many chemicals once cleared for crops are now banned, adding: "I don't have a lot of faith in the regulatory regime."
The government says glyphosate is strictly regulated and only authorised if evidence shows it's safe. It remains approved in Great Britain until December, after ministers extended its authorisation to allow time for new data review. This summer, the HSE will launch a two-month public consultation on whether to renew approval, considering new "scientific, technical and regulatory" evidence.
Farmer Dave Bell, chair of the Voluntary Initiative for the use of Plant Protection, told the Today programme he relies on herbicides like glyphosate. "To promote and maintain soil health, and a good healthy rotation in my crops, I need to utilise glyphosate to reduce my wear and tear, reduce my reliance on other weed control, to reduce my carbon footprint," he said. Without it, he'd need more diesel to dry crops.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) and other farming groups support continued use of glyphosate-based weedkillers, including as a pre-harvest drying agent. NFU deputy president Paul Tompkins called it an "essential tool" that can be used on cereals "to make harvesting easier, to control weeds, and reduce disease, and help produce sustainable and affordable food for all." He noted that regulatory bodies worldwide have consistently found glyphosate safe when used responsibly, and wants the UK to renew approval "for a full 15 years."
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the World Health Organization's cancer agency, concluded the chemical was "probably carcinogenic to humans." In March this year, a group of international scientists reviewed new science from the past decade and found glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) "harm human health and can cause cancer." Their expert statement declared: "The evidence that glyphosate and GBHs harm human health at levels of current use is now so strong that no additional delays in regulation of glyphosate can be justified."
A government spokesperson insisted: "Like all pesticides, glyphosate is subject to strict regulation in Great Britain and are only approved for use if the evidence shows that they won't harm human or animal health, and won't have unacceptable effects on the environment." They also noted the UK's pesticides national action plan supports minimising pesticide use and increasing integrated pest management.