Campaigners demand action to break UK’s ‘addiction’ to herbicides

Campaigners are demanding action to address the UK's escalating reliance on herbicides, particularly glyphosate, whose use has surged tenfold in the last 30 years, raising significant public health concerns. The controversial practice of spraying glyphosate on wheat just before harvest was pioneered by Scottish farmers in the 1980s. Their aim was to accelerate crop drying in damp conditions by killing the plants a week or two prior to harvesting. Glyphosate, initially regarded as a revolutionary herbicide for its plant-killing yet animal-sparing properties, quickly became the chemical of choice for this purpose. This pre-harvest application method subsequently spread to other wet and cold agricultural regions worldwide, contributing to the current widespread use and associated health anxieties.