Monitoring data cited by the Soil Association found glyphosate residues in 41% of UK cereal crop samples taken between 2016 and 2023, prompting campaigners to call for a ban on spraying the herbicide just before harvest. The Soil Association says ending pre-harvest desiccation could affect as much as 780,000 hectares of crops a year and wants ministers to back farmers through a transition. Campaigners point to a 2015 World Health Organization classification that described glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans" and to a recent expert statement on genetic and hormonal harms. The Health and Safety Executive is due to open a public consultation as part of its review, ahead of the current authorisation expiring on 15 December 2026.
Campaigners and some farming voices have turned the spotlight onto a routine practice that many consumers won't recognise. Pre-harvest desiccation, the spraying of glyphosate onto standing crops days before they're cut, is common across arable Britain. Monitoring data cited by campaigners shows 41% of cereal samples taken from 2016 to 2023 contained residues of glyphosate, and a separate set of tests found residues in 28% of UK bread samples in 2024.
Campaigners and the evidence
The Soil Association has led an open letter and petition calling on ministers to prohibit pre-harvest use of glyphosate and to support farmers through alternative methods. Cathy Cliff, the Soil Association’s campaigns coordinator, said, "Experts are increasingly warning that there's no 'safe dose' of glyphosate, meaning the chemical should be removed from our food." The organisation also publishes an estimate that ending pre-harvest spraying could affect as much as 780,000 hectares of crops annually, a figure campaigners use to illustrate how widespread the practice is.
The campaigners point to two strands of scientific concern. First is the World Health Organization classification from 2015 that described glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans". Second is a March expert statement which, according to the groups, concluded that glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides cause genetic damage, oxidative stress and hormonal disruption. The statement is recent and has been used by campaigners to press for tighter controls on residues entering the food chain.
Riverford Organic Farmers founder Guy Singh-Watson told BBC Radio 4 that the campaign isn't asking for a blanket ban on glyphosate. He said the focus is on stopping sprays "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." His intervention frames the debate as one about timing and exposure more than complete removal of the active substance from agriculture.
Industry response and the regulatory timetable
Farming organisations, including the National Farmers Union and other industry bodies, argue that pre-harvest use has practical benefits.
They say glyphosate-based products can reduce the need for multiple herbicide applications, protect soil structure and lower greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding extra tillage. Those points form the core of the industry's defence of current practice.
Manufacturers have mobilised to defend access to glyphosate. The Glyphosate Renewal Group, a coalition of producers, has submitted data intended to support renewal of approval. Industry sources are preparing evidence to argue for continued access to glyphosate-based products, including for pre-harvest use. Bayer, one of the major suppliers, has said no regulatory authority has found glyphosate to be carcinogenic and that pre-harvest use can protect yields and reduce emissions.
The company reiterated that position in response to publicity around the campaign.
Regulators have set a timetable that will shape how the debate plays out. The Health and Safety Executive is due to open a public consultation on whether to renew approval for glyphosate. One account specifies a two-month consultation opening this summer, while other sources describe it as occurring later this year, creating a narrow inconsistency about the exact start date. Ministers have already extended glyphosate’s authorisation in Great Britain so that the active substance remains approved until 15 December 2026, while regulators review new data.
Political and trade considerations are also in play. Campaigners have urged the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to align the UK with European restrictions because the EU banned pre-harvest desiccation in 2023. Talks between DEFRA and EU counterparts over a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement have sharpened those calls, with campaigners arguing regulatory alignment would remove potential barriers to trade and raise domestic food-safety standards.
The debate is thus a clash of assessments. Campaigners point to residue monitoring and expert statements on health risks, while industry emphasises agronomic benefits and the absence of a carcinogenic finding from regulators. That disagreement is now scheduled to be tested in the HSE consultation, with evidence from both sides and from manufacturers due to be considered.
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The immediate milestone is the Health and Safety Executive's public consultation on glyphosate's renewal, described by sources as a roughly two-month exercise; its findings will inform a final decision ahead of the active substance's authorisation expiring on 15 December 2026.
This article was created with AI assistance.
