Co-op bans suspect pesticides and calls for UK organics action plan

Citation

(2002), "Co-op bans suspect pesticides and calls for UK organics action plan", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 32 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2002.01732bab.003

Co-op bans suspect pesticides and calls for UK organics action plan

Co-op bans suspect pesticides and calls for UK organics action plan

The Co-op is banning over 20 pesticides used for food production amid consumer concerns about the impact on human health and the environment of chemical residues. This means a ban on any pesticide where there is doubt about its safety. The banned list includes hormone disrupters and organophosphates. The Co-op is also the UK's biggest farmer and has drawn up a plan, after consultation with Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming and Friends of the Earth. The Co-op found that the majority of consumers are suspicious about the health effects of pesticides. In a representative sample of the UK population, 1,040 face-to-face interviews completed in March 2001 showed that 77 per cent were worried about the effects of pesticides on the health of children and 73 per cent were worried about the effects on their own health. The Co-op is supporting The Organic Food and Farming Targets Bill which argues for 30 per cent of UK land use and 20 per cent of UK consumption to be organic by 2010.